#studied abroad in italy last summer
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bllk college au
a/n: my personal headcanons of how some of the bllk guys would survive in uni ゜✧*̣̩☽⋆゜
isagi
most likely majoring in exercise science
generally an average student all around, his strongest classes being anatomy and weakest being chemistry. surprisingly balances his soccer practices with his studies quite well!
definitely likes studying in groups - whether that be with his classmates or friends. though probably the type to also cram a few days before the finals. (pre test anxiety helps) he has a favorite study location at a small local café on campus
wouldn’t necessarily join a fraternity but wouldn’t say no to a party if a friend invited him - refrains from excessive alcohol drinking if it’s an unfamiliar crowd (last time it ended up with him waking up to a 'no ragrets' tramp stamp)
developed a small growth spurt after the first year - now standing at a gracious 5'11 height
rin
honestly, maybe majoring something in the STEM field like bioengineering
super strict about studying habits - he follows the pomodoro technique and generally averages around an A/A- in majority of his classes
likes to keep his distance and doesn’t have many close friends. keeps texts and convos super curt with classmates and refuses to give out his social media handles if they ask (he has like 10 followers lol)
after classes he tends to either go back to his dorm or the library to study. if he has soccer practice he usually finds himself doing assignments during small breaks. can totally seeing him studying to like edm (secretly a rave boy awakening?)
got to study abroad in Italy and France for a semester
nagi
combining both his interests of gaming and desire to not work as hard, he finds himself majoring in computer science (its def a hard major to others but in terms of working remote/hybrid in the future he takes it lol)
students are envious of him, the type to have photographic memory so all his test score are high marks without him really trying
probably accidentally got himself on the e-board of the video game club after beating everyone in a valorant tournament
like a cat, he likes to take naps and sunbathe during warmer weather. when its winter, you'll find him knocked out in the student lounge booths
he longboards to his classes - maybe even the type to have a remote controlled longboard if he's feeling extra lazy to move his legs
reo
he's the biggest business major stereotype you'll see - but in a good way. probably double majors in accounting and business admin, goes the extra mile and gets an MBA after undergrad.
loves hosting monthly parties at his apartment and often sends out over the top email invitations with an RSVP notice (he spends like all morning making it on canva)
is the type to always have an internship lined up for winter or summer break. by the time he graduates, his resume will probably be over two pages (the average student gets depressed after looking at his linkedin)
aside from soccer, he most likely picks up a water or winter sport on the side - something like water polo or skiing would be fitting
always surrounded by other finance bros (minus nagi), its like a never ending conversation of stocks and the state of the economy (gets irritated if asked but why cant we just print more money)
chigiri
he's def planning on going to physical therapy school! like isagi, he'll probably major in exercise science but with a track to PT school.
likes to pick out fun artsy classes for his electives - such as calligraphy, a ballroom dance class, and cooking (college doesn't have to be suffering)
spends most of his weekends working part-time as a physical therapy assistant at the campus health center. when he's not working, he likes to decompress with a sci-fi novel at the local café
adopts a black cat at the end of his first year, he tries to hid them under his bed whenever the floor's RA (resident assistant) does their monthly check-ins (he says the distressed meows are a new ringtone)
his music taste is bedroom pop and this dorm is def decorated as such. polaroids of his friends and family are pinned directly above his desk, fairy lights are attached on the ceiling in a zig-zag formation, and owns a record stand with tons of vinyls
bachira
probably comes in undecided and then picks a major after taking some required classes. he ends up majoring in cognitive science. (lowkey i feel like he would make a good therapist or researcher)
big mama's boy - weekly hour long facetimes with his mom, recalling what he's eaten, who he's hung out with, how classes are kicking his butt, etc. (leaving out the crazy stunts at parties)
frat guys love him, he's always down to pull a crazy hat trick whether that'd be jumping from the second floor window, trying to steal a traffic cone with campus police nearby, and just filming the latest wild tiktok trends (grimace shake? hes on the ground gurgling that shit out)
was so excited at the beginning of the year of potentially joining different clubs and organizations, ended signing up for like 50+ that he doesn't even remember (his email notifications go crazy)
one outdoor club activity he does commit to, aside from soccer, would be extreme frisbee (those are a thing yes!), sometimes would go overboard and he crashes into other students on the grass field while trying to catch it
#blue lock#bllk#itoshi rin#bachira megumi#isagi yoichi#reo mikage#nagi seishiro#bllk college au#doobea writing#bllk x reader#blue lock x reader#blue lock imagines#blue lock headcanons#omg first post zzz#rin itoshi#chigiri hyoma
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My Captains Sister-Adam Fantilli
Chapter One
Summary: After returning from a study abroad Lucy Moyle develops a crush on one of her brother’s teammates.
Lucy Moyle had just returned to Michigan after spending the first half of her sophomore year abroad and could not be more excited.
She loved her experience and wouldn’t trade it for the world but she also missed her family including her older brother Nolan Moyle who is currently captain of the University of Michigan hockey team.
She came home mid December and spent the last few weeks with her family but with the second semester starting up it was time for her and Nolan to return to Michigan.
Her parents flew out with the two of them a few days before the start of the new year to help her move all of her stuff into Nolan’s house where she would spend the rest of her year living at and a few days later she was all set and her parents flew back home.
Nolan and her are pretty close and he too couldn’t be more thrilled to have his baby sister back in town and living with him.
———————————————————————
Lucy had just finished her last class of the day and begins walking back to Nolan’s house. It was about a 20 minute walk but she made it and notices a few cars outside.
She ignores it and walks inside to see a few guys sitting on the couch with Nolan watching TV she recognizes a few of them as Nolan’s teammates from last year but some are new faces.
“Hey Luce these are just some guys from the team” Nolan says when he realizes she’s come into the house.
“You know Keato and Ethan and Mark these are a few of of the freshman that’s Adam and Luca Fantilli and Gavin Brindley and that’s Rutger McGroarty” Nolan introduces while pointing out the freshman.
“Guys this is my little sister Lucy” Nolan says there’s a few hi’s and nice to meet you but nothing else
“Hey we’re just finishing up a game then we’re gonna walk to the sports bar and grab some dinner wanna join?” Nolan offers
“No thanks I got so much homework and I should probably work on it” Lucy says
“ok good luck on it” Nolan says as Lucy starts walking to her room and shuts the door.
Nolan takes a seat back on the couch next to Keato and Gavin.
“I didn’t know you had a sister” the oldest Fantilli chirps
“ya she just got back she was studying abroad last semester” Nolan says he gets a few nods and then looks over at a few of the freshman who are sitting on the opposite couch “but she’s off limits so don’t even think about it” Nolan adds in a more serious tone.
A few of the freshman nod and put their hands up saying they got it and Nolan accepts it and the group goes back to enjoying the game.
Near the end of the game Adam gets up to refill his glass of water in the kitchen and finds Lucy as she’s filling up her water bottle.
“Hey Adam right” Lucy says
“Ya that’s me” Adam responds
“Nolan told me you played on the world Junior team for Canada you got the gold right?” Lucy asks
“ya ya I did it was an amazing experience” Adam smiles
“that’s seriously awesome!”
“Ya and I heard you just got back from study abroad how was that experience?” Adam asks
“it was amazing we went to like 7 or 8 countries around Europe it was fantastic”
“what was your favorite place?”
“my favorite was probably Italy I loved the culture and scenery”
“Really cool I have family in Italy and we went to visit for the first time this summer” Adam tells Lucy.
The two continue in a conversation about Italy for around 5 minutes before Keato walks in
“Adam the game just ended you ready?�� He asks
“Ya all set” He says
“it was nice talking to you” Adam tells Lucy then tosses his plastic cup away and walks over to Keato.
“Don’t get any ideas Nolan is really protective about his sister” Keato warns
“We were just talking about studying abroad” Adam says
“alright I’m just telling you” Keato says before they reach the rest of their group at the front door.
———————————————————————
The following weekend the Wolverines hockey team had a two game home stand against the Wisconsin Badgers which they won by 3 on Friday.
Lucy went to the game on Saturday night with a couple of her friends and after the wolverines won 7-2 her friends asked if she wanted to go to a party with them.
Lucy although not usually the party type agreed and headed back to their place.
She was already wearing a pair of black ripped jeans and borrowed and blue top from her friends before the headed out.
She sent a text to Nolan letting her know where she was going to and he responded with be careful. She rolled her eyes at his protectiveness and entered the party.
Her friends got her a truly and they all made their way to the dance floor. After about 20 something minutes Lucy had finished her first can and gotten another fruity flavored truly.
Half way through her second Lucy had started to feel the buzz kicking in and felt a little nauseous.
“Hey I’m gonna be right back” she told her equally drunk friends as she stepped off the dance floor.
She made her way closer to the drink table and steadied herself with the wall.
“Lucy you ok?” A voice asks her from behind she turns around and sees the youngest Fantilli standing their with a red solo cup in his hand. “Adam” She says
“hey” she continues
“are you ok?” He repeats
“ya ya I’m I’m great!”She tells him taking another sip of her drink
“are you here with somebody?” Adam asks
“ya ya my friends are right on the dance floor” Lucy says pointing to the crowd of people
“alright just be safe tonight ok” Adam tells her she nods her head and watches as he walks away in the opposite direction of her.
Lucy shakes her head at the feeling of awkwardness that conversation gave her and takes another sip of her drink before heading back to the dance floor to find her friends.
The group of girls continue dancing and soon Lucy finished her second drink and had another one in her hand. A few sips in she starts to feel dizzy and before she can process what’s happening she’s being carried out of the party and is sitting outside the house on the sidewalk.
“Hey here’s a water” Someone says
“thanks” a second voice says
“should we call Nolan?” The first one asks
“ya ya we should I’ll stay with her” she hears footsteps retreating as her head tries making sense of what’s happening
“Lucy hey it’s Adam you need to drink some water” the second voice says her vision starts to clear and she sees him sitting next to her holding her up with an open water bottle in his hand. 
Lucy reaches out with her cheeks red and gently takes the bottle from his hand brushing up against his hand. Lucy takes a few sips of the cold water and shivers.
“Here take my jacket” Adam says taking off the black jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders.
Lucy starts to feel this tingling sensation inside of her stomach and something comes over her as she looks up at Adam and wraps her arms around him then plants her lips on him. It takes a second for the shock to set in but he kisses her back. Soon the world goes silent and the two of them sit there kissing.
“What the fuck!” A voice shouts the two break out of the kiss immediately and see a not so pleased Nolan who starts getting out of the white vehicle he pulled up in.
Adam immediately takes in the situation while it takes Lucy a few extra seconds to realize what exactly just occurred. “Nolan I I didn’t it’s not not what you think she she kissed me and it just happened I promise” Adam defends himself to his extremely pissed off captain while starting to get up.
Luca Fantilli who had called Nolan in the first place gets a good view of the situation from afar and starts rushing over to cool it down but doesn’t make it in time to prevent Nolan from sucker punching Adam in the jaw and then proceeding to rip the jacket off of his younger sisters shoulders and throwing it towards his bleeding teammate.
Luca checks on Adam as he sees Nolan practically drag his younger sister to the passenger seat of his white car and then drive off leaving the two brothers on the sidewalk.
When the pair of siblings arrive back at their shared home. Nolan practically carries a still drunk Lucy to her room and tucks her into bed before angrily shutting the lights and slamming the door.
———————————————————————
Meanwhile the Fantilli brothers had taken an Uber back to their shared dorm and the oldest Luca had some words to say about his brothers taste in make out partners.
“Dude” is the first thing to come out of Luca’s mouth when they step into their room.
“Don’t dude me” Adam says with a scoff
“You don’t go after someone’s sister come on man everyone knows this” Luca continues
“You literally dated Rutgers sister and she kissed me!” Adam yells
“That’s different Rutger literally set us up and Nolan explicitly said his sister is off limits! And you go and kiss her!”
“So I should’ve left her drunk on the side of the road called Nolan and been like hey your sisters drunk come get her and gone back to the party right” Adam says sarcastically
“No but you still totally fucked up like what we’re you thinking?” Luca raises his voice a little
“Right now I’m thinking I really wishing I was drunker because anything would be better than having this conversation with you!” Adam yells grabbing his keys off of his desk and walking out of the room.
