Featured image: Ponte Vecchio in Florence during one of the 10 seconds it was not raining. Hello again and welcome back to Thao Does JYA. This week we’ll be covering parental visits and final exams. It’s been quite a while since my last post and I’m just a mere 11 days from departure. We’ll begin where I left off, I suppose. Just as I had settled into my routine it was over, or so it felt. I volunteered about ten…
Featured image: Canale Grande in Venezia It’s hard to imagine that I’ve been here in Italy for over two months now and have just under two months left. It’s not that I’m particularly apt at staying here or particularly attached to going home. There’s just a vague sense of comfort to finding a routine, but here, I’ve found, my routine is very easily disrupted. In late February, my boyfriend found his way across the Atlantic and stayed in Bologna for…
Featured image: Castello Estense in Ferrara TW: mental health and sexual harassment Almost two months into my adventure in Bologna, Italy, I’m still very wary of my adjustment to this place. First off, there’s the constant presence of the language barrier. I’ve taken Italian since sixth grade, but I’ve never been really confident with speaking. Obviously, this experience is not too unique, but I don’t know. I feel like my past teachers’ ears are ringing every time I butcher the subjunctive…
Featured image: Cloudy Centro di Bologna, with the the historic Due Torri in the background and Piazza Maggiore in the foreground. [TW: this article makes mention of racial discrimination and sexual harassment.] I felt nervous about my arrival abroad, but “terrified” was never in my vocabulary. I had prepared mentally for changes, and I obviously knew it wouldn’t be “The Lizzie McGuire Movie.” But the culture really set in when it came to my POC identity and consent. Adjusting…