Mia's Life

My greatest goal in life is to see everything. I want to explore the world one country at a time, experiencing as many cultures as I possibly can. I want to be able to do everything under the sun before I say goodbye to this life. I learned about studying abroad a couple of years ago, but always thought, “Oh, that would be so much fun in college.” It wasn’t until last fall that my mom showed me a Facebook account for exchange students in high school. The idea of living in a foreign country for 10 months quickly became my new obsession. The question “Why wait?” chorused through my mind until my family finally agreed.

Now, we just had to choose a country. Initially, Thailand sparked my interest because it has been a place I’ve always wanted to visit. Only it was exactly that, just a place I wanted to visit, not live. After talking to my mom, we decided somewhere in Europe would be best. Now where? Italy was my first thought, and after that, it was clear I didn’t need to think of anywhere else. Thinking of the possibility of living in Italy sounded as if it were nothing more than an illusion. Still, the words feel unnatural rolling out of my tongue. My mom’s side of the family is from Sicily, which is why she decided to name me Mia. She wanted me to be her brown-eyed, straight-haired brunette, Italian daughter. Instead, I came out with bright blue eyes and curly blond hair. Although I might not look the part, after this trip, I will be the closest to the Italian daughter that she has. Even now, a lot of my cousins still live in Italy, some in Milan and in Sicily. I think that just knowing I have family close by, even if I’ve never met them before, was another factor in choosing the country.

When we first started the application process, it seemed like a silly little game filling out all the questions. Then one thing led to another, and I was asking for letters of recommendation from my teachers and having to choose between different programs. We chose to go through Aspect in the end after a couple of “pro & con” lists. Months went by trying to complete the application. Suddenly, it all became real. We had to get doctor approvals that I was healthy and able to get any prescribed medicine I needed there. I had to get all my transcripts from years past to see if I was even eligible enough to go. I had to have meetings with my school counselor to talk about my grades transferring back. I went through an in-person interview to see if I was the right fit. All this and so much more until we finally got a letter of acceptance sent through the mail.

My parents created a contract in order for me to go through with this. 1. They told me I would have to earn over $3,000 to support my spending money in Italy (for clothes, souvenirs, food, train tickets, etc.). 2. I had to have a background in Italian. 3. I would have to keep up good grades. 4. I would have to be nice to my siblings at all times (which really isn’t that hard because we are all really close). That same day I applied for a job at Handel’s Ice Cream. Luckily, after a phone call interview and an in-person interview, I was given the job. Fast-forward to now, I’ve been working there for 8 months.

I also began selling cake pops at my school each week. I would dedicate my entire Sunday each week to preparing a new flavor of cake pops (sometimes Oreo balls). I would turn on a movie that was part of a series so that I could binge-watch them while preparing the cake pops. Harry Potter became a staple. I would try to make around 50-60 cake pops each week and I would sell them for $2 each. Cake pops only consisted of 3 things: cake mix, melting chocolate, and sticks, so if my total cost for ingredients was only around $15-20, I was profiting most of the cake pops sold. Usually, they would sell out completely after the second day of selling them depending on the flavor. I downloaded every payment source I could think of: PayPal, Zelle, Apple Pay, Cash App, Venmo, and regular cash and coins. I almost never spent any of my money. Between Handel’s and the cake pops, I completed my goal of $3,000 within 3 months.

Next, I became good friends with an Italian exchange student who lived close by. She became my Italian language tutor. She would come to my house one or two times a week for each lesson. The great thing about her is that not only does she know Italian, but she has also lived there her whole life. I was able to ask her every question I could possibly have, and she would give me advice and tips on what to pack, life in Italy, what to know, slang, literally everything.

It was early May when I refreshed my email to see the headline “Host Family Placement.” WHAT! I was in my Photojournalism class, 2nd period. Needless to say, I didn’t complete any work that period other than trying to learn everything I could about my placement. I was initially hoping to be placed in Florence or Milan. My family requested that I be placed somewhere in Northern Italy (the more city-like part of Italy). The email said I was with a family located in Padova, Italy. I had never heard of it before. After doing some research, I learned that it is a smaller city just 22 miles outside of Venice. It is also a neighboring city to Verona (where Romeo and Juliet took place). The email stated that I had a mom, dad, a 12-year-old brother, and a 16-year-old sister. I was so glad to hear the ages because it almost replicated the age gap my actual sisters and I have. Before I was placed, I was nervous about having little kids in the family. I was really hoping for siblings closer to my age, so you can imagine the joy I felt when receiving my host family. The email also told me that they had a dog! Which was a really exciting thing for me. I love dogs so much, and honestly, I think the hardest part of being away from home will be that I won’t be able to cuddle with my two, 110 lbs, goldendoodles. After a month or so went by we scheduled a facetime with my host family. We connected on Instagram and started texting on WhatsApp. The more I’ve gotten to know my host family the more excited I’ve become. This summer my parents took a trip around Italy. They had already had this trip planned before they knew I’d be living there. They changed their itinerary for a day to head over to Padova to meet my host parents. They sent me countless images of the town/environment. Now, I don’t believe there is any way I could be more excited for what is yet to come.

The countdown has become real now with 40 days left until my departure. I leave for Padova, Italy on September 3rd.

“See the world, it’s more fantastic than any dream.” -Ray Bradbury