———————————————————————
The next morning Lucy Moyle wakes up with a massive headache and no memory of the night before then proceeds to roll out of bed still in her clothes from last night.
She walks out of her room to see her brother who’s doing homework in the kitchen.
“Good morning” She says forgetting the events that occurred last night
“it’s noon” Nolan harshly replies
“geez what’s got you in a mood” she comments
“do you not remember what happened last night?” Nolan says in a louder tone
“no not really but I do have a headache so can you keep your voice down” She says walking to the medicine cabinet to grab two Advil
“how about I refresh your memory you got drunk at a frat party and Adam and Luca took you outside, Luca called me to pick you up and when I get there you’re making out with Adam!” Nolan yells Lucy’s face pales and her eyes open wide
“No I didn’t” Lucy asks appalled by the news of her drunken actions
“oh my god I have to apologize” Lucy says and starts rushing to her room only to be pulled back into the kitchen by Nolan
“Absolutely not!” Nolan raises his voice still with a firm but not painful grip on Lucy’s arm Lucy winces at the harsh tone
“Nol it wasn’t his fault! It was mine please I need to apologize” Lucy defends
“No you are not to see or speak to Adam again!” Nolan says Lucy rolls her eyes
“I mean it Lucy! You better stay the hell away from Adam!” Nolan says before walking towards his room and slamming his door.
A/N All images are from Pinterest
#umich hockey#feel free to interact#luca fantilli#adam fantilli#fantilli brothers#nolan moyle#umich#overprotective brothers#Adam fantilli story#my captains sister#come send in ideas
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Yay tag game time!!!! Thank you @borntogayz and @ravenrage27 <3333
what color are your eyes?
Medium brown?
tell me about your pets. or your dream pet.
THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, MY TEENY TINY LITTLE CAT HONEY!!!! She's a total coward, I love her more than anything in the world. I adopted her at six months old <3333
share some interesting fact about yourself.
My go-to fun fact is that I won a FIFA medal when I was in my teens, but a vaguely more recent fun fact is that I was almost deported from Japan during my study abroad after being PROFILED AS A DRUG DEALER????
what was the first fandom you were a part of?
Visual Kei in like, 2011? After that was Dan and Phil (shame, shame)
do you have any phobias?
Not a phobia per se, but I couldn't touch cardboard for most of my life; I still can't bring myself to touch Styrofoam and Sherpa. Oh, and the national alarm systems/automated alarm voices make me cry/physically ill.
are you a picky eater? if so, what food can't you stand?
Not really! I'll try anything once, at least. But, unfortunately, most nigiri or sashimi -- the texture of raw fish doesn't work for me.
do you eat the burger and fries at the same time? or one after another?
One after another, but the fries are going in a milkshake whenever possible.
winter or summer?
Winter!!!! I'm too sweaty for summer and it sucks!!!!
what fanfiction tropes are your favorite?
SWEET FLUFFY STUPID AUS!!! Coffee shop AUs? Bookstore related AUs? College/University AUs? Inject them directly into my bloodstream.
are you studying or working? what did you study, what is your job?
I work full time! I'm a data analyst/UI sort of mess.
what is the last country you visited?
Italy, 2018 (jesus christ has it really been that long?? changing this asap)
what country would you want to move to after retiring?
Hmmm maybe somewhere in Scandinavia? I haven't thought much about this.
who was your first crush?
I think Bill Kaulitz when I was like, 11. Strong start.
how did you get into f1 fandom?
I looked up f1 tags on AO3 as a """""""joke""""""" one time, then realized f1blr existed after devouring all the sebchal available to me. And now I'm here, thriving.
Idk who hasn't been tagged!!! maybe @ocontraire, @jennarations, @albonoooo, @creabirds???
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blaise zabini headcanons because he’s my second favourite
his favourite colour is warm deep orange, like dark/burning honey
born in italy but his mother owns a home in england as well
spends most of his summers abroad in his family home, but he and his mother travel a lot
doesn’t really care about his many stepfathers bcs he’s used to them dying pretty quick
his mother doesn’t even directly kill most of them they’re just super old
everyone just assumes she did because. well. seven of them
she might like. not clean up water spills or leave random potions in the fridge or wtv but she’s just prompting chance tbh
it leaves them with a lot of money and blaise with complicated feelings about relationships
he’s never seen one last that long so he doesn’t really expect them to
lots of people flirt with him and people think he’s a womaniser because he doesn’t shut it down
he doesn’t actually sleep around or date that much though. dating seems like too much effort for something he doesn’t see as long-term, and he has exams n shit
tries hard to achieve but tries just as hard to keep that under wraps
does his best to make everything look effortless. like he’ll study but only alone in the dorms, and he’ll have a fancy skincare routine that he hides from everyone
like he’s arrogant but makes sure he can back it up, he will Not be caught doing worse than someone else
most of the people in his house r big name families from england who have their legacy and fortunes behind them. image is important to him because he has to prove himself and he doesn’t have the ties and influence his peers had before they could even talk. let’s be real basically everyone is cousins somehow in pure blood britain and he doesn’t have that connection with everyone
he still has the wealth and the legacy but not the recognition
doesn’t like draco that much bcs he thinks he can’t back his ego, he tries too hard very visibly and it irritates blaise
that absolute mass of hair gel in first year can be cited as an example. so much noticeable excess to seem professional with his slicked hair when it just looked like a helmet
really likes quidditch, but he prefers playing to watching. he likes watching it too but there’s something different about participating, being able to directly affect the outcome of something
extremely competitive
not above cheating but is subtle about it. no stealing chess pieces but he might look over your cards at poker, or shuffle a specific way if he’s the dealer
if he gets caught he gets defensive and denies denies denies, it’s like his least favourite thing ever because it’s like a show of intelligence to not get caught, and it just causes pointless annoying arguments
the majority of his housemates r cheating too so it’s not like anyone cares beyond ‘screw over whoever u like but you fucked over Me Specifically and i don’t like that’, but that’s still annoying to deal with
high standards for everything, from his food to his clothes to his stationary, especially to himself
has very neat handwriting and is proud of it
quite likes vertical stripes but doesn’t wear them often
HATESSS sudoku with a burning passion
likes crime novels and is pretty fond of romance, but he doesn’t tell anyone about the latter
judgemental in the ‘nice to ur face but will talk shit behind your back’ kind of way
it’s not that he won’t defend himself or be clear when he hates u, it’s just that he doesn’t see the value in isolating his peers by insulting them in front of them
that’s a very bad strategy for getting influence
ppl are never sure if he likes them or not
outwardly suave and works hard to look nonchalant, but if he’s close to someone he lets himself relax and be a bit more playful
surprisingly decent at divination but still refuses to go anywhere near the class
pretty good at charms
his hair was pretty long in fourth year but he had it cut short again for fifth
absolutely hates comc he would rather burn than deal with creatures
he loves his owl and that is it
his mother is nicknamed the black widow due to all the dead husbands. ironically blaise is terrified of spiders. and insects. and anything that scuttles
used to have a gap tooth and was very insecure until he got it magically fixed
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Ogni Parte È Viva (Every Part Is Alive)
by: @euphorial-docx
Chapters: 35
Words: 142,421
Ship: Regulus Black/James Potter
Rating: Explicit
Summary:
During the summer of 1979, Regulus Black lives with his uncle, Alphard, and other Black family pariahs in the outskirts of Trieste, Italy.
When his older brother Sirius, who’s been studying abroad in America, returns for summer break with his university friends, the last thing Regulus expected was to be swept up in a furtive romance with his brother’s new best friend.
#fic rec#jegulus fic rec#cmbyn inspired#hurt/comfort#angst and fluff and smut#black family#jegulus#ao3#fanfic#james potter x regulus black#james x regulus#absolutely adore this fic#marauders fic rec#background wolfstar#jewish black family#bittersweet ending#zomebieboyrecs
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Madrid Week 7: Viva Italia (not america..?)
Hola a todxs :). Niko back here again with week 7’s blog of my study abroad experience in Madrid! Like I mentioned in last week’s blog, this last weekend I traveled to Italy, and this past weekend I was in Sevilla, Spain. My trip to Italy was particularly transformative and jam packed with personal reflection. Read on for the reflection, stay for the photos (and Italian food p*rn). This blogpost probably took the longest for me to write, and was honestly pretty difficult for me to put in words. I hope I captured my thoughts well, and I always welcome feedback and discussion to any and all readers (at any point in time!).
Argentina (but aren’t we talking about Italy?)
As I’ve mentioned before, the summer after freshman year, I studied for 6 weeks in Buenos Aires, Argentina. One particular weekend, I took a trip to Iguazu Falls — the largest waterfall in the Americas by volume, and one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.
Long story short, I got onto a tour bus with a bunch of strangers from around the world, drove 15 hours across Argentina to get to the falls, randomly selected hostel room groups based on who was sitting nearby on the bus, and ended up in a group with 4 girls from Mexico, my travel buddy from the USA, and 1 girl from Italy.
We spent a wonderful weekend together seeing the waterfalls (barring a short-lived but intense spout of food poisoning after eating something funky at a Brazilian buffet), and formed the foundation of what could turn into lasting friendships. But, come Monday, we parted ways, not sure whether we would ever see each other again.
This trip was the first time I went into a travel situation without a true support system, and an important exercise in “trusting in the process” — and It helped me realize that I was capable of forming meaningful connections across language barriers, cultures, and in un-traditional social situations.
If it wasn’t obvious already, you might be able to see where this little backstory fits into my recent trip to Northern Italy. Before I departed for Spain in January, I sent a text to Gaia — the Italian friend I met in Iguazu — that I would be in Europe for the semester, and would love to see her at some point if the logistics work out.
Now we actually talk about Italy
Flash forward a few months, and well, the logistics worked out. Although our original plan was to go skiing in a small village in the Alps, we ended up being unable to due to weather issues. Instead, Gaia, her friend Camilla, and I took a tour of Northern Italy, visiting Turine, Asti, Moncalvo, and Milan.
In a way, this trip was an even bigger exercise in trust — although this time, it was my gut I was trusting, not the process. I hadn’t seen Gaia in nearly 2 years, and the only other time we had met lasted just 3 short days. I was about to spend another 3 days with her — but this time, nearly every waking moment would be spent together.
For some reason, the thoughts of “what if we didn’t get along?”, “what if it was awkward?”, “what if we got on each other’s nerves?” — normal things to think in this situation — never crossed my mind. I trusted my gut: that Gaia was someone that I got on with in the past, and I had a feeling that the people we grew into over the past two years would mesh just as well.
So, I didn’t worry. And I was right not to. After a short period of hesitancy, we clicked. We spent the weekend learning about each other — both from a personal and cultural point of view.
And by the end of this trip, I felt culturally enriched. There’s a level of cultural intimacy (is that a term? Well now it is, I just coined it) that can only be experienced by being someone who has lived and breathed that culture for their whole life — something that I feel like I’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing in my own heritage, first or second-hand.
A short aside on heritage in the USA
Ethnically, I am half Italian, half Greek. My great grandparents immigrated to the USA from the south of Italy through Ellis island, raising my grandmother, who gave birth to my mom. 4 generations later, I feel more comfortable calling myself Italian-American than Italian.
My mom’s side of the family was raised in northern New Jersey. I was raised Roman catholic, and I have 11 first cousins. Family gatherings are loud and boisterous, and people talk with their hands. My grandmother makes delicious Italian cookies called Pizzelles, and we call dish towels Mopinas (which isn’t even in the italian dictionary — it must have evolved on its own. Call it Englitalian [Italinglish? Coined.] ).
And that’s about all I’ve got to hold onto of Italian culture. Although I have more contact with Greece through the Orthodox Christian community and my direct-immigrant grandparents, I’ve never felt particularly connected to either culture. I don’t speak either language, and up until this past summer (when I visited Greece), I’d never been to either country.
People from the United States of America — especially, I think, those in the Northeast — place emphasis on their ethnic heritage that those from other countries around the world do not. Ask an American, and they’ll probably know where their blood comes from — if the records of their ancestor’s immigration do exist. Ask an Italian, or a Spaniard, and they probably will not. Odds are, in fact, that their blood will be just that: Italian, or Spanish.
The USA is a country built on immigrants, and it continues to be so to this day — and to me, it somehow feels wrong to not know anything about your cultural background.
