I am spending the Fall 2018 semester at Loyola University Chicago's John Felice Rome Center, in Rome, Italy! The details of being able to study abroad for a third semester of college are long and complicated, but somehow the stars aligned and I put in the hard work to make this opportunity mine. Life is too short to watch opportunities come and go without reaching for them. It's a motto that's brought me so much joy and world experience. I am also a recipient of Loyola's B.O.L.D. Scholarship! The B.O.L.D. Award, or "Building Opportunities for Leadership through Diversity" of $3,500 is a merit-based scholarship that supports historically underrepresented students in study abroad. Being gay, first-generation, and having a STEM major, I essentially checked most of the boxes! In all seriousness, I thank Loyola from the bottom of my heart for making the cost of study abroad a bit more manageable.
I get asked a lot how I afford to travel the world. I work very hard to make money from my job, and have a few different streams of income. I typically don't spend a lot of money in my everyday life. I don't buy many new clothes (the concept of minimalism is my new friend lately!). I hardly every spend money on expensive luxuries like alcohol, fancy dinners. You'd be surprised how much the average college student spends on that kind of stuff! I do have my vices, including Chipotle and Starbucks... but what Millenial/Gen Z doesn't have that problem? In general, study abroad is the best way to see the world while in college. It often ends up being so much cheaper tuition-wise. And once you're in a new part of the world like Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, etc, the surrounding countries become 10x more accessible! Everyone there is wanting to make friends, so travel buddies are abundant. I pay my rent, my bills, and dedicate money every month to loan interest. I budget cash for groceries and food/supplies for my cat as well. Whatever is leftover I dedicate to traveling the world, or saving for my adventures. Don't get me wrong, I run into road blocks all the time. Budgeting can't predict everything. Just know that college students everywhere are struggling, and sometimes I do too. I should make a whole post about this, which I now plan to do soon!
But, back to Roma! I am really now just getting excited for this adventure. It might sound a little strange, but I've felt a bit jaded by Rome. I've studied abroad already for 2 years, I've seen so much of the world. And honestly, if given the opportunity, I would choose a more challenging experience and location than Rome. I have written off Europe in favour of more exotic destinations because I live for the thrill of overcoming culture gaps and all of the beautiful lessons and experiences that come along with that. My logic indeed was quite flawed. This experience will be nothing like Thailand. And that is very special. As for my classes, I am choosing to take 18 credits, and they're all humanities classes. The hard sciences have truly taken a poor toll on my creativity, happiness, and my perspective on my college experience as a whole, so I'm very happy to only learn subjects that make my heart happy while abroad. Here's what I'm taking:
HIST 300: Emperors, Bishops & Barbarians!
HIST 324: Italy in the 19th and 20th Centuries
ITAL 101: Italian Language 101
LITR 200: European Masterpieces
PHIL 181: Ethics
PLSC 347: The European Union
I also know my roommate! His name is Bruno and he's from São Paulo, Brazil. I met him in our history class this spring, and we decided to be roommates. He's a very intelligent, interesting guy who loves tattoos, travels the world, and enjoys fountain pens... so similar to me! He's a Ricci scholar who will be studying in Rome for the fall and Beijing in the spring. I'm jealous. Ha! We're actually going to be living in the Zone Hotel near campus, since the campus housing cannot accommodate every student. We'll be paying the same price, but we'll have wifi, air conditioning, free breakfast every morning, cleaning service, access to cool lounges and the gym, and more. This is shaping up to be the Suite Life of Brandon and Bruno, eh?
It may surprise you that my plans for this semester are very up in the air. But, that's how it's meant to be. I know I'll be traveling, but where? when? with who? The spirit of studying at the JFRC is going on spontaneous weekend trips, volunteering for random organizations and events, and living by the Italian saying of "La vita é un viaggio!" or, "Life is a voyage!" Go with the flow and see what happens. Not having concrete plans in advance is definitely something that's hard for me. I do hope to visit a few places in particular, including Turkey, Morocco, and Germany for Oktoberfest! I'll probably be coming to Canada to see Vinny for my fall break, which I am ecstatic about. I'm stoked for what adventures I'll get up to!
In addition to Roma, I have some amazing adventures planned before and after the semester! On August 10th, myself and Marshall are going, literally, on an around-the-world trek! We'll be going from Chicago to Toronto and Montréal, Canada. Then onto Paris, France and Copenhagen, Denmark. Then, we're meeting up with the one and only BRIANNA MARIE MAYE and her cousin in Thailand! We should be visiting Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and the south! I will try my best to see my host family too. Then, Marshall and I will head to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Melbourne, Australia, and Auckland, New Zealand. Finally, we'll have a long journey home via Los Angeles. We arrive back on the 27th at about 7 in the morning. At about 9:30 pm that very same day, I have a flight to catch to London! I'll spend a night in London and then head off to Rome to start my semester. Does your head hurt? So does mine, and I'm a pretty seasoned frequent flyer! Now for after the semester in Roma, I'll be going to London, Paris, and then Portugal before heading to South America for a graduation backpacking trip with my best friends from high school, both of the Ashley's and Paris! My #Caublasian crew since 11th grade. We'll be heading to Brazil, Argentina, and Peru. And who knows? maybe more...
Thanks for reading, and thanks for being a friend of mine.
Andiamo a Roma, and when in Rome, do as the Romans do!
- Brandon
