How were you able to move overseas? Weren’t you scared? What’s it like not knowing the language?

I get these questions a lot and there are a lot of different factors that led up to me making this move (or moves, shall I say).

For those of you who don’t know, I was fortunate enough to have been able to graduate college a semester early and move to Spain for a little over three and a half months to take an intensive Spanish course (thanks mom and

dad for all the support!). It wasn’t as easy as it may have seemed for me to make that move, though. While I had this big adventure ahead of me, I was giving up my last semester of college at Virginia Tech and I had never even flown by myself before — let alone gone to a foreign country by myself! There were days where I would think, “What the hell am I thinking, why am I doing this??” At the time, I barely spoke Spanish and I didn’t even know what my living situation was going to be. Luckily, my dad’s brother (my uncle lol) lives in Madrid which gave me a TON of comfort having family only a three hour car ride away from where I would be in Salamanca. But that didn’t stop the thoughts and anxiety from taking over sometimes. I was worried that I wouldn’t make friends there and I had early onset FOMO!!!! But I pushed myself because life is short and I had a gut feeling that I needed to do it. So I did.

Short recap of my Spain experience: Remember how I said I didn’t know where I was going to be living? Well, I ended up living with nuns. Yes, nuns — you can laugh. But they cooked for us and were super sweet — their only downfall was the fact they locked us in the building after 10 p.m. and if we wanted to get in or out we had to ring a bell. But at least I wasn’t in it alone; I lived with people from all over the world and most of them were pretty freakin’ cool. I will be friends with some of those people forever. I learned a lot of Spanish (to the point I could confidently have a casual conversation with someone) and I was able to travel all over Spain & Portugal on the weekends. Oh, and the night life. Best I’ve ever experienced — those people know how to party.

But how did I end up in Italy?

Good question. So while I was in Spain, a friend told me about the job opening in Rome, as I mentioned in my last post. But honestly the reason I am here today is all thanks to chance and gut feeling. When I applied for the job I wasn’t sure how badly I actually wanted it, I was f*&#ing scared of moving to another country and not knowing the language again, there were questions of money and if it would all be worth it…I could go on. But I kind of had to just push past that as much as possible and make myself take the leap. After all, who doesn’t dream of living in Italy and working for a badass organization?

So here I am and I’ve been in Italy 218 days and I have been in quarantine for 63 of them…but who’s counting?

I know we are in quarantine, but if you are planning to make a move after these crazy times whether that be across the state, country, or an ocean, I’m going to lay out some tips for you! These are all tips and advice I wish I had before making a big change like this.

• Listen to your doubts, but don’t let them stop you from taking that leap.

It’s completely normal to have feelings of sadness/insecurity when you are moving into a new space and, in some cases, a new culture. Like I said, I had some days before making the move to both countries where I would cry thinking I wouldn’t have any friends in my new life. But no. You are always going to find your people no matter where you go even though it is hard to believe sometimes. You made friends in middle school, you made friends in high school, college, your part-time job, etc. There will be people that you click with and you aren’t as alone as you feel you will be. Not to mention our technology these days allows us to stay connected to friends and family all over the world at any time we want. It’s truly amazing.

BUT that’s not to say to override these feelings and suppress them because all of these thoughts are valid reason to be anxious, and sometimes it just takes a second to step back and look at the logic. Sometimes your doubts are real issues that aren’t just our anxiety talking, like if there are issues with money or last minute paperwork. These thoughts/feelings are normal but if you have done your research and calculations, there isn’t too much to be worried about in the end. Breathe 🙂

• Keep the new adventures in mind.

This is something that is actually helping me through right now in the lockdown situation. I have been making a list and loosely planning out activities for when we are able to leave our houses and travel again. But this also helped me when I was feeling anxious about moving here. Keeping in mind that you are going to have so many new life adventures and opportunities really helps keep a positive mindset. Also knowing when you are going to return/visit your friends and family also eases some stress.

• Keep a gratitude list.

Right now as I am typing this, I am looking out my slightly ajar floor-to-ceiling window in Rome, Italy, watching the sun go down behind the buildings and greenery, and I can hear the squawks of the bright green parakeets that live in the trees right outside. Keeping a list and remembering moments like these remind you how lucky you are to be in your new space!

• Facebook groups!

Whether you are moving abroad or you are moving into your college dorm room, there is a group on Facebook full of people who are going through the same thing as you. These people might not end up being your best friends, but I personally have made connections through the people in these groups one way or another. It really helps to read posts and it gives you a sense of belonging when you are first getting situated.

• Embarrassed to try and speak a new language?

This is something I hardcore struggle with, but it’s something you slowly get over eventually. People know I am not Italian and my horrible American accent doesn’t do me any favors. BUT you can’t avoid it forever if you are living in non-English-speaking country. Eventually you are going to have to learn basic conversation, otherwise you won’t be able to go grocery shopping haha. It’s not as scary as it sounds. Most people are forgiving and will speak slowly/try to help you in some way — and if they aren’t nice, you won’t know anyway because you won’t understand so it’s a win-win lol. If there’s one thing I have learned from living abroad is to stop caring so much about what people think. What other people think of you is none of your business.

That leads me to my last point:

• Be confident in yourself!

A lot of people ask me: How do you have the confidence to move overseas, put yourself out there, etc… Let me tell you a secret: I don’t. Moving abroad scared the crap out of me. The culture shock, the language, my clothes, the new job, missing my loved ones, and more — but I have to remind myself that the people that surround me are also human and everyone is just trying to figure their own shit out no matter where I live. I am still in the process of learning this and I find it especially hard to remind myself of this in the workplace (being fresh out of school and less experienced than basically everyone I work with)– I have never shriveled up and had this much trouble being confident in my life! But what I have learned is having respect for yourself, holding your head high, and making eye contact goes a long way when interacting with new people, as well as your mental state! If you believe you can, then you probably can 🙂

I’d love to answer more questions, so please feel free to comment or shoot me a message on Instagram or via email! This is the first of many tips and tricks posts, but I felt these are the most immediate topics that people have.

I hope everyone is safe and doing well during these difficult times. We will get through this!!!

Ciao for now,

Chloe