Studying abroad is an experience like no other. It is an adventure that makes you get out of your comfort zone and push you to your limits. I have learnt academically, socially, culturally and life-wise. I have understood how to interact and blend into other cultures. Moreover, I am culturally more aware of the diversity between countries, languages and people. But most importantly, what I first saw as a clash between cultures, now I see an opportunity to learn from others.

My exchange was very rich academically too. I had the opportunity to choose modules that were not provided in Surrey or that had a different perspective on certain topics. For example, studying politics I had never considered taking sociology modules. Nevertheless, in my exchange I discovered my passion for sociology and its different approaches to world issues.

Although the cultural and academic sides were very significant, I believe the most valuable take away was the importance of adaptability and flexibility. Before my exchange I was very determined to achieve certain things, and when Covid came, my goals proved to be unviable. I had planned to do my year abroad in Asia and I had a really bad time when this exchange was cancelled. In the moment I saw it as tremendous bad news, nevertheless now I see it as one of the most important life lessons of my entire career. Covid has really taught me perseverance and positivity. I had to adapt to the pandemic and choose a country in Europe. Due to the fact that this was not my original choice, I went on my exchange with no expectations at all. The change of plans turned out to be a wonderful thing as everything was surprising, new and eye-opening. I learnt how to make the most of my experience and studied Italian, travelled all around the country, lived with both international and Italian students, and fell in love with the food.