‘Just landed in Milan.’
As I stared at the text from Felicia, a familiar feeling found its way to my stomach. Thousands of bugs flapping their wings, creating a whirlwind that takes over any other feeling or thought. It felt as if I was there with Felicia, feeling what she was feeling. The adrenaline as she exited the plane. The excitement as she headed towards the baggage claim. The nervousness as she entered what would become her new home for the next five months. Her new home. That made them flap even faster — the butterflies.
Four days later, I received a picture from Elin. She was sitting under an umbrella with the sun peeking through small cracks of the fabric, and red and white quilted tablecloths surrounding her. She then texted: ‘Just had lunch with mom and Felicia.’ In comparison to Felicia, Elin had never been to Italy before. She wasn’t sure what she was getting herself into and was therefore grateful that her mom accompanied her at the start of her adventure. Grateful that a part of home was still within reach.
When Elin arrived, Felicia had already spent four days in Milan. The first day was filled with adrenaline, excitement, and butterflies. The next day, however — hit different. It was filled with overwhelming realizations, which caused Felicia to feel homesick. She had been to Italy before, so the country wasn’t that foreign to her. But still, this time things felt different. This wasn’t a weekend, a vacation — this was her new life.
Despite the overwhelming feeling of homesickness, Felicia never thought about packing her bags and heading back home. No, it wasn’t like that. She just needed a couple of days to get used to everything. Which she realized was fine because moving abroad comes with a mix of emotions — but that only makes one grow. A growth that Felicia already has noticed within herself, only two weeks into her adventure.
Felicia’s cure for homesickness, during the first couple of days, was forcing herself out of the apartment. She knew that sitting on her bedroom floor and staring at her half unpacked suitcases, wouldn’t make her feel less homesick. More so, that would make her feel even worse. So, she went on a walk around her new neighbourhood. A walk that would come to renew her energy and make her feel much, much better. Elin’s cure was coffee — or kind of. To avoid feeling homesick she tried to stick to routines that she had back home, in her student apartment. And for Elin, it was the simple action of her hands around a warm ceramic cup, a small string of steam hitting her chin, and the bitter taste of coffee — that separated the ‘sickness’ from ‘home,’ and left her with a feeling of comfort.
The first couple of weeks was filled with excitement and nervousness for Elin and Felicia. New surroundings. Shopping. New friends. Parties. Felicia was blown away by the Italian cuisine, language, and culture — and amazed by the overall welcoming atmosphere. While Elin’s highlight was meeting and getting to know the other international students — individuals who are all in the same situation as herself.
Just as quickly as Felicia fell in love with the Italian cuisine, she realized that cooking in another country isn’t all that easy. Especially when the groceries look nothing like the ones at ICA Klostergatan. She felt lost. And Elin, she felt lost too. Together they walked around Italian grocery stores, desperately searching for gravy and meatballs (very stereotypical, but that’s the truth). Elin struggled with the fact that everything looked different, not only inside the grocery stores but also outside — the surroundings, the streets, the view from her window. Everything was different and constantly reminding her that she was far from home.
On the 14th of February, Elin and Felicia sat their feet on campus for the very first time. However, they weren’t there to attend classes, because their classes wouldn’t start until Monday. They were there to attend a welcome meeting for international students. In one of the rooms in the basement of the school, around a hundred students from all around the world gathered to gain further insight into their new University. The staff who held the meeting welcomed everyone with open arms and Elin and Felicia immediately felt as if they were in good hands.
And then. All of a sudden. Just as the nervousness started to creep in, Elin saw something blue standing in the doorway. Covered in patches and with one standing out a little extra. A mix of blue and red, placed on the right thigh, and with letters spelling out: LOK. Another blue-pants, here in Milan. It turned out that she attended JU as an international student one year ago. This was a full circle moment for the two blue-pants whose study abroad adventure had just begun. Their study abroad adventure. Now they are flapping again — the butterflies.
Writer: Vilma Bovin