This is a weirdly complex topic — one that I’ve thought about a lot —but bear with me here (and keep in mind, this is all from my personal point of view, and I welcome all new perspectives! Feel free to send me a message to discuss🙂). I think that, in the more liberal sphere of American adolescents, it’s almost “bad” to not know anything about your heritage — especially among white people, which is a label that I identify with. The USA has done a lot of messed up stuff in the world, and I think this is true to an extent that young Americans feel a desire to distance themselves from their nationality.
Instead, we grasp on to what we have that sets us apart from it — where our parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents come from. It gives us something to point to in conversations, something that lets us say “see, look, I’m not just a white-washed American, I’m cultured”, something to help us feel like we have more depth — especially in a country where everything feels like it comes from something else.
This is why I mentioned above that this is more common in the Northeast — although I can only truly speak on what I’ve experienced in Northern Virginia and in the University of Michigan. When I think of the term “melting pot”, I think of places like New York City. Southern states, and perhaps those in the West, have developed a culture that feels more unique, more distinctly American, and this is why (from my outside perspective) it seems like something more people feel proud of and claim as their own.
As I mentioned, this perspective comes from personal experience. And this is all something I’ve felt as a white American, at least 2 generations removed from my “mother countries”. After spending a weekend in Italy, I finally got a piece of that contact that I had always craved.
Italo-
Italian culture is just that — uniquely italian. Food, history, architecture, art — not only is it unique, but it is rich. From the first day that I spent with Gaia and Camilla, it was apparent that they felt a deep connection, pride, and understanding of their culture — and this is something that they graciously and enthusiastically shared with me.
I now have a greater — albeit limited — understanding of what it means to be Italian, in Italy. I learned about Italian espresso, when to have it (spoiler alert — any time of day is game), how to prepare it, and how it tastes. Some of my favorite moments of the trip were peacefully spent over the breakfast table in Gaia’s home, enjoying a light carb heavy breakfast and freshly brewed coffee.
We ate simple, delicious food at every restaurant we went to. The food was less extravagant than I expected it to be. Most of the meals were simple, with a focus on the ingredients and their preparation. Pastas, pizza, Milanese, Ragu, more pasta. Tiramisu, and gelato, too.
We had a night out — first to aperitivo, then to dinner, then to a bar that was built in an old desecrated church, then to a cheesy karaoke bar where the whole place was singing old Italian songs at the top of their lungs — with a group of 12 in Gaia’s hometown, which was made up of friends stemming from her high school days. The biggest difference between the Italian dinner party and an American one — we took our time. There was a feeling of ease at the table. Nothing was rushed. We enjoyed each dish, each glass of wine, and over everything, enjoyed each other’s company. The focus was on the people and the conversation, not on what was to be ordered and how fast it came out. I hope to bring this rhythm back to Ann Arbor with me (but that may be more difficult than I think. See footnote 1 below*).
We explored multiple Italian cities, and walked a TON. I learned an interesting perspective of Milan (which was a beautiful city) from Camilla’s boyfriend — Milan is Italy to Europe, and Milan is Europe to Italy. (See footnote 2**). The architecture was beautiful, and after a rainstorm, Milan looked magical. The ground was sparkling, reflecting the dramatically lit buildings of the city center in the puddles that gathered on the ground. I saw the Italian countryside, picturesque rolling hills backdropped by an epic sunlit cumulo-nimbus cloud.
I even learned a base of the Italian language (I probably said “Come si dice” 100 times) that will serve me well if and when I want to learn it in the future — or if I ever get my Italian citizenship and decide to move there. Guess only time will tell.
-americano
3 days is not a long period of time, but I can confidently say now that I understand a little better what it means to be Italian. I feel more connected to my cultural heritage — and in turn, I feel more connected than ever to my native culture in the USA.
It’s true that the USA has done a bunch of messed up stuff in the world. Imperialism, war crimes, political and economical extortion — the list goes on. But the longer I spend in Europe — the more I come into contact with different cultures, and understand foreign perspectives on the USA — the less these things feel like they’re inside a black box. Instead of avoiding these hard truths, I can face them head on — allowing me to acknowledge the bad and the good that comes with US culture.
A big critique I’ve heard abroad is that the United States has no culture of its own — but I don’t think that’s true. The USA is a place where global cultures collide, providing its citizens the opportunity to experience bits and pieces of the world and giving rise to unique elements born from this fusion.
Over the past 2 months, I’ve slowly shifted away from the feeling of shame that comes with being an American in Europe — and that’s thanks to a willingness to learn, adapt to, and accept cultures that I experience while I’m abroad (re: cultural humility, blogpost coming soon). Now, I’ll proudly say that I’m 50% Greek, 50% Italian, and 100% American. With my continuously evolving understanding of my individual parts (and all of the other cultures I come into contact with, especially Spain), I feel like I can better understand and contribute to that fusion, both in the melting pot of the United States, and as an international citizen in Europe — enriching the lives of myself and those I come into contact with.
Such is becoming “cultured” — a concept that has a bit of a pretentious connotation (IMO), but is worth striving for. I’ll be returning to Italy for spring break (Rome, Florence), so hopefully I’ll continue to develop this connection then. I also bookmarked in Google maps here all the places I visited in Italy this trip (and will do so in the next one) if you're considering taking a trip and want recommendations!
I planned on writing about Sevilla this week too, but I think this post has gone on long enough. I thoroughly enjoyed the different vibe it has from Spain, even through the rainy weather we experienced.
As always, check out the image descriptions for more details on each one. I hope everyone has a great rest of their week, and see you back here next soon!
Hasta luego,
Niko Economos
Aerospace Engineering
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Madrid, Spain
* In Italy, and the rest of Europe, servers get paid fair wages. In the USA, it’s not required, because it’s expected that servers will make up the difference in tips. I worked as a server for 2 summers, and made $3.50 an hour. The amount of money I made in a night was directly correlated to the number of tables I turned over. As a result, I did my best to get orders in fast, food out faster, and clear the table as quickly as I could so that I could make more money. Until this fact changes, I think it’s hard to have the same no-rush Italian experience over dinner unless you’re really conscious of it. Personally, if I’m not feeling pressure from a server to leave quickly, I’m likely feeling a sense of guilt for staying too long and reducing their nightly wage, no matter how well I tip. Maybe home cooked meals are the answer, which I’ll hopefully be well practiced with next semester :)
**To Europeans, they look at Milan and see what they think of Italy. The world capital of fashion, beautiful architecture, prosperous and well known city. Italians look at Milan and see what they think of as Europe —highly international, intercultural, and as a result more gentrified and expensive. I found this to be really interesting. Is there a US city that fits this bill?
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What is UP homies
Somehow find myself here every few months. It’s been a sec. Updates!
-have finally found myself (dare I say it?) enjoying law school again for the first time since…the beginning (lolz)
-my class is graduating in may but alas I will be done in december since I took time off but absoLUTELY no regrets on that
-AND instead of spending my summer studying for the bar I will be spending six weeks in europe 😍😍😍 10 days of a lil trip with jared’s fam and then doing a law study abroad program in italy for a month 😍😍😍😍😍😍
-have been a FIEND for SJM books since mid december. Read all of ACOTAR. All of CC. And now halfway through TOG. Incredible!!!!!
-theo is perfect as per usual (duh)
-have been to berkeley, colorado, and seattle in the past two months. lots of moving around.
-last weekend when I was in seattle it was just a friend trip not a jared trip and ugh it’s so fun to travel with your pals sometimes??? So many laughs. And my first concert since like…pre covid?? Im not even sure who the heck knows anymore. What is time
Feeling kinda…good??? What the fuck lol
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Just Take Me Home - Tia Kofi x La Grande Dame, Plane Jane x Nymphia Wind Summer in Italy college abroad AU
FIRST CHAPTER OF OUR NEW FANFIC, JUST TAKE ME HOME, IS NOW POSTED.
Dada fled to Italy from France when she was only 16. She wouldn’t meet the hilarious, corny Jane and quiet, reserved Gothy for another two years. This would be their third summer together guiding a group of college kids around Italy before they studied abroad.
Dada just wanted to get the tour over with, like always. Jane just wanted everyone to call her Plane. Gothy just didn't want to crash the bus. But instead they were met with Crystal, who just wanted to smoke on balconies. Nymphia, who just wanted to take cute insta pics. And Tia, who just wanted to enjoy time not spent in her suffocating hometown…
And she figured Italy would be the perfect place for a summer fling.
-
“I swear to god it was like something out of a fucking movie,” Tia giggled. In the front of the bus, Jane gave Dada her signature knowing look. Dada met her eyes, shaking her head.
“Any idea what they’re talking about?” Jane asked, brow cocked.
“Shut up, Jane.” Dada looked back to see Tia, head leaned against the window, blushing as she gushed to Crystal and Nymphia in a hushed voice. They sat next to her, expressions changing from dropped jaws to giddy smiles. Dada looked back at Jane, smiling. “She’s talking about me.”
A03 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55522132/chapters/140904223
Chapter one
solar power - perugia
come on and let the bliss begin
…
For Tia, August couldn’t come soon enough. Essex summers were always dull, the sun refusing to shine to its fullest potential. She was exhausted from ducking her head in stores, desperately avoiding the familiar faces of old classmates and coworkers. She was sick of Sunday dinners with insensitive family members who always had something terrible to say. There was something about England that diminished whatever light Tia had.
Maybe that’s why she applied for the semester abroad program at her University. She reasoned that since it was her final year, it would be her last chance. Not to mention the program would take Tia to Italy, one of the most beautiful countries in the world. It would all somehow end and start at the same time. The hiding, the sun always masked by clouds, the constant stares, it would all be over. But just as that all ended, Tia would be on a flight to Italy. Her family hated the idea, she knew they would, but Tia explained she would be home in time for Christmas. In the end, her parents knew there was nothing they could do, they always knew that about Tia. So they drove her to the airport, wished her luck, then left. And Tia almost wished it was harder to say goodbye.
July ran away from Dada. The days bled through the nights, the nights blended with the dawns, and before she knew it, she, Jane, and Gothy were packing their car for Perugia. She swore time had moved slower just last April when it refused to turn into May. She hated leaving San Martino Sul Fiora, the little town she had come to call home over the past four years, the Paris skyline and bustling streets replaced with rolling Tuscan hills and sweet Italian wine, the ringing laughter of her roommates. She dreaded saying goodbye to them just to waste her last month of summer showing the busiest, most touristy spots of Italy to loud University kids who never listened.
Dada met Jane and Gothy one of the first nights they had arrived in Italy, having to order drinks at the bar for them because they were too anxious to ask the mean Italian bartender in English. The night somehow ended with Jane convincing Gothy and Dada to join her tour guide company.
“Come on sisters, I know you’re overstaying your visits in Italy. You don’t need to be tracked like that.”
It actually wasn’t the worst idea, they weren’t the most unqualified people in the world. Or at least Gothy wasn’t. She had learned to drive the big tour buses in the Lakes District when she was just sixteen, needing to help her dad out when he broke his foot. It was very illegal, but the tourists turned a blind eye, thinking it was all some part of the European experience. But she was damn good at it, and kept doing it every summer until she moved to Italy.
As for Dada, she had visited Italy every summer during her childhood, staying with her grandmother at her vineyard in San Martino Sul Fiora. Her and Gothy made the mistake of telling these stories to Jane, who immediately told them to come work with her, that her company was hiring.
“Honestly it would just be nice to work with someone who can actually speak Italian. At least a little bit. Even if it’s in a very hard to understand French accent. And you’re so tall you could be like our bodyguard,” Jane looked up at Dada with begging eyes. And she just couldn’t say no.
While being a tour guide for a group of rowdy college kids was pure torture, they were okay at it, and it made them good money. This was the third summer Jane gently approached Dada and Gothy, asking if they wanted to be hired for another August, prepared for rejection. Every year Gothy said yes without hesitation. Dada always eventually agreed, but she always dreaded it.
“If you hate it, then stop signing up,” Jane muttered toward Dada as they loaded their final bags into the trunk of their shared car, Bianca.
“Oh shut up,” Dada laughed. “Gothy hates it too.”
“Yes, but I’m not bitching until I have something to bitch about,” Gothy explained.
“I’ll give you both something to bitch about,” Dada muttered under her breath.
