Italy: Kaitlyn Cardona (Discoveries & Reflections)
Discoveries & Reflections
A New Experience
One of my favorite experiences during my time in Italy has to be when I visited Venice during the 79th annual Venice International Film Festival. It was one of the greatest days of my life. As a film major, this event was something I planned and looked forward to. Being at the festival, you feel as if you are a part of a community. You meet others who are passionate about film. I got to meet people from around the world to discuss film opinions and film recs! I also got to meet celebrities that I look up to. It was an event where you could spot a celebrity getting gelato at the same place you were. Venice itself is also very beautiful so it was such an amazing experience all around. I got access to film screenings for films that were not released. I was one of the first people in the world to see popular movies like “The Whale” and “Don’t Worry Darling.” I hope to be back one day!
My Program Experience in 100 Words
Going abroad was one of the best decisions of my life. I had the greatest time meeting people from all over and seeing sights I never imagined I would see. I was able to bring my parents and sister to visit me in Rome and Paris! I get teary-eyed thinking about how happy I was to share my experiences with them. I’ve explored Rome and learned so much about its history. I also had the privilege of traveling around Europe, going to a total of eight countries! This allowed for many food tastings and for discovering many new favorite foods.
It is extremely difficult to describe my experiences with only 100 words! Although, it’s hard to describe my memories and experience in general because there have been so many great things that happened to me within the past four months. I am truly speechless.
Kaitlyn Cardona
Major: Communication Arts – Film, TV, and Radio
Hometown: Pingree Grove, Illinois
Program: CIEE Rome Open Campus, Italy