University of Wisconsin–Madison

Italy: Caroline Hayden

Program: UW Sustainable Food Systems in Italy and the World, Summer

Caroline’s Major: Nursing

Eight students walking down a gravel path flanked by grassy vegetation and bushes. Rolling hills are in the distance.
Back home in the United States, especially in the Midwest, it is quite uncommon to find such grand views. Here in Termoli, they’re everywhere you look.

What is your most memorable experience from your program?

The most memorable experience from my program was when I first got to Rome and we did the walking tour with Tom from the Borromini Institute. Our walking tour followed the pipes of ancient Rome from beginning to end. During the tour, we were perusing along the city center and “stumbled” upon many ancient monuments like the Trevi fountain, the Colosseum, and the Pantheon. Each of these infamous relics jumped out at me as soon as I turned the corner and I was in absolute awe and disbelief that this was something that I got to experience. These were things that I had read about and seen online, but I could not fathom actually viewing them with my own two eyes.

What did you learn about yourself or the world because of your experience?

After being with the same group of people for 2 weeks for several hours every day during this program, I have learned that I can sometimes take a liking towards certain individuals because their personalities seem most similar to mine, but I can also stray away from others because I have these assumptions I have already made about who they are, based on almost nothing. After talking to everyone, I have learned that it is necessary to leave my assumptions behind and embrace everyone’s different qualities. I have had the most fun talking to people that I normally would not strike up a conversation with in my day to day life before this program.

I can confidently say that I learned multiple new things every single day with the help of experienced cultivators and farmers.

A crouching individual holds up a truffle over grassy ground. A small dog is being held by another person near him.
With the help of the keen sniff from the dog, a truffle was able to be excavated.

What challenges or barriers did you face as you prepared to go abroad and/or during your time abroad? How did you work through them?

During my time abroad, I faced a language barrier with the locals at every city I studied at in one form or another. This was difficult at first because I would get confused and frustrated at times when I was misunderstood, but I learned quickly that Spanish has a lot of similarities with Italian. I took 6 years of Spanish language courses in high school and university, so I definitely have a good foundation of knowledge to be able to communicate a fair amount. When ordering food, I tried my best when things were getting a bit difficult by using single words and simple phrases. This did wonders for me and I quickly learned that although I did not know Italian by any means, I could get by in the limited amount of time that I was spending there.

What is your advice for someone considering your program?

If I could advise anyone considering my program, I would recommend it wholeheartedly. This program has changed my life for the better. Although I was only in Italy for two weeks, my studies were jam packed with content and useful tours. I can confidently say that I learned multiple new things every single day with the help of experienced cultivators and farmers. With each place I traveled; Rome, Campobasso, and Termoli, each brought a distinct perspective and taught me something new about myself and the amazing country of Italy. Studying abroad in a new country takes a lot of planning and forethought, but when I look back, I would do it all again.