“What was that?” Jane asked, daring eyes looking up at Dada, who towered over her.
“Nothing. We should go to bed. We wake up early tomorrow, and everyday for the next fucking month.” Jane headed to the front door without another word. Dada appreciated the stillness of the street for just a moment, knowing the next month would not include quiet moments like this.
Tia knew she made the right choice when the train entered the city. If she was being honest, the airport made her skeptical. But as soon as she saw the dark, deep, arched buildings and buzzing squares, she felt as the movie began to write itself. Finally, the best part of this semester-abroad program, the month-long tour of Italy.
On the train ride into Perugia Tia sat next to a girl in a yellow hoodie with pin straight long black hair. She was going to the same University in Perugia for the abroad program and said she was from Taiwan. Tia hadn’t gotten her name, but she seemed like she could be cool.
Professors from local colleges met with the tour group once they arrived at the hotel.
“After you all get settled, we have a scavenger hunt for you to do in groups. But feel free to treat this as a self-guided tour of the city. First team to complete the scavenger hunt, or the team with the highest score wins a bottle of wine per group member.” Tia’s eyebrows raised at the prize, suddenly hoping for a good team. A different professor started listing groups. Names Tia didn’t recognize started to leave her mouth in spurts of 3.
“Tia Kofi, Nymphia Wind, Crystal Methyd,” The professor read out. Tia looked around, not sure exactly what or who for. Her eyes fell on the girl from the train who was also looking around confused. Catching each other's eye, they began to walk towards the other.
“Tia?” The girl asked.
“Yes, Crystal?”
“No, ha- I’m Nymphia,” she laughed.
“I wonder where Crystal is?” Tia asked, Nymphia shrugged.
“Hope she’s not lost,” she joked. Tia chuckled, but kept a lookout for another confused face. Eventually, a student with a head full of dark brown curls and clear rimmed glasses approached the two of them.
“You must be Nymphia and Tia, I’m Crystal,” she said weakly.
“Yeah, it’s nice to meet you, we thought you were lost for a minute there” Tia smiled. Crystal furrowed her brow, looking confused for a moment.
“Sorry, I’ve just said that to about 5 groups now so I was really prepared for rejection,” Crystal sighed. Tia and Nymphia both laughed, once again to Crystal’s surprise. The laughter dwindled into a slightly awkward silence. Tia cleared her throat.
“So listen, I don’t know about you guys but I want that fucking wine.”
“Oh, me too!! We are winning that wine. No way the scavenger hunt is that hard,” Nymphia agreed, looking at the scavenger hunt sheet.
“I’m down too, but that wine is for us three gals and us three gals ONLY!” Crystal declared.
“Deal.” Tia and Nymphia agreed. The three rushed to their rooms to drop off their luggage as fast as possible. As soon as Tia tripped over her suitcase while scrambling up the stairs and Crystal and Nymphia continued to drag her up, she knew that this summer would at least contain some element of adventure with those two.
-
Dada was right to bitch. This group was rowdy. That was to be expected, all things considered, but this group was exceptional. Despite there being about a dozen members in the group, Dada noticed each person had something to say and the means to say it. It was annoying. Jane adored it.
“The world is coming back, Dada,” she said, watching as the kids got assigned into groups of 3 from the bus window. Dada refused to pay attention.
“You’re so stubborn, it’s stupid.”
“They do this every year, Jane. What am I supposed to do, act surprised?” Dada challenged.
“But look, these groups are going to fucking cling together for the whole semester they’re in this shithole-”
“See! Ay! You agree it’s a shithole!”
“Yeah, Dada, but they don’t know that. Let the tourists have fun then we never see them again in a month. Okay?” Jane asked.
“Fine.” Dada lied. Jane turned back to the window. “Come look at these three,” she chuckled. “They’re going for the win.” Dada peered out the window and saw only vague figures and curly hair.
“Kids,” she tsked.
“They’re older than us,” Jane muttered.
“Oh, by two years, maybe. Still childish. And always trust fund babies.”
“Or they’re just having fun? I don’t know sister, you came to Italy for a reason. So did they. Just let them be,” Jane reiterated for the millionth time. Dada shut up, turning her focus out the window. The three girls began to gather their luggage in a hurry. Dada could hear them laughing as they sprinted towards the entrance. She let herself smile and for once, Jane hid hers.
-
To absolutely no one's surprise Tia, Nymphia, and Crystal won the bottles of wine. After spending approximately a minute throwing their luggage in their rooms, they began the scavenger hunt. Most groups took over an hour, but it only took them 45 minutes. Having some extra time before they met their guides, they headed back up to their hotel rooms.
“Huh, we’re all neighbors,” Crystal observed. Tia chuckled, they must not have even noticed when they were throwing their luggage in. As she settled into her hotel room, Tia took out her phone to text her family a picture of the bottle of wine. Soon enough, it was time to meet in the lobby.
It didn’t take Tia long to spot Nymphia and Crystal standing awkwardly in the corner of the room. She joined them.
“Look at our tour guide,” Nymphia whispered, darting her eyes to the front of the lobby. Three stood. One extremely tall, maybe as tall as Tia. She was pale and her hair, which was extremely long and straight, was platinum blonde. Her face was impossible to read with her heavily winged eyeliner. The other guide was an entire head shorter, with wavy dark brown hair. She was clearly excited to be there. The other was even shorter with long black hair in a slicked back bun, wearing a vacant expression.
“Which one? The hot one?” Tia asked.
“No, not the tall one, the medium one. I bet she sucks. I bet she’s the absolute worst,” Nymphia muttered, not tearing her gaze from Jane.
“I don’t know about that, but the tall one is literally the hottest person I’ve ever seen in my life. I think I’m scared of her,” Crystal joked.
“They’re all probably fine,” Tia said, unable to tear her eyes away from the tall, blonde tour guide.
-
Dada and Jane looked out at all the students in their tour group.
“Weird bunch..” Dada observed.
“Interesting bunch,” Jane corrected. “Jesus sister… you ready?”
“Yup.”
“Great. By the way, I’m trying out a new nickname, please respect it. Please. Alright. Here we go. HELLO! Hi! Hi, can I get everyone’s attention!” Jane called, holding up her hand. Just like that, Dada lost the last thing she knew. Because this trip even ruined Jane. Jane took the role of being a tour guide far too seriously, her hilarious bitchy self being taken over by the cringiest, most enthusiastic Karen-like tour guide. With that being said, it didn’t even mean she was a good tour guide. “Thank you! My name is Jane, but you guys can call me Plane. And this is Dada!” Dada waved.
“Hi. I’m Dada. I am your other tour guide,” she said shortly. “Jane I am not calling you that,” she added in a heated whisper. “This is Gothy, our wonderful bus driver,” Dada had a whisper of a smile on her face as Gothy gave the group a short wave.
“Why does everyone here have weird names?” Nymphia muttered to Tia. She couldn’t help but agree, but was still wondering where the hell these girls were even from . “Plane” (Obviously Jane) was definitely American… probably from Utah… Maybe New York if Tia was being nice. But that Dada girl… Tia wasn’t sure where her accent was from, she knew it wasn’t Italian… maybe she was German…?
“It’s nice to meet you guys. We will be your tour guides and keep an eye on you crazy kids while in the hotel,” Jane explained. Her and Dada took the next five minutes to run the group through all the boring information they were required to go over before turning them all back to their rooms.
“We leave early tomorrow! No sleeping in!” Dada called after the group. Gothy turned to smile at her.
“I do suppose it’s nice to be back.” Dada just shook her head and followed the group upstairs.
“You only have to drive them. I have to deal with the bullshit. Also, do not call Jane that horrible name. She is so dumb.” Gothy let out a laugh as they turned down the hallway.
In every hotel, it was the same set up. There would be a corridor sectioned off for the group and Jane, Dada, and Gothy would get the three rooms on the very end at the exit. There they would have to sit until 12am every night to make sure everyone made it in their room safely. It was easily the most annoying part of their job, but necessary due to privileged kids sneaking out then getting lost or mugged. Dada had just finished settling into her room when three girls rushed past her doorway.
-
“Okay you heard the boss, we’re leaving early tomorrow. I’m pretty sure the first activity of the day is at like 8 am,” Crystal began, her, Tia, and Nymphia standing in front of their bedroom doors. “So I’m drinking my wine tomorrow night, because the next morning we’re just driving to Florence. Would you ladies like to join me?” She asked, and Tia let out a giggle, putting a hand on Crystal’s shoulder.
“Is it too soon to say I love you?” Tia asked, feeling like she was at summer camp. Crystal grinned.
“No, it’s not too soon! I love you sister!!”
“You two are weird. But yeah, we’ll drink the wine tomorrow night. Now, goodnight. I’ll see you dorks in the morning,” Nymphia said, and to Tia it just sounded like I love you. The three girls parted their ways, each of them going into their respective hotel rooms. Tia and Dada both fell asleep that night, wondering what the next day could possibly bring.
-
A loud tapping on Tia’s door woke her up in the morning.
“Rise and shine sister! Today is the first day of the best summer of your life!” It was that Jane girl again, going down the hallway and waking everyone up. Tia prayed it wouldn’t be this way the whole trip, endless early mornings after restless nights, but something told her that it would be. Was this tour about to suck? Their tour guides were a couple of 20 year olds who weren’t even from Italy, Tia was older than them, she was probably more qualified to lead the tour. She stood up quickly and opened the door. “Morning!” Jane beamed.
Her hair was perfectly pulled into a high ponytail, no slut strands to be seen. She wore a high waisted khaki skort and a light blue polo 👕 t-shirt that was perfectly tucked in. Her sneakers were chunky and so white they probably reflected the sun. How long had she even been awake for?
“Morning…” Tia yawned, rubbing her eyes. “Oh! We got a heavy dozer on our hands!” Jane quipped. Tia swore she was shouting.
“What time is it?”
“Eight! We’re meeting downstairs in an hour, don’t be late,” Jane said before moving to the next door. Across the hall the other tour guide, what was her name again? Dada? was also knocking on doors across the hall.
“Wake up! First day of tour! I’m not going to stop knocking until you open this door!” Dada called, continuously rapping on the door. She heard a chuckle from behind her, and when she turned around all she saw was a head of curly dark hair with dyed auburn highlights ducking behind a door and closing it. Dada looked at the room number, it was one of those girls who won the wine. The tall one. She already knew the exact type of group member she would be; loud, enthusiastic, and naive. She would be emptying her wallet at any and every gift shop she passed. Yes, Dada knew this type of group member and they were nothing but pains in the ass.
The door in front of her finally swung open and there stood another girl from the wine winners. Her hair was a mess with heavy bags under her eyes.
“Why… do we have… to wake up… so fucking early…??” The girl, Nymphia was her name, whined.
“You’re on European time now,” Dada said with a smirk. “I suggest you get used to it or you’ll be miserable.”
“I think I’ll just be miserable,” Nymphia muttered, closing the door.
“Meet downstairs in an hour!” Dada called.
-
“Okay, we are only 30 minutes behind schedule and that’s okay! It’s really normal for groups to take some time adjusting to TOUR LIFE if you will! I remember on my first tour, it was the first night and I had NO IDEA what I was doing.”
“Talk about something else!” Nymphia called. Jane turned to Dada, a shocked look on her face.
“Just do the bit,” Dada shrugged as Gothy started the bus and pulled out onto the road.
“Okay! Moving on apparently! In case you missed it last night, my name is Plane and…” Jane held the microphone to Dada’s mouth.
“My name is too hard to pronounce, so you can just call me Dada.” She deadpanned. A few chuckles were heard throughout the bus.
“Kinky…” Dada tried not hear Nymphia giggling as Gothy reluctantly took the mic to speak.
“I’m Gothy, bus driver from the UK.” Jane was quick to continue on.
“I’m from America. I was born in Boston but took a gap year to come to Europe on a backpacking trip. When I made it to Italy, I fell in love and just… never left,” she explained before holding the microphone to Dada’s mouth again.
“…I am from France. I lived there then moved here. I am French, they are British and American, so naturally we are the best people to show you around Italy.”
So THAT’S where her thick accent was from, France, Tia realized with a grin. What was some French girl doing guiding them around Italy? It was then Dada first heard her bright laugh that cut through any room, any conversation. Her eyes flicked up to see the tall girl who ducked behind her door that morning. Dada tore her eyes away just as Tia met her gaze.
