2008 Woodie Awards
A semester in Italy: "That's Amore"
Jen Coughlin
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: Features
*Editors Note:: Junior journalism major Jen Coughlin spent the fall semester studying abroad in Italy. Here is her story.
As I sat in the backseat of my family's Ford Explorer while driving to Newark Liberty International Airport last August, I didn't realize what I would be experiencing in the months to come.
The SUV was filled with my three ridiculously heavy suitcases, as well as the millions of thoughts running through my head as I listened to my iPod and admired the "scenery" on the New Jersey Turnpike. I had to pause my iPod every five minutes because of my parents' endless amounts of questions.
"Do you have your passport?" my dad asked.
"What about your camera and battery charger? And did you bring the adapters?" my mom chimed in.
The questions ranged from if I had a sweatshirt so I would not get chilly on the plane, to if I had enough snacks so I would not get air-sick. After yes-ing my parents to death for the whole 30 minutes, we finally pulled into the terminal.
Standing with their parents were my three travel companions for the next four months: Danielle Pouliot, Sam Higgins, and Janelle Driscoll. We were traveling to London for a few days before our semester abroad in Florence, Italy.
After we checked our bags we hugged our parents and waved goodbye as we walked through security. We had dinner right next to our gate, and all we talked about was how anxious, scared, and excited we were to be spending four months in a foreign country.
Our conversations ranged from our hopes that there would not be too much of a language barrier to the location and appearance of our apartment.
While waiting, we made awkward introductions to people that we saw were also in our program, American Institute for Foreign Study, or AIFS. AIFS arranged for our transportation, hotels, meal plans, and apartments for when we arrived in Florence.
After a seven hour plane ride we finally landed at London Heathrow Airport, and after three days we went to Lido Di Camaiore, a small beach town on the coast of the Tuscan region in Italy.
As I sat in the backseat of my family's Ford Explorer while driving to Newark Liberty International Airport last August, I didn't realize what I would be experiencing in the months to come.
The SUV was filled with my three ridiculously heavy suitcases, as well as the millions of thoughts running through my head as I listened to my iPod and admired the "scenery" on the New Jersey Turnpike. I had to pause my iPod every five minutes because of my parents' endless amounts of questions.
"Do you have your passport?" my dad asked.
"What about your camera and battery charger? And did you bring the adapters?" my mom chimed in.
The questions ranged from if I had a sweatshirt so I would not get chilly on the plane, to if I had enough snacks so I would not get air-sick. After yes-ing my parents to death for the whole 30 minutes, we finally pulled into the terminal.
Standing with their parents were my three travel companions for the next four months: Danielle Pouliot, Sam Higgins, and Janelle Driscoll. We were traveling to London for a few days before our semester abroad in Florence, Italy.
After we checked our bags we hugged our parents and waved goodbye as we walked through security. We had dinner right next to our gate, and all we talked about was how anxious, scared, and excited we were to be spending four months in a foreign country.
Our conversations ranged from our hopes that there would not be too much of a language barrier to the location and appearance of our apartment.
While waiting, we made awkward introductions to people that we saw were also in our program, American Institute for Foreign Study, or AIFS. AIFS arranged for our transportation, hotels, meal plans, and apartments for when we arrived in Florence.
After a seven hour plane ride we finally landed at London Heathrow Airport, and after three days we went to Lido Di Camaiore, a small beach town on the coast of the Tuscan region in Italy.
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