During my semester abroad, I collected an assortment of souvenirs: keychains, postcards, jewelry, bags – you name it. However, my favorite souvenirs, without question, are the friendships I made while studying abroad. I wouldn’t trade the memories I collected with my two roommates, who felt like my non-biological sisters, for the world. 

Our friendship feels like it was just meant to be; even the way we met felt like fate. It began last fall, when one of my friends was leaving my apartment. Since it was getting late and she lived across campus, my roommate and I offered to walk her home. During that walk, we ran into one of my roommate’s friends. When he heard I was planning to study abroad in Florence the following semester, he told me he wanted to introduce me to his friend who was participating in the same program as me. I reached out to his friend, Hannah, and we quickly became friends. 

About a month and a half later, we attended Chapman’s pre-departure orientation. When Hannah and I got there, the Florence table was already full. Frantically, we found extra chairs and tried to figure out if we could squeeze in somewhere at the table. One girl moved her chair over, giving us room to put our chairs beside her. Her name was Lauren, and we ended up chatting with her throughout the orientation. 

Lauren, Hannah, and I started texting each other about our preparations for Florence. Even though we barely knew each other, we decided to request to be roommates during our semester abroad. 

Our first Saturday in Florence will always be incredibly special to me. Our apartment ended up just being

the three of us, and I will never forget how giddy we were when we first settled into our new home. Everything was suddenly so real but so exciting. We spent the day exploring Florence and learning more about each other. One of my favorite memories from the entire semester is sitting in Piazza di Santa Croce with Lauren and Hannah that day. As the sun set, we talked about everything we were looking forward to and bonded over our shared love for people-watching. 

The next night, during dinner, we talked about anything and everything as we tried to get each other caught up on our entire lives… from birth until now! The conversations flowed so easily, and we clicked so well. We had a hilarious bonding experience during dinner the night after that, and I think that’s when I knew we wouldn’t just be roommates – we would be best friends. Eating dinner together every night became one of our favorite traditions. Lingering at the dinner table talking with your loved ones is a big part of Italian culture, and we definitely incorporated this into our daily routine. 

Looking back on it, it’s crazy to think how close we became in such a short amount of time. The three of us did everything together and formed an incredibly close bond. Early in the semester, we started planning all of our weekend trips. We feel so lucky that we all wanted to go to the same places and that we knew very early on that we wanted to travel together. None of us had ever traveled to Europe before, so everything was so new and exciting to all of us. I am so glad we got to experience so many incredible things together, like watching the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night, tossing coins into the Trevi Fountain, swimming in the Aegean Sea, climbing Florence’s Duomo, riding a gondola through Venetian canals, and so many more. I couldn’t ask for better best friends to share these memories with. 

After spending so much time together, our phrases, mannerisms, and quirks all started to blend together. We noticed things about each other that we didn’t even know about ourselves, and we lost track of who started each of our catch phrases and inside jokes. It felt like we were triplets separated at birth!

When the end of the semester rolled around, we felt so thankful that we didn’t have to say goodbye to each other indefinitely. How lucky are we that we all go to the same school! Still, we felt so sad saying goodbye to each other – how would we go a whole four months without seeing each other? The separation anxiety kicked in pretty quickly! 

In the months following my return from Florence, people have often brought up Lauren and Hannah. I’ve gotten used to people asking, “I saw those two girls in all of your pictures. Did you know them before you got there?” Other people planning to study abroad have told me that they no longer feel nervous about making friends in their program; they’ve seen how even though I didn’t know anyone when I committed to the program, I came back with two incredible best friends. I never get tired of telling people about our friendship, all the memories we’ve shared, and how it felt like the three of us were meant to meet. I love when people tell me that they could pick up on our sister-like dynamic, even just from the photos I’ve shared.  

I met so many amazing people while studying abroad, and I am so grateful that we were all brought together. Studying abroad gives you the opportunity to surround yourself with people who have similar interests and goals, which means you’ll always have something to talk about! My advice for anyone studying abroad is to not be afraid to put yourself out there and meet new people – everyone is in the same boat and wants to meet more study abroad students!  

Committing to my study abroad program without knowing anyone was a little scary at first, but I think it worked out alright! I never would have guessed I would end the semester with two of my best friends in the entire world, who have become my sisters. I am forever thankful that study abroad brought us together – our friendship is, by far, my favorite souvenir from the semester. 

 

 

Michaela Golik 

Film and Television Production  

Spring 2024 

Florence, Italy 

AIFS Abroad