“We are just about at our first stop, The National Gallery of Umbria Art Museum. Take an hour wandering this beautiful museum and take in all that… art! Okay? Slay!” Jane said enthusiastically. Nymphia chuckled from beside Tia.
“Slay!” She mocked. Jane didn’t take offense though, in fact she grinned. Moments later they pulled up to the art museum and everyone began filing out of the bus. Tia couldn’t help but notice how Jane, Gothy, and Dada hung back, not leaving the bus.
“Are they not coming?” She asked, frowning.
“What? They’re not?” Nymphia turned, looking to see Dada and Jane both sitting on the bus stairs, passing a cigarette back and forth. “Whatever. They’d probably be annoying and make us read the plaques!”
“Ew… you’re probably right,” Tia agreed, though she didn’t believe that.
“Well I bet they’ve been come here thousands of times now,” Crystal supplied. “They probably won’t be with us for most of this stuff.”
“Well… that’s dumb. They should have to come, it’s their job!” Nymphia complained.
“I thought you didn’t like them?” Crystal challenged.
“I don’t. At all. But I still think it’s dumb. Tia gets it,” Nymphia said. Tia just shrugged, head turning back to see the tour bus in the distance.
-
“Well that was fucking stupid,” Nymphia huffed, walking out of the museum.
“It was a little boring,” Tia yawned. “Like, why were the lights so dim? And why did it feel like a church in there?”
“Exactly, Tia! You agree! You understand!” Nymphia laughed. Crystal just shook her head with a grin.
“Maybe if you read the plaques you would understand.”
“Boring…” they approached the bus, doors creaking open as Gothy opened them.
“Did you ladies have a blast?” Jane asked.
“No??? I almost fell asleep in there!” Nymphia said.
“What’s your name again?” Jane asked her.
“Nymphia. This is Tia, and this is Crystal.” Dada looked at the girl with the pretty laugh, Tia.
“Well, we’re going to a chocolate factory next. That sound better to you, Nymphia?” Jane asked, but with a hint of teasing in the back of her voice.
“A chocolate factory? We could’ve been spending all that time at a chocolate factory but we spent it at a dumbass museum?!”
The bus took off. It was a short drive to the chocolate factory, they honestly could’ve walked but Gothy wanted to get used to driving the bus around. Again, they dropped the tour group off without going with them. This time Dada noticed a glare from Nymphia, and a certain disappointment from Tia.
“How do they hate us already?” Dada asked, trying not to feel disappointed.
“Speak for yourself. That Nymphia girl likes me, I can tell,” Jane smirked, watching as the group walked away.
“I…I disagree, I don't think she does,” Dada chuckled lightly, Gothy joining in.
“Mark my words sisters. I can just tell,” Jane said, shaking her head.
“Whatever you say,” Gothy scoffed. When the group returned, they seemed in much higher spirits. Nymphia and Tia ran up onto the bus, smelling of cigarettes and rum balls.
“Hey! We have a problem with you two!” Tia exclaimed. Dada was shocked slightly, she hadn’t really heard Tia speak up yet.
“And what is that?” Dada responded calmly.
“You should have to come on the tours with us!” Nymphia exclaimed.
“Uhhh… why?” Jane asked, head cocked at Nymphia. Nymphia looked at her in disbelief.
“Because you’re our TOUR GUIDES. It’s your job.”
“Well, we’ll come with you to the next event, lunch!”
They drove to a small little restaurant for lunch, pushing tables together to fit everyone. “Okay, so now we wanna hear about you guys!” The group went around telling their names and some random facts about themselves. There were students from all around the world in their group, including a couple guys from Germany and some loud girl from Florida named Vanjie. She had to repeat her senior year of high school three times. And of course plenty more kids that Dada paid no attention to. Instead she zoned out, only coming back to reality when Tia spoke up.
“I’m Tia. I’m from England, uhh from Essex. I’m in my final year at Nottingham University. I came here to…” Tia suddenly was very aware of Dada’s eyes on her, lingering. Why was she so beautiful, so perfect? It was too intimidating. “Well I’ve been excited to do a semester abroad basically the second I learned what one was.”
Dada finally broke her gaze from Tia. They finished going around the group, learning that Crystal was from Missouri and Nymphia was from Taiwan.
“That’s so cool!” Jane exclaimed.
“Yeah. It is. And you’re not even joining us on the best part,” Nymphia said, arms crossed round her chest.
“You think the tour is the best part?” Jane asked, sincere. Nymphia rolled her eyes.
“Obviously. Apart from the tour we are literally just doing school but in a different country,” Nymphia shrugged.
“I’m honestly flattered, Nymphia.”
“Wasn’t a compliment to you.”
“Just for that, maybe I’ll consider joining you on tour. I can’t speak for Dada and Gothy, but maybe.”
“Yes!” Nymphia and Tia cheered together, knowing already that Jane and Dada were a package duo. And maybe Gothy would tag along too.
-
“You have no backbone, do you?” Dada hissed to Jane once they sent the group off to have free time.
“Oh come on, it's a little tour around Italy. And I said I’d consider it… Besides, I honestly don’t think this group can handle it alone…”
“Okay, that I understand but… god I just don’t want to go. They don’t really care anyway, you know that,” Dada whined.
“Then don’t go. Whatever. These girls care. And I think that’s adorable of them. And hot of Nymphia. So you can hang back, whatever, it’s fine,” Jane replied easily. Dada scoffed, Jane knew it wasn’t as simple as she made it sound.
Tia, Nymphia, and Crystal on the other hand were clueless.
“I… I don’t even want to move,” Nymphia whispered. They had found a wall to sit against, smoking a pack of Marlboro golds Tia had supplied.
“Yeah… but our asses are gonna start to hurt in about 20 minutes,” Tia sighed but grinned when Crystal asked;
“Do you girls smoke? Like- weed??”
“Oh thank fucking GOD!” Tia exclaimed. “I was really scared I was gonna have to find European weed all alone.”
“I haven’t smoked weed since I was abroad in American high school!” Nymphia laughed. “But I will join you girls.”
“Oh thank god! Three is such a good smoke circle!” Crystal cheered. They swapped stories from uni and frat parties, talking about different types of trouble they’d all gotten themselves into until Tia noticed as the street got busier. Checking the time she noticed it was 5pm. Wow. Tia was not expecting that at all, time really does fly. They all ran to meet Dada, Jane, and Gothy at the restaurant they were told to go to for dinner.
“You’re late,” Gothy observed as they scurried to sit with the rest of the group.
“Sorry, we lost track of time and-,”
“Don’t care. Just be lucky we haven’t ordered,” Dada said, not looking up at Tia. She didn’t know why she was being so cold. She just wanted to say SOMETHING to Tia, even if she was an asshole. Tia turned away, trying to shake the weight suddenly pressing on her chest and the heat rising to her face. Her hot tour guide already hated her, great, just what she needed for the perfect summer. Tia tried to focus in on conversations, but she kept her mouth shut. She felt stupid, wandering eyes always landing on Dada who was twirling a fork in her hand, talking to Gothy and only Gothy. Maybe Jane every now and then.
Tia begged for a joke she could piggy back on, or an opportunity for her to swoop in and show Dada that she wasn’t some loser, not that it mattered what she thought. Dada sat glancing across the table the whole dinner. Tia surely hated her and was probably laughing at her. Dada knew she was acting uptight, she always tried to hate the group members. But something about at least Tia felt different, Dada hated that she had to take a jab at her. She hated that she didn’t know how to apologize. She hated that she wanted to know her.
They finished their dinner and began a quick walk to where Gothy parked the bus. Dada tried to walk by Tia, hoping that a conversation would somehow start and she could show Tia she wasn’t some complete and utter asshole. Why she even cared, she didn’t know. Alas, opportunity never came and they boarded the bus. The drive to the hotel was short, and Dada found herself going to sit alone in her room, telling herself tomorrow would be easier.
-
“Okay ladies, who’s room are we drinking in tonight?” Crystal asked, a mischievous smile on her face.
“Mine! Or anyone’s I guess. They’re all identical,” Tia said.
“I already opened my bottle, don’t ask when,” Nymphia muttered.
“You know what, I won’t,” Tia laughed. The girls all grabbed their bottles and slipped into Tia’s room. “I googled it, these bottles are worth, like, a hundred dollars each. That’s crazy.” Crystal stood using a bottle opener found next to the ice bucket to work the cork out of their bottles.
“Literally why is this so fucking hard??? Nymphia, how did you do it?” Crystal asked, dropping the bottle opener helplessly. Nymphia walked up and fiddled with the bottle opener for a few seconds until the cork popped out. “Ha! You’re dumb!” She teased.
“How?!” Crystal asked, jaw dropped.
“I don’t know, I think I’m just better than you,” Nymphia shrugged, flipping her hair. Tia giggled as Nymphia opened the second bottle with ease.
“Thank you, Nymphia…” Crystal muttered.
“Okay! A toast!” Tia called out. “To the three best mother fuckers here!” Nymphia and Crystal cheered. They all clinked their bottles together before taking long swigs. The wine was dry but sweet and nothing like the shit they had back home. Tia drank some more, clearing just to the top of the label. When she looked back up, Crystal and Nymphia were laughing, so Tia naturally started laughing too.
“I think… I think it’s gonna be a good fucking semester,” Nymphia laughed, lips stained red from the wine.
“I’ll fucking drink to that!” Crystal giggled, tipping the bottle back and taking another drink. Tia cheersed Nymphia again and they all drank (chugged) the expensive wine. Crystal wiped her mouth and looked at Tia grinning. “Where are you from?” She asked.
“Oh- uh- England,” Tia said. Hadn’t they gone over that earlier today? Crystal chuckled.
“Yeah, I could tell you that just by looking at you. Where though? I watch Love Island, I know the different spots.” Tia drank again. She could’ve sworn she said where she was from today…
“Essex, just far enough from London,” she supplied.
“Oh– how is that?” Crystal asked excitedly.
“Shitty sometimes. There are good spots, though. Good moments,” Tia said. She took another drink, hoping it would take the attention off her. Crystal took a drink too. Nymphia had been quiet for a while now. Tia and Crystal seemed to notice and looked over at the same time. Nymphia had cleared a good amount of her bottle already and was just smiling at the ground. “Nymphia? You with us queen?” Tia asked, giggling. She looked down at her own bottle. Huh. She must’ve drank quite a lot of hers as well.
“You guys are funny,” Nymphia chuckled. Crystal gasped.
“Nymphia! Nymphia you are funny too!” She laughed.
“Guess where I live! Guess!” Nymphia demanded.
“Uhhhh… Taiwan,” Crystal guessed.
“Yes! How did you know?” Nymphia asked.
“I didn’t. I just guessed the place you told us you were from,” Crystal answered honestly with a grin..
“Oh, that makes sense,” Nymphia replied, then drank again. Tia’s chest was warm and her lips were stained red. When she looked up, Nymphia was still drinking, eyes closed.
If there was one thing Tia knew when she signed up to go to Italy, it was she would have to pick someone in her tour group to have a crush on. She just knew it would be unrealistic for her to go to Italy and not at least try to fall in love with any random woman who looked at her just right, it was lesbian vacation culture. Tia had already considered Nymphia the second she saw her on the train. That dark hair, those mysterious brown eyes, Nymphia was the blueprint for Tia’s vacation crush. But alas, after actually hanging out with her, Tia realized she and Nymphia were definitely going to be nothing more than friends. Tia couldn’t even be bothered with Crystal, who despite being absolutely gorgeous and hilarious, Tia had a feeling they were too different but somehow too similar... The only other two people she had really met were-
“Hello?” Said a voice from the other side of the door.
“Oh god, I’ll handle this,” Nymphia muttered, words slurring together. Standing on the other side of the door were Jane and Dada. “Oh shit, hey.”
“Wow. Strong smell of wine in here sisters,” Jane said.
“We won it fair and square,” Crystal defended. Tia sighed.
“It’s 11pm, you have one hour until quiet time,” the crank tour guide, Dada, said from beside Jane.
“Plane is a dumb name,” Nymphia chuckled. To Dada’s surprise, Jane just smiled.
“Okay, Nymphia, ” she laughed, turning away. Tia and Crystal burst out laughing.
