My First Week

September 3, 2023

When I walked into class on the first day of school and took a seat, I was full of nerves and anticipation. That morning Rosanna, the café owner who is now my Italian Mom, had sent me to school with a hug and a free coffee, but I couldn’t blame the caffeine for my jitters. In the 20 minutes before class started, girl after girl came walking into the room. When the bell rang, I let out a sigh of both relief and disappointment. Relief because with ten girls, there’s bound to be a friend or two in the room. Disappointment because I was hoping there would be a cute winemaker boy that I could fall in love with. But you win some, you lose some.

It was a long day of classes, but by the time they were over we had already bonded a bit. I rode the bus back to the heart of town with two girls from Belgium and Macedonia, and we planned to eat and drink wine that evening. It ended up being a beautiful night of sitting on a balcony with 7 girls from 6 countries. We talked and laughed and planned for the next year as we sipped wine, then we shared stories of the few days leading up to school. The night before we had all felt so utterly nervous and alone, some of us crying, some of us looking at flights back home. It’s crazy how 24 hours can change so much.

I left that night feeling hopeful. We spent every day that week together after school. And thank goodness for that, because if not I would’ve had girl dinner for every meal. We’ve shopped, had aperitivos, played games, and talked about silly things but also shockingly real things within just four days of knowing each other. It’s crazy to me that despite how differently we all grew up, we are so similar. We all love to learn, laugh, travel, eat, drink, sleep, and watch Friends. We all want friendship and knowledge and adventure. And we all miss home despite truly wanting to be here. We all laugh about the same stuff. We all cry about the same stuff. We are so different yet so the same and it’s one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed. Singing “This Could Be The Start Of Something New” from High School Musical with 7 other girls from 6 countries while on a balcony, drinking wine, and stuffing our faces with pizza is a new core memory of mine. I have never had this much fun.