DU Abroad

Hello all! As you may or may not know, this will be my very first DU abroad blog post – and I am very excited! First thing’s first, let me introduce myself; My name is Ashley, and I am a junior at DU with a major in communications and minors in environmental science & writing practices. I will be studying in Perth, Australia at the University of Western Australia for this upcoming semester. I enjoy being outdoors (when it’s warm), cheffin’ in the kitchen, crocheting, and spending time with my family. I am an avid lover of swimming in any body of water, thus why I chose to study abroad in a place with lots of it (among other reasons)!

As I write this, I only have three hours until I leave for the airport (ahhh!) and there have already been some road bumps. My grandma is supposed to fly to Australia with me so we can spend some time together in Sydney before school starts. Unfortunately, I just found out that she forgot to get a visitor visa. So, we don’t know when she will be allowed into the country – it just depends on how quick the visa application can be approved. Definitely a stress for sure, but it’s out of my hands and the best I can do is hope. Either way, Grandma and I will be in Australia at some point! I’ll be sure to keep you updated on the situation!

Yesterday, my mom and brother met up with me for our final goodbye-brunch. We chatted, laughed, and ate some good food (thank you, Snooze on Broadway). It’s crazy to think about not seeing them for (almost) six months, especially because I am such a family-oriented person. I’ll include our little departing picture here:)

I can’t believe that this is finally real – for the longest time it felt like this adventure was just something that was happening in the distant future. But now that the day has arrived, I have so many mixed feelings; I’m excited, nervous, anxious, hopeful, you name it. I can’t wait to make some good friends, see beautiful places, and experience everything this journey has to offer me. On the other hand, I am terrified about the what ifs; what if I can’t make any friends? What if everything goes wrong? What if I have a terrible time? It’s important to acknowledge these worries, but not hold onto them. I know that this trip will be life changing, and having worries is just human nature. All I need to do now is take it day by day and enjoy the moment to its fullest extent. I got this, and so do you!

In between classes and getting familiar with the city, I’ve found special things in the middle of it all. One specific place so far is a charm bar I found! Getting a charm bracelet in London made me want to make another, but this time representing my time in Rome. Walking through the streets on a finally warm and sunny day, we make it to Paolina, a little charm bar by the Colosseum. The shop itself was very tiny and held only a few people at a time, to which we had to wait a little to get into the store. However, after making our way finally to the charms, we were ecstatic to see all the wonderful, little, cute charms they had! While my friend picked out charms she liked, I made mine Italy themed, including charms such as the Colosseum, ‘Ciao Bella,’ the Italy flag, and a little ‘bowtie’ pasta shape! After creating such cute charm bracelets, we decided to explore the city more and find other places to go.

Nicole, who is chronically on TikTok, always finds new and fun places to try in Rome and this week’s victim was Limoné; a gelato store that sells different lemon gelato in lemons. The perfect Pinterest gelato that we had to try. As a girl who loves normal lemon gelato (and basically gets it every-time) I knew I would love this place. 11/10! So insanely good. We made some vlogs for our abroad channels and enjoyed the gelato at the Trevi Fountain while watching people walk by. It was the perfect little day out!

Not only did that weekend hold fun little adventures, which included another trip to the Vatican (every last Sunday of the month its free to go inside), but the weekday also held fun adventures in the manifestation of my history course!

My history course about ancient Rome and Pompeii is an on-site course which allows me to know the deep history of Rome, as well as see it for myself. Seeing the buildings of the past in places such as the Roman Forum is phenomenal to see, learn about, and imagine what it could have been like in its time. To learn about the city while living in it creates a new understanding and reality of the history of the world, and where you fit into it. These huge monuments that withstood time, weather, and forces, are just amazing to learn about and imagine. While Rome is beautiful in the daylight, it also holds a different kind of magic in the night.

Seeing Rome in the night is a completely different experience. While the nightlife is what you might think about first, I’m talking about the serenity that comes over the monuments and the city at night. While the crowds are gone, the statues and temples are still there standing strong and standing bright against the darkness of the night. I was completely captured by the beauty of this architecture when I stumbled across both the Trevi fountain and the Pantheon after dinner one night. It’s difficult to explain just how surreal it is to live in that moment and also realize that your new “walk home” takes you past some of the most famous monuments in the world. I am actively living in a city that many people dream to visit, and for that I am forever grateful. To see Rome in all of its beauty in both day and night will forever ingrain itself in my memory.

https://www.instagram.com/mias_abroad/

Leavin’ for the Outback

Lemons, charm bracelets, and the Vaticano