“Goodnight, see you ladies in the morning.” Jane shut the door behind her.
“That bitch!” Nymphia gasped. Tia and Crystal just kept laughing, slapping the desk.
-
Tia awoke to the sound of her alarm, “Dancing Queen” playing as she groaned, rolling over to the nightstand and quickly silencing her phone. She laid in bed for a moment, feeling absolutely miserable for herself. She was nauseous, definitely from drinking the bottle of sweet wine last night. Tia remembered she was in Italy, and that she was leaving for a month long tour of the country. TODAY. In an hour and a half, actually. Tia knew she had to get up, get ready to leave. But god, she really didn’t want to. She took ten seconds to keep her eyes closed before she had to get out of bed.
Tia tried to process the day she was about to have, she had no clue what the plan was. It only took about two hours to get to Florence, but Jane said last night it would take all day. Why? Tia hoped they weren’t gonna make them walk or something awful like that. Didn’t they have a bus? Whatever.
With her ten seconds long expired Tia flung herself out of bed. She then heard someone in the hallway starting to knock on all the doors, saying something to each room. A few seconds later, Tia heard two sharp raps on her own door, followed by a bright, wide awake voice;
“WAKE UP SISTER!”
It was obviously Jane, who Tia decided was just too much. She was surprised she got along so well with Dada, who didn’t seem to mind only Jane when she was being loud. Nymphia had already gotten a glower from her last night, Tia remembered. She bet Dada hated her already if she thought Nymphia was too loud. Whatever, Tia didn’t care. She finished getting ready, going through her suitcase before she zipped it to make sure it was still perfectly packed. She had half an hour to kill before the bus left, so Tia grabbed her suitcase and backpack and headed downstairs.
While it was no continental breakfast at the Holiday Inn, Tia liked the hotel breakfasts in Italy so far. She and Crystal sat in silence as they shared a plate of assorted pastries and cakes with weird nuts in them, (insert Crystal giggle) and different fruit Crystal forced her to put on the plate. Nymphia came down ten minutes before they had to leave, grabbing a banana and a glass of water, sitting down in front of Crystal and Tia.
“I wanna go back to bed,” she yawned. Crystal laughed and Tia leaned forward, patting Nymphia’s head.
“Poor baby, go back to sleep,” Crystal cooed. Nymphia just glowered at her as Tia laughed uncontrollably, already feeling more awake as she downed a second cup of coffee. “Tia make sure you drink water too, caffeine dehydrates you.”
“Actually that myth was debunked. So,” Nymphia said matter of factly, causing them all to laugh again. Jane came up behind Nymphia, who refused to turn and look up at her, eyes trained on Tia and Crystal.
“Morning sisters! Looks like you’re feeling good this morning. Are you ready for this trip to get started?” Jane was smiling, waiting for them to say something back. It was silent for a few moments. She was still smiling, waiting for an answer.
“No,” Nymphia muttered quickly, Crystal chuckled, Tia cracked a smile.
“Fuck you Nymphia,” Jane said, not unkindly. This caused the table to actually laugh, even Nymphia who turned around to look at Jane finally, a teasing grin already on her face. “Tell me where we’re going tell me where we’re going tell me where we’re going,” she said quickly. Jane just rolled her eyes, shaking her head at Nymphia as she let out a cocky laugh.
“Where’s the fun in that Nymphia? Let today be an adventure.”
“You’re boring and ugly,” Nymphia deadpanned, Tia let out a shout of laughter, Crystal laughed into her hands.
“...okay, real creative I guess. Be on the bus in five minutes. See ya!” Jane was unfazed, going to the next table to talk to a couple other guys in the tour group. And then everyone was on the big tour bus, easily spread out since they had the smallest group. Tia watched as Jane walked down the long aisle, counting every head. “Alright, that’s thirteen!” Jane exclaimed once she was at the front of the bus again. “It’s an uneven number which is too bad for partner activities, but it is Dada’s lucky number, so that’s great!” She said to the group, probably hoping for a few laughs. Tia, Nymphia, and Crystal threw her sympathy laughs.“That’s sixteen of us total, counting me, Gothy, and Dada. Okay! So… today we are driving north up to Florence, one of the most iconic cities in Italy. That’s only two hours away. But we’re gonna be making a couple stops along the way today, Dada and I have a couple of cool spots we want to show you. We’re gonna be doing this on every travel day, so don’t go thinking these are days to just fuck off and sleep on the bus. We’re trying to show you the real Italy, the Italy you’re gonna be living in. We want to show you as much of this beautiful country as possible, we want you to be able to soak it all in, whether it’s touristy bullshit city scams or you’re making homemade pasta in some local’s kitchen. Does that sound good to you?” The bus was silent, other than Crystal, Nymphia, and Tia, who were failing at holding back their laughter. Jane grinned at Dada who just rolled her eyes at Gothy as she started the bus engine. Jane held the mic to Gothy’s mouth.
“Let’s gooooo,” she quietly cheered into it, somewhat boredly with a ghost of a smile on her face. The bus lightly cheered, Tia, Nymphia, and especially Crystal the loudest of all. Gothy pulled out of the tiny hotel parking lot, and for the next half an hour Tia sat with her head pressed up against the window, watching everything in wonder, from the people walking the streets, the different shop fronts, or Gothy’s perfect turns going down the narrow roads, being forced to take turn after turn to get out of the city. Tia was surprised there wasn’t a more straightforward way out of Perugia, but she figured Italians were just bad at road design.
It took Gothy only fifteen minutes to navigate them onto the highway heading north, away from Perugia. But they didn’t make it far, Tia soon saw water peeking over the horizon.
“Welcome to Parco Regionale del Lago Trasimeno my friends!” Jane announced cheerily, her American accent never leaving as she pronounced the Italian name, the bus driving down the length of the huge lake, mountains rising above the sparkling waters. Gothy pulled the bus over eventually, parking next to the other tourists who were out exploring the lake. “Alright folks!” Tia let out a chuckle, she didn’t see Dada’s raised eyebrows, her quirked lips. She was too busy making eye contact with Nymphia who was rolling her eyes. “We’re gonna hop on a ferry, explore the island a little bit, and we’ll be on our merry little way! Sound good??” She asked the group, waiting for what usually got at least some cheers. But not this summer. Just deafening silence. Jane’s bright smile only faltered a little bit.
“Slay!” Nymphia yelled, obviously trying to be an asshole again. But Jane’s smile only grew wider as she slung her backpack over her shoulders, Gothy flipping the lever to open the doors.
“SLAY!” Jane cheered, bouncing off the bus as everyone followed, Tia, Nymphia, and Crystal not bothering to hide their cackles as they walked down the steps. “Dada, Gothy, you coming?” Jane asked once everyone was off the bus but the girls, who were hovering at the driver’s seat.
“No,” Dada shook her head twice, Jane just rolled her eyes. She went to say something but Gothy cut her off.
“I’m eating breakfast and emotionally preparing myself for the drive to flashy fashion Florence.” It seemed that only Tia, Jane, and Dada heard Gothy say that, Tia tried to look at Nymphia and Crystal to laugh but they were looking at the huge lake in wonder, not being nosy like Tia, she supposed.
“Whatever. Bitches.” Jane said with an easy grin, turning on her heel to face the group that had just been talking amongst themselves, some taking pictures of the lake. “Alrighty team! Dada and Gothy are gonna stay behind and guard the bus from thieves and mobs, so let’s go!” Jane bounded ahead of the group, her bright white sneakers bouncing off the hot pavement as she led them to the ferry port. “We’re only gonna spend an hour here, because honestly there isn’t much to do, you already had breakfast, AND we wanna spend way more time at the other spot. But this is still sickening, so let’s go!”
Tia got onto the ferry, looking back at the bus in the parking lot. She wondered if Dada was just gonna sit on the bus with Gothy the whole time, or if maybe they’d get out and find a picnic table, enjoying the light August breeze.
“Guys, should we throw Jane off the boat?” Crystal whispered, leaning into Tia and Nymphia.
“Yes.Yes.Yes.” Nymphia said excitedly, Tia let out a loud laugh, all thoughts about the bus forgotten. Soon the ferry reached the tiny island, and Tia thought it was cool enough. Apparently only 30 or so people lived on the Island, they walked through a small shopping mall and up a hill to some old church Tia was supposed to care about. Then they rode the ferry back and there was Dada and Gothy at a picnic table, boredly scrolling on their phones.
Soon they were back on the bus, driving an hour to Siena. Siena was a pretty enough city. Tia, Crystal, and Nymphia wandered the streets, gazing at the buildings above them in wonder with cones of Gelato in hand. But this time, both Dada and Jane stayed back on the bus with Gothy much to the girls' surprise, telling the group to just walk around the city and take it all in.
“When in doubt, get some gelato!” Jane hollered from the bus as they began to walk away. They didn’t come back to the bus until seven pm, their bellies full of pasta and way too much bread. “Nymphia!” Jane exclaimed excitedly the minute the three girls came into view. It seemed they were the first ones back.
“Why didn’t you come with us, you assholes?” Nymphia said bitterly. She had been bitching to Crystal and Tia about it all night, calling Jane and Dada horrible tour guides for just sending them off alone, that they should’ve been there showing them all the cool places, like Jane had promised to.
“Nymphia, I need to be honest with you. Dada and I never go on the tours. They’re dumb. We’ve done it all before, multiple times. Why would we wanna see them again?” Jane asked, and Nymphia just looked at her, dumbfounded.
“This tour isn’t for you to see things, it’s for you to show us things and teach us about them, you’re a tour GUIDE??” Nymphia said rudely. Tia and Crystal were laughing during the whole exchange, even Dada lightly chuckled at the last bit. Jane just folded her arms, posture straightening.
“Well guess what Nymphia? You’re the first person that’s ever complained to me about not coming on the tours with them, because I want you to explore and discover things with your own eyes and heart. Sorry you’re obsessed with me with or something.” Crystal had tears streaming down her face from laughing so hard. “And also I’m allowed to do whatever the fuck I want, and if you don’t like that, then fuck you,” Jane finished, and this time Tia, Nymphia, and Crystal just kinda looked at Jane for a moment. Maybe she really could hold her own against Nymphia. And then Nymphia just smiled, unimpressed.
“Alright, diva,” she said like it was nothing, and hopped on the bus. And of course, Jane followed right after her.
“How are YOU calling ME diva?”
It only took a couple hours to drive to Florence, but the time flew by. Tia sat with her head pressed against the window the whole time as the bus drove down windy roads, past rolling hills and so. many. vineyards. They had timed the drive just right, so the sun was setting behind the hills as they drove into Florence. Tia laid in bed that night, staring at the ceiling as she looked back, reflecting on her day. Her first real day of travel, watching the Italian countryside fly by on the bus, exploring Siena, riding the small ferry on the huge lake surrounded by even bigger mountains. It was all so beautiful already, and she knew there was even more of Italy’s beauty to be seen.
But all Tia could think about that night as she fell asleep in Florence, was why the hell weren’t Dada and Jane coming on the tours with them? What was the whole point if she wasn’t there?
I hate the winter, can't stand the cold
I tend to cancel all the plans (so sorry, I can't make it)
But when the heat comes, something takes a hold
Can I kick it? Yeah, I can
My cheeks in high color, overripe peaches
No shirt, no shoes, only my features
My boy behind me, he's taking pictures
Lead the boys and girls onto the beaches
Come one, come all, I'll tell you my secrets
I'm kinda like a prettier Jesus
Forget all of the tears that you've cried
It's over (over, over, over)
It's a new state of mind
Are you coming, my baby?
