There are conventionally four stages of culture shock--this site explains it fairly clearly and succinctly. I know I'm extremely bad at adapting to change in general, and that's one of the major reasons I agonized over the decision whether or not to do this program for so long. I was terrified that I would get to Rome, be swamped in schoolwork, be completely lost and disoriented by everything around me, and not have a support system to turn to as I do at home.
Well, as it turned out, all of those things happened--they just weren't really that big a deal. The courseload here is indeed very heavy, but my study habits are (finally) starting to organize into something that works. I've gotten lost plenty of times, my knowledge of Italian is shamefully bad, and there are plenty of social situations that I'm just not equipped to deal with here--but it's really not much different from my difficulty in social situations at home (aside from the language barrier--that can be a big deal). I've screwed up, gotten glared at, had "stupid American" conversations occur over my head (I'm not that incompetent with Italian), and I've survived them all without any emotional scarring. I have the new support system of my peers, as everyone here goes through the same things I do, and Mom and Dad are wonderful about making time for me to call them on Skype when I need a "home fix".
And honestly? In the month that I've been here, I feel like I've skipped right past most of the stages into "eh, this is where I am for the next three months, let's have fun and make the most of it". College in general, and living on my own in particular, have taught me how to adapt to new situations far more than I ever realized. I have a safe place to sleep, I have amazing food to keep me going, I have new friends and peers to commiserate with, I have my computer to keep me connected to my friends and family at home, and I have a whole new city and country to explore and marvel at.
Life is good.
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