Left My Heart in Sorrento

My name is Sabina. I'm a Biomedical Engineering major at the University of Michigan and I studied abroad in Sorrento, Italy in 2024. I love to travel and visit new places. I wanted to study abroad because I have heard about the life-changing experiences it provided for so many.

Living in Sorrento, Italy for the past 10 weeks has changed my life in so many ways I never imagined. In my opinion, the biggest way my life was impacted was through the independence I gained by coming here. Before living in Italy, I had little experience cooking for myself, shopping for myself, and living completely on my own in an apartment. In addition to all of this, I was in a foreign country and had to figure out my way around a community that didn’t speak my language.

I was very overwhelmed by the thought of all of this coming to Italy, but I immediately proved to myself I could do it. I began to feel confident in my abilities to solve problems that arose throughout my experience, and I knew I always had people supporting me when needed. Sant’Anna, my study abroad university, played a big role in this. I felt comfortable asking them for help when needed and they always did their best to assist me in any way I needed.

All of the teachers and staff were very welcoming and were always willing to help, which was so appreciated. They made sure we knew where we could ask questions when needed as well as provided us with numerous opportunities to meet other students in our program to help us feel more comfortable. I ended up making some really great friends within those first few days that I spent almost all of time with throughout the rest of the semester.

Additionally, my roommate provided comfort for me since we were able to figure out all these new situations together. I knew her previously from my college, but we immediately grew very close after having so much time together. Having her there always reminded me that I was never completely alone. Knowing I am capable of stepping outside of my comfort zone as well as having confidence in handling new and scary situations is an amazing lesson I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Through all of this, I developed a growth mindset that allowed me to get a greater study abroad experience overall. I was way more open to trying things that were unfamiliar and I worked hard to always say yes when presented with an opportunity to try something new. This included trying new foods, exploring different places I visited, as well as doing fun new activities like kayaking.  Additionally, through this experience, I learned how much I love to travel.

While studying abroad, I was able to visit other places in Italy including Rome, Florence, Pompeii, and Milan as well as two places outside of Italy: Croatia and France. I realized how much I enjoyed learning about how each culture differed from both my own and from Sorrento. I loved trying authentic food special to that city, seeing famous art and buildings, and just experiencing what it’s like to live in that community.

This enjoyment made me realize that travel is important enough to me that it needs to be a priority when I’m older. Because of this, I am now considering what first steps to take in order to make those dreams come to life. I plan to look into jobs that give me the flexibility to travel, or even maybe a job that takes me internationally.

I also hope to take a language when I get back to school and apply for the Global Leadership program that will provide me with more opportunities to travel as an undergraduate. Overall, studying abroad is an experience that I will always remember. It changed my life in so many ways and I am so appreciative that I was able to take advantage of this experience while I could.