Acid green, aquamarine
The girls are dancing in the sand
And I throw my cellular device in the water
Can you reach me? No, you can't (aha)
My cheeks in high color, overripe peaches
No shirt, no shoes, only my features
My boy behind me, he's taking pictures (he's taking pictures)
Lead the boys and girls onto the beaches
Come one, come all, I'll tell you my secrets
I'm kinda like a prettier Jesus
Turn it on in a new kind of bright
It's solar (solar, solar, solar)
Come on and let the bliss begin
Blink three times when you feel it kicking in
That solar-olar-olar power
Solar-olar-olar power
Solar-olar-olar power
Solar-olar-olar power
Solar-olar-olar power (oh)
Solar-olar-olar power
#crystal methyd#drag race#fanfic#please read this we promise you’ll love it#nymphia x plane jane#nymphia wind#plane jane#tia kofi x la grande dame#tia kofi#la grande dame#grandekofi#kofigrande#rupaul’s drag race#planymphia#nymplane#drag race season 16#just take me home#student abroad au#rpdr12#au#very camp#i’m so excited#this isn’t the one ive been posting about that one got so sad that we needed to post this one to feel a little more alive#Spotify#drag race uk vs the world#lesbian au#lover’s fantasia#drag queen fanfic#rupauls drag race#ukvstw2
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JOOO OMGG
I didn't know you studied abroad! I did too! it was last summer, I went to Italy for around 3 months. I'm actually leaving for Portugal through study abroad again next week! I wanted to do South Korea this year, but i'll try next year for that! so glad everything was nice over there tho apart from the flood thing, lmao
omgg that sounds so cool!! hope you’ll have fun in portugal!! ❤️❤️
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thanks for the tag @headgehug and thank u for not color of the skying me <3 gbless
relationship status: very single (happily, but that doesnt stop one from yearning)
favorite color: forest green, burnt oranges, dark browns, any blues, blood red (earthy tones>jewel tones)
3 favorite foods: i can fuck up any pasta, soup, or yalanchi u put in front of me (where i live its very hard to come by good yalanchi but its fine we prevail) if we wanna go into specific (we=me) ill say chicken marsala, fiedo soup and yalanchi :3
song stuck in my head: .......1882 wings. as it has been for the past fucking 12 days
last thing i googled: ive been using this website called “songslikex” in an attempt to expand my taste a bit :) last song i was trying to find smth similar to was “im your man” leonard cohen
dream trip(s): like prev said a roadtrip in america is like. yeah. ive been really wanting to go to the east coast (ive never been? always wanted to see Maine being a big nerd about stephen king movies, and boston/pittsburgh) uhh even a europe road train trip would be amazing. i might get the chance to study abroad in italy next summer so cheers to that! 🍻
time: 10:44 am :( im tired
anything i really want rn: to go back to BED.. i didnt go to sleep till 4 am. also sushi. <3
tagging uhh: @dickiemcgee @synchroonicity uhhh thats all i can think of SORRY no obligations obviously...if anyone else has urges to do it tho just lie.....ill edit the post for u :p
#thanks oomf!!#i love tag games it forces me to look inside myself. grabbing myself by the ankles and shaking rapidly hoping smth falls out of my pockets#tag game
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@baronessblixen and @amplifyme offered this up to anyone who wanted to play 💕
1. Are you named after anyone? My parents met serving in the Peace Corps in Tonga in the South Pacific and knew someone there named Sela - I’m not exactly named after her though, I think they just liked the name.
2. When was the last time you cried? I’m pretty sure I teared up at something I was watching or reading last week, but the last time I cried hard was at the ending of His Dark Materials - that book always gets me, and the show did a great job with the ending.
3. Do you use sarcasm? Uh, yeah 😅
4. What’s the first think you notice about people? Huh, I don’t know, I’ll have to pay more attention… I notice hair a lot, that’s what I typically use to try to learn to recognize my new students.
5. What’s your eye color? Brown
6. Scary movie or happy ending? Usually happy ending
7. Any special talents? I tap dance
8. Where were you born? In Japan, although I’m not Japanese, my parents just lived there for a few years
9. What are your hobbies? Dancing (I take jazz classes and I teach tap), reading, drawing (I should do more of the second two)
10. Do you have any pets? Gillybean, a little dachshund mix. She’s going to be 3 at the end of the month!
11. What sports do you play/have played? Never played any competitive sport, never had any interest. I’ve danced since I was 7 though.
12. How tall are you? 5’-1” rounding up, not even as tall as GA 😅
13. What was your favorite subject in school? Math and art. I came up with Architecture as career path because it seemed like a good combination of those.
14. Dream job? I had it one summer in grad school, I was paid to go to Italy and TA an architectural drawing study abroad program as the language TA, which meant I just had to translate a little and buy train tickets and stuff, but mostly got to hang out in Italy and draw and they paid me to do it 😍
Tagging anyone else who wants to play!
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Study Abroad: Intro
Hello everybody! My name is Kirsten Clark, and I am one of USC’s Global Correspondents for this upcoming semester. I am currently sitting on my flight to Amsterdam, which begins the four-month adventure of living in Sorrento, Italy studying at Sant’Anna Institute! I am so fortunate to have this opportunity and feel even luckier to share it with others through this platform. I am originally from the Virginia Beach area but have lived in The Outer Banks for the past two summers! If you couldn’t tell by now, I love to be on the go, so I’ve known studying abroad in college was something to seriously consider. That being said, I am entering my second semester of junior year as a Visual Communications Major in The Journalism and Mass Communications School. If you know me, you know how obsessed I am with my major and I could go on and on about my love for the J school.
This past year, I also served as a University 101 Peer Leader, which greatly enhanced my experience at USC, and I hope to continue that role into my senior year. The University 101 Program at USC is nationally ranked as the best first-year seminar. Over the fall semester, I co-taught a class of nineteen freshmen showing them all the ways I love USC and how to get the most out of their time here… because it goes REALLY fast! They really are your biggest cheerleaders and want the best for you. I had no idea I could make that large of an impact on students in such a short time.
Not only am I exposed to the digital world every day because of my major…photography, videography, and blogging are all things I have found a large passion for in the last five years. Growing up with my mom as a professional photographer, I was introduced to lifestyle early on, and fell in love with the flexibility and interpersonal connections the career offered. I knew from a very young age I desired a lifestyle that offered freedom to work wherever, whenever. Now more than ever is the time for people like me to immerse in the opportunities social media is handing to us. The chances of blooming in the digital marketing niche are higher now more than ever especially when you find joy in the things that will make you succeed, such as photography and blogging. I am overzealous about the opportunity to not only study abroad, but to also share my experiences to others in hopes to inspire someone else to embark on the same adventure.
Not being back in Columbia for the spring will be strange, but I am so overjoyed for the adventure ahead. I chose to study abroad through the Global Partner option with USC. This means the program is not directly affiliated with USC, however, I still am enrolled as a student. In my opinion, this option was the easiest to navigate finically since all tuition, housing, and insurance were paid to a third party, in this case, SAI. SAI is a popular option for most people I know studying abroad, which I believe is due to the multitude of diverse options for host countries. Sorrento, Italy is not a popular place to study overseas, so I was driven toward this program type when I saw it was available.
The program fees for my specific program included housing, tuition, textbooks, and health insurance which was very transparent from the start. SAI has a representative assigned to you once you enroll, and they are excellent about updating and reminding students of things to do before departure. SAI also takes care of housing and roommates, which is a huge relief when thinking of moving to a foreign country by yourself. You can either live in an apartment with other SAI students, a host family, or university-provided housing. I am delighted with my experience with SAI so far and would recommend this program to anyone interested in studying abroad.
While I must remember my main purpose of this adventure is education, I am so excited to have the accessibility to travel around Europe during this time. I already have a mental bucket list of places I want to go and things I want to see while I am here. Throughout the semester I will be uploading blog posts to this platform regarding my travels and experiences living in Sorrento, Italy from now until May!
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☆ & * . ♡ I N T R O D U C T I O N …
[ ◟ KAY. ◝ ] ⸻ have you ever heard breathe by pink floyd , well it is FLORA HARRAK to a tee . the twenty five year old yoga instructor at club yoga has been spotted wandering down portobello road markets just last sunday , do you know them ? would you say they are more rose colored or more humanitarian ? anyway , they remind me of white go-go boots ; stretching in sunflower fields ; a fairy house in the woods ; books lining the living room as a makeshift library , maybe you'll catch them around yeah ? ⸻ [ ◟ ROWAN BLANCHARD. ◝ ]
trigger warning: kidnapping, psychedelics
for a long time, flora harrak was confused on just exactly who they were. growing up, they always sensed something different about themselves from their parents. they were an only child, and though they felt their parents loved them dearly, they couldn’t shake the feeling that they didn’t belong somehow. everything was too picture perfect. their house, the way their parents always had the same fake cookie cutter smile plastered on their faces. they had everything they could need to be happy, but yet deep inside there was something bothering them, something keeping them from being truly happy. for a long time, flora went through life unsure of why they felt so strongly out of place in their life. they could never get to the bottom of it until they were around nineteen. it was summer break going into their sophomore year of college when they signed up to study abroad in italy for a year. it would be the first time flora would travel by plane, and they wouldn’t stop talking about the trip from the start. to their surprise, suddenly their parents wouldn’t let them go, they shut their dreams of italy down quickly and claimed it was due to financial reasons. none of their excuses made any sense and flora made the decision to go behind their backs.
at the airport they learned of their true identity, flora harrak, and they’d been taken from a shopping mall when they were four and changed their name to fiona johnson. ripped away from their mother and father, good people, people who loved them dearly. people who were dying to see them return safely. it was all too much for flora. how could they have not known they were a missing persons this whole time? none of it was easy to grasp. the whole thing was straight out of a movie scene. they were in line, waiting to be searched and go through the baggage lines when a stranger recognized their face from one of the advanced sketches police put out that showed what they would look like at their older age. though it wasn’t completely accurate, the sketch was similar enough to spark the interest of the police on site at the airport and sure enough, they took them into custody and explained everything to them, letting them know that the sweet, basic, and somewhat boring parents that they’d known all their life, were criminals, monsters who ripped them away from the true life they were meant to live.
their world had come crumbling down around them seemingly overnight and soon they found themselves having to get on a stand in the courts to testify against the family they once thought was their own. this life changing event pushed flora out of their comfort zone and forced them to go on a self discovery journey. everything they ever knew was a lie, and now they had to sort out what parts of themselves were true and what parts they’d molded to as a result of being raised by their fake parents. it took a lot of time, but eventually flora was able to open up to and trust their biological parents. they started to spend time with them, learn them, and bond with their siblings. everyone loved and missed them so much, the pressure was so much, but they knew it was something they would have to push past. they wanted to belong, they wanted to be loved by them.
now, it’s been six years, and life with their biological family has been more than anything she could ever imagine. they finally feel the connectedness that was lacking in her early childhood. they fit right in and saw so many of the similarities they shared with their mother, father, and even their siblings. they do not speak to the people they once called family, and have decided to let them live out there punishment in jail wondering about them, they refuse to speak to them. flora still struggles with the whole experience, it was a lot more traumatic to her than people realize and sometimes they hate being recognized as the girl who was kidnapped and grew up with another family until they were nineteen. it was hard not to be fascinated with her story but they were much more than that one plotline. flora started to connect with holistic medicine and practices for health like yoga, pilates, meditating, reiki, and herbal remedies.
flora is a total hippy, you’ll always catch them in something from the 70′s or 80′s, they love bell bottoms, groovy patterns, and bright psychedelic colors. speaking of psychedelics, flora takes shrooms once a month and you can often find her micro dosing for her adhd. they are the kind of girl who collects vintage records and takes her 90′s polaroid with her everywhere. they shop in thrift stores for clothing finds, and they are always outside in nature being one with the earth. they are always barefoot and preaching about kindness and acceptance. they are usually the sunshine in the room, lifting up others and making room for positive vibes no matter the situation.
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A letter on what's new at the Graziadio Center
Dear Friends of Il Postino,
Welcome to the Spring 2024 semester!
It is already March, and things are in full swing here at the Graziadio Center.
On February 7th, the Graziadio Center, in collaboration with the Clorinda Donato Center, RGRLL, and Università Roma3, organized a one-day event on the Telecollaboration program entitled Empowering Language Learners: Multilingualism And Motivation In Telecollaboration Programs. Professors Diego Cortés Velásquez and Elena Nuzzo (Roma3) gave a presentation and a hands-on workshop on telecollaboration. A roundtable with former participants enlightened our audience on the benefits of this pedagogical approach and a second roundtable, led by our instructors, focused on the future of this collaboration that started some six years ago. The event gave us food for thought and a clearer vision for the program’s future iterations. Meanwhile, it has been decided that our students of ITAL 100B, a class taught by Joanna Tatro, will participate in the Spring 2024 Telecollaboration.
