Ready For Rome

Hello! My name is Briana Maddox, and I’m currently a senior at Penn State pursuing a bachelor’s degree in media studies with a minor in anthropology. This summer, I’ll be completing the Rome Summer Internship as the last couple of college credits that I have before I complete my undergraduate career. As I get ready to leave for this summer’s Rome Summer Internship Program, I am beyond excited to get to spend two months living one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Over the course of the past week and a half, I’ve been busy getting all of my clothes, shoes, and other miscellaneous items packed in addition to brushing up on Italian and Roman habits and ways of life, learning how to speak the language, and what life might be like for a foreigner in Italy.

Although this is my first time leaving the U.S., I am more than ready and excited to begin my time abroad with an amazing internship with a wonderful company called LivItaly. Working as an intern for a well-known and well-respected tour company will allow me to learn the ins and outs of learning how to live in Italy as well as how to avoid tourist traps in Italy and other European countries as well as be able to be a savvy traveler in the future. However, after being diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and dealing with depression for the past couple of years, especially after my older sister passed away last summer, I'm dreading the idea of dealing with all of that alone and in a completely foreign country. While preparing to go abroad, I’ve prepared a small bucket list of things that I’d like to complete and experience while abroad:

1. Complete stellar work with my internship
2. Create a lasting and positive impact on both IES Internships and LivItaly (the company that I’m interning for)
3. Boost LivItaly’s online social media presence and audience
4. Work to help other Americans learn more about IES Internships and LivItaly, and how to participate in activities and events with both companies.
5. Visit the St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Museums
6. Visit the Colosseum and the Forum
7. Visit the Trevi Fountain
8. Sit on the Spanish Steps
9. Spend a weekend at the Amalfi Coast
10. Spend a weekend in Venice
11. Spend a weekend in Florence and see the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
12. Spend a weekend in Sicily
13. Spend a weekend in Milan
14. Visit Pisa and see the Leaning Tower of Pisa
15. Try some Italian gelato
16. Shop at Campo de Fiori
17. Spend a weekend at Cinque Terre
18. Visit Pompeii and take a tour of the ruins
19. Spend a weekend on the island of Capri and visit the Blue Grotto
20. Visit Naples and try the pizza there
21. Tour Castel Sant'Angello
22. Tour the Pantheon
23. Take a day trip to Verona and see Juliet's Balcony
24. Watch the 2018 World Cup with Italians and other soccer fans
25. Spend the weekend visiting the island of Sardinia
26. Visit the Capuchin Monastery Catacombs
27. Tour the Uffizi Gallery
28. Tour the Borghese Gallery
29. Create positive habits to keep my anxiety disorder, depression, and grief/homesickness as much at bay as I possibly can
30. Creating a plan with my supervisors at IES Internships and LivItaly for the days that my depression and anxiety get bad so that I can have a system of support and know what to do and where to go when I need that kind of information