Italy
In 2023, I found myself overseas on another mandatory trip—but this one held something special. Midway through, I had the chance to take a class in Italy and decided to tack on four extra days just for fun. Those four days changed me in the best possible way. Everything—the rhythm of the cities, the warmth of the people, and the food that seemed to sing with every bite—felt fundamentally different from what I knew back home.
We began in Vicenza, where cobblestone streets echoed with centuries of history. From there, a train carried us to the shimmering canals of Venice, a city that felt like it was floating between time and dream. Then we drove through winding mountain roads, the air growing cooler and crisper with every turn, until we reached Lake Garda—its calm waters reflecting the peaks like a mirror to the sky. Standing on the edge of the peaks, looking into the vast lake, I understood how small my world really is.