On March 7th at 5:00 PM, Dr. Ilaria Tabusso-Marcyan (ASU) gave a talk entitled, “The Feminine Aspect in the Cultural Roots of Slow Food” in LA1-204 and via Zoom.
Dr. Tabusso-Marcyan examined the feminine aspects of Italian farming culture within recent Italian history and their influence in shaping the cultural foundations of the international movement of Slow Food. Ilaria’s presentation covered parts of her recently published book, The Cultural Roots of Slow Food: Peasants, Partisans, and the Landscape of Italian Resistance (Lexington Books, 2024).
Our last event for the semester will be a talk by renowned scholar Serenella Jovino (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) on Italo Calvino’s animals and the Anthropocene, the date and other details will be shared soon.
Last summer, some twenty students took advantage of our summer abroad program in Recanati and spent four full weeks of class in this beautiful, little town in the Marche region. They enjoyed the experience enormously and came back galvanized and ready to continue their studies in Italian at CSULB. The importance of the Recanati program cannot be overstated, as it has historically helped us increase the number of our minors.
Program Assistant Diego Brol Batres is working to ensure that the new cohort will be as numerous and satisfied as the previous ones. He has toured high schools and community colleges to recruit students and has given presentations here at CSULB to prepare students for their time in Italy. It looks like another 20 students will go to Recanati this summer!
This issue of Il Postino features interviews with our Majors, MA students, alumni, and, for our Faculty Spotlight, alumna and instructor Jaclyn Taylor.
All of them have spent time in Recanati or in Italy (Lesly Valtierra is currently studying at the Ca’ Foscari University, in Venice!). They are our best ambassadors in that they can share their experiences and passion for all things Italian. They all have their own personal perspective and a unique background, and it is a pleasure to have them share their thoughts and enthusiasm on the pages of our newsletter.
Thank you all for your contribution to Il Postino–we wish you the best for this semester and your overall academic career!
Next semester, we hope to have up to eight new BA students. Which means, if everything goes as planned, and we are doing our best to achieve that, we will have a total of 14 Italian Studies majors in Fall 2024! This is a sign of a positive trend that started last year and hopefully will continue for the semesters to come. Showing growth is a good sign, especially when many language departments struggle and are under scrutiny all over the country.
Club Italia is another tremendous asset for the Graziadio Center, as it works tirelessly to promote Italian on campus. We thank you for all your work!
With Lesly Valtierra studying in Italy, Club Italia was in need of a new Treasurer; their new lineup of officers is now:
Antonina Campbell, Ailyn Saavedra, Nikki Jerman, Alberto Sanchez Alonso, Maria Gabriela Tapia, and Josue Mendiola
To find out each officer’s role, look for the Club Italia section below!
In addition to hosting Tavola Italiana (every other Wednesday at 5 in AS-384), they are also preparing an event to showcase how a BA in Italian can help you in your post-CSULB life (and perhaps change it)!
We will provide details on this exciting event soon; please check your inbox and your social media accounts for flyers.
Buon semestre e a presto!
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Sorrento Week 11: End of an Era
I can’t believe my study abroad experience has come to an end. These two months have been some of the most memorable in my life and although I am ready to go home, I will definitely miss all the fun times I had. I will also miss sharing my experiences with others through this blog. For this last post I want to give some final thoughts on my experience and advice for future study abroad students!
One of the main things I wanted to touch on in my final post was transportation in Sorrento. The buses and train systems may seem a bit daunting to navigate at first but they are truly helpful to travel around and relatively cheap. I remember in the first couple of weeks when I was in Sorrento I walked for 40 minutes to get somewhere when I could have just used a bus to get there in half the time. Also, most people are always willing to help so I would definitely recommend asking someone.
I also wanted to mention my experience with GeoBlue insurance since I did have to use it once. When I was in Milan for a weekend I got an infection in my ankle that needed immediate attention from a doctor. Emergency rooms in Italy are a mess with wait times over 4 hours often so I was unsure what to do but I was able to connect with an individual doctor through the GeoBlue app and he was able to give me an appointment for the next morning. In addition, the doctor happened to be an American living abroad which made my experience much smoother. After the appointment, the doctor’s office was able to file a claim for payment and I didn’t have to pay anything out of pocket except for the antibiotics which were only 20 euros. The appointment itself turned out to be 300 euros but since I was covered by GeoBlue (as required by IPE) it was very convenient. As a study abroad student, if you ever need medical attention I would recommend using the features offered on the GeoBlue app to find providers.
I also want to share some of my favorites in Sorrento/Italy throughout the time I’ve been here (credit to Reganne for the idea)
Favorite Restaurant: Taverna Azzurra - the salmon pasta is to die for
Favorite Desserts: Coffee gelato at Raki’s and strawberry + nutella crepes - I think I had gelato almost every day whether it was at Raki’s or David’s Gelateria and sometimes if I was feeling even more hungry I would get a crepe from this one place near the dorms (I don’t remember what it’s called)
Best Drink: Aperol Spritz - you either like it or hate it
Favorite City in Italy: Rome - you have to see the Colosseum
Most Beautiful Place: Capri - I really wanted to visit again after I saw it the first time but I unfortunately did not have enough time to.
Most Underrated: Ieranto Bay and Herculaneum - Ieranto Bay is about an hour bus ride from Sorrento and it seems like a lot of people don’t know about it since it is a bit secluded and you need to hike to get there. I highly recommend visiting if you’re visiting the Campania region. Herculaneum is an ancient city similar to Pompeii in that it was buried under ash during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius but it was preserved much better than Pompeii. I didn’t even know about it until I was in Sorrento but it is definitely worth visiting.
Honestly, I don’t think one blog post is enough to talk about all the amazing experiences I’ve had since I have been in Sorrento. There was so much to do and I feel like there is still more I would like to explore in Italy. I will definitely be returning in the future to see everything I missed. Most importantly, the exposure to new culture and lifestyles was definitely enriching and interesting to be a part of. There’s just so much to learn when traveling to a new place and I could not have asked for a better summer. And lastly, I made so many new friends (both from UofM and other universities) that I will cherish forever. Alla prossima!
Satwika Tattari
Space Sciences and Engineering
IPE: Engineering in Sorrento
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Whimsical Adventures
~by Arya Tadepalli
Deciding to apply for the Oxford Summer Study Abroad program might be one of the best decisions I have made in college. Not only did I learn a lot about the world and was able to embrace different cultures, I also learned a lot about myself along the way as cheesy as that sounds.
I was part of Group 2 (the best group) and our itinerary was as follows: we took a flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam, Netherlands and then another flight to land in our first city Berlin, Germany. From Berlin we bussed to Leipzig, Germany stopping at Wittenberg on the way for lunch. After Leipzig we bussed to Prague, Czech Republic and stopped at Dresden, Germany for lunch. After Prague we went to Vienna, Austria stopping at Brno, Czech Republic on the way. From Vienna we stopped at a cute cabin hotel in the Alps for lunch before going to Lido right outside of Venice, Italy. From Venice we went to Rome, Italy with a quick stop at an Autogrill.
Side note: I am a huuuuuuuuge dog person and every time I saw a dog on this trip I would always squeal and point and say “DOG!” much to the embarrassment of anyone around me. At this Autogrill stop, which is basically what truck stops are called in Italy, I saw this beautiful German Shepherd. I had seen many dogs on the trip, but even with my two years of learning German in school I was not comfortable enough to go up to the dog owner to ask to pet their dog. However, something came over me when I saw this German Shepherd and people speak a lot more english in Italy so I just went up to the owner right before getting on the bus and asked to pet their dog. When they said yes I just started the usual small talk asking what their dog’s name is and how old they are etc. The owner said their dog’s name was Arya!! I then asked the owner how they spelled that name and they said, “A. R. Gamma. A.” I got so excited I said, “Wait! That is my name!” and I even pulled out my drivers license and pointed to my name to show the exact same spelling. Apparently in Italy, they do not have the letter Y so we got over the language barrier by gesturing the letters. Here is a picture of Arya squared.
Going back to the itinerary, when we were in Rome we went to the Vatican City for a day. Then, after Rome, we stopped at Montepulciano in Tuscany for lunch before continuing to Florence, Italy. Florence was the longest city of the travel portion for us and our schedule made it so that we had a half day for independent activities where a majority of us visiting the leaning tower of Pisa and an entire day for independent activities where many of us went to Monterosso in Cinque Terre for the day. From Florence we spent a night in Chamonix, France before leaving for Paris, France the next day. Paris was our last city of the travel portion so we ferried to Oxford, UK after.
I was not sure if I would enjoy the travel portion classes as much because I am more of an outdoorsy person instead of a gallery person, but I now realize those two are not mutually exclusive. I had such a great time learning about the art pieces and artists and then going to the gallery the very same day and seeing the original works of art in person. We went to a variety of famous galleries all over Europe from the Louvre in Paris to the Uffizi and Accademia Galleries in Florence to the Gemaldegalerie in Germany, they were all such cool experiences. The music class was just as fun because we would learn about different aspects of music and then go to a concert in a few cities. There were a variety of concerts that we went to. Our first concert was in Berlin where we saw the Berliner Philharmoniker perform the Turangalila Symphony which is a modern piece. Our second concert was at the National Theatre in Prague where we watched the Czech National Ballet and the National Theatre Orchestra present a spectacular performance of the “Onegin” Ballet which is a more Romantic piece. Our third concert was at the Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna where we watched the Schloss Schönbrunn Orchestra play Mozart, Haydn, J. Strauss, O. Strauss, and Lehár pieces which are more part of the Classical time period. The fourth concert was in the San Vidal Church in Venice, Italy where the Venetian Interpreters played Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons as well as Vivalid’s violin concerto and cello concerto. The last concert was in the Sunset underground part of the Sunset/Sunside Club in Paris, France where Larry Crockett and the Funky Cherokees performed jazz. Each gallery and concert made me appreciate the arts so much more and the talent and dedication that goes into every brush stroke or bow movement.
This trip also opened my eyes to how oblivious American tourists are, especially on public transportation. We are generally the biggest and loudest group, pretty clumsy especially the first day we are in the city, tend to hold people up the most when getting on or off buses and trains, and do not stay to the right side of the escalator to let people pass on the left. But we learned from our mistakes and tried to amend them later on in the travel portion. I mostly learned that I like traveling in smaller groups though. One of my friends and I had a plan to watch the sunrise in every city we traveled to and those were genuinely some of my favorite memories from the trip because it would usually just be the two of us planning where to watch the sunrise and traveling public transportation to get there and enjoy the views. This started during the very first city in Berlin when we ran from our hotel to the Brandenburg Gate for some pretty views.
Leipzig was the only city that we missed. In Prague we watched the sunrise from the Charles bridge. In Vienna we started near the Prater amusement park and walked around the city watching the sun rise. In Venice we watched the sunrise from the beach our hotel was right next to. In Florence we watched the sunrise from a park near our hotel. In Chamonix we hiked at 3AM up the French Alps near Mont Blanc doing a bunch of switchbacks below the Ski Lift that was shut off for the night.
In Paris my sunrise buddy fell asleep on me, but I was determined to maintain the streak especially since Paris was our last city of the travel portion so I mustered up the courage to travel Paris public transportation on my own at 5AM and I went to the Trocadero Square. This was a huge milestone for me because I had never traveled on my own before other than a few city exploration walks in well lit populated places and this experience was a culmination of all the tricks I had learned during traveling and Paris is notorious for pickpocketing so I had to be aware of my surroundings at all times.
I was able to apply everything I learned to my weekend trips I took during the Oxford portion. The first weekend we were told to stay in Oxford so I explored the town. The second weekend I went to Dublin. The third weekend I went to Amsterdam, Brussels, and Brugge. The fourth weekend I went to Wales and London, and the fifth weekend I went to Edinburgh. My favorite place during the Oxford portion was actually a 30 minute walk from Mansfield college and is called Port Meadow. I made it a point to go there every Sunday right after dinner to see the wild horses and cows and enjoy the sunset. It was such a magical place for me especially when the horses would come up to you to be petted because it made me feel like the chosen one.
All in all, the Oxford Study Abroad experience taught me a lot about being a considerate and respectful traveler and gave me the opportunity to immerse myself in the surrounding culture. It also gave me more confidence as a solo traveler and confidence in my ability to handle myself in general under various different circumstances.
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