It was extremely hard leaving Siena yesterday. The four weeks went by so quickly, it is difficult to grasp where the time went. But I know that it flew by because of how much I was enjoying my time in Siena. Siena was by far the safest Italian city I visited and was the perfect home base for my coursework. Throughout the program, our small cohort of under twenty Pre-Freshmen students allowed me to make deep bonds with my classmates. Part of what made saying goodbye to Siena so tough was that it is home to all the memories with the people I met. That said, I am so excited that I will get to reconnect with my study abroad classmates on the UO campus in the fall. The Pre-Freshmen program was a great opportunity to meet other freshmen feeling the same pre-college excitement and stressors as me. Along with this, it gave me the opportunity to get ahead on my UO core education requirements. In my classes, I felt both challenged and nurtured by my professors and my peers. Though my coursework required lots of time spent reading, studying and writing papers, I found that finding moments to walk around the streets of Siena or get a cone of gelato allowed me to maintain a stress-free mindset. Each day I tried to find the appropriate balance of focus and fun. Siena provided the perfect opportunity for this as there were constantly new places to explore. Small enough where we could get around without having to use navigation, but big enough to not feel like a small town, Siena was the perfect size. Some of our nightly rituals were sitting on the ground and enjoying the view of the Piazza del Campo and staring at the Siena Duomo when it is lit up at night. These simple moments were some of my favorites from the whole trip.
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After moving on from Siena, I have found that it is hard to adjust back to my typical rituals at home. The constant go and adventure of studying abroad is such a good feeling, but letting it go is difficult. For anyone considering studying abroad, I would one hundred percent recommend it. The people you meet and the opportunities that you will come across are unlike anything that you would experience at home or at the UO. Traveling and studying in a new country puts your life in so much perspective and opens your mind up to a whole new way of living. The issues I thought I may have in Siena such as the language barrier, meeting new people, and keeping up with classes were, in hindsight, nothing to worry about. All in all, the Pre-Freshmen program in Siena, Italy has been one of the highlights of my life and I am so happy that I took the risk, experienced something new, and made the most of every moment.
By Charlotte Stratford, Diverse Duck Ambassador
Advancing Your Academic Success: Pre-Freshman Studies in Siena, Summer 2024