Iconic photo spots in real life

By:

Melena Appling

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Melena Appling

<i>"Hello" in your host country's language:</i> Hello! <i>Home Institution (your U.S. University/College):</i> University of North Georgia <i>Expected graduation year:</i> 2024 <i>Destination city & country:</i> London, England & Rome, Italy <i>Program provider:</i> CIEE Open Campus <i>Major/minor:</i> AA Communications transitioning into BA Communications with concentration in Public Relations <i>Demographics:</i> Asian/Asian American <i>Future career aspirations:</i> First, I will graduate college obtaining a AA in Communication along with a BA in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations. In the next 5 years, I plan to be a brand manager who is running social media management accounts (social media marketer) for local businesses. I hope that this will pave the way for me to run my own public relations department for a large corporate business in the future. I look forward to working with people and helping them resolve their problems. I enjoy speaking and communicating with others, and I am quite excited for my future! <i>Top 3 goals for your time abroad:</i> 1Study more about the place that I am studying abroad. Learn about myself and find comfort in independence. I hope to take awesome courses, and learn from a new university!

This week started with attending my classes and going through my first two midterm exams since being abroad. It was considerably more difficult than the exams at my home university since the classes are at an accelerated pace and cover advanced topics. They were written exams that I worked extremely hard on and ended up receiving good grades for. They were essay-based questions about gender norms for one class and business management for my other course.

During the weekend, I got on a train for a small pitstop in Pisa. I was able to see the Leaning Tower and take some photos. It was really hard to get the angles right to take the silly pictures of me holding and kicking the tower over to be leaning. We ate pizza at the “Famoso Ristorante Pisano” and ordered Margherita pizza while we looked at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. My friends and I had some giggles saying we were eating a piece of pizza in Pisa. Try saying that three times fast!!! We walked through the markets and bought touristy t-shirts for keepsakes. We got back on another train to head to our next destination.

Closer to the very end of the week, I traveled to Cinque Terre. The colored buildings were beautiful, and the small business owners were working hard. I think this spot is an underrated place to visit in Italy. It is often overlooked but it was nothing short of stunning. It is so close to the coast and has such gorgeous views of Italy. We arrived and checked into our accommodation for the weekend. That evening, we went to watch the sunset at the beach and danced in the ocean. It is now a core memory of mine. We went to dinner in Monterosso, Cinque Terre. The next morning, we had brunch and got ready to visit the main photo spot of all the towns in Manarola Harbor. The colors of the city were absolutely stunning. We shopped around the towns and then went to Riomaggiore. We had to make sure we saw all 5 towns in one trip. My friends and I had a private boat tour of the 5 towns on the island. We got to jump off the boat and swim in the Ligurian Sea. The water was so blue and quite cold, but totally worth what we paid. I recommend it to any adventure seekers!

I think Cinque Terre was one of my favorite places I went to in Italy. The locals are just so nice, and the views are breathtaking. It felt like a dream. I have so many memories with my friends so I think it will be a memory I take with me forever. We watched Luca the Disney movie which is set in Cinque Terre so that was fun. We had a mini movie night while we ate carbonara pasta and face-timed and our called friends and family back home to stay in touch. Additionally, I think I learned a lot because they were a cash-based economy location which was interesting to experience. I am so used to having a credit card readily available for purchases, so this was a learning experience for me to realize how privileged I truly am. Overall, this trip was one for the books!