Here the part 2: https://thepasswordunito.com/2025/06/12/travel-studiare-renshi-part-2/

WHEN INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY OVERCOMES THE DISTANCE

What do Warwick, Venice, Turin and Yunnan have in common? At first glance, nothing. They are located at the opposite sides of the globe in different countries, respectively UK, Italy and China. In this interview we’ll discover how international mobility has brought four university students from these faraway places together. Though separated by thousands of miles, their paths have crossed at the University of Warwick. Our protagonists – Nicole Parolin, Nan Zhang, Chiara Panvino and Abbey Rogers – are wonderful women who had the courage and privilege to study abroad. They took this opportunity with eager eyes, talented minds and enthusiastic hearts and they lived it to the fullest. Thank you for sharing your stories.

Tell me the colour, song and food which best describe you.

Ni: Aquamarine and lilac, Never be alone by Shawn Mendes, croissant. 
Na: Sky blue, Lemon Tree by Fool’s Garden, cheesecake.
C: Green, Aspettando il sole by Neffa, pasta with pesto.
A: Red, Tough Love by Gracie Abrams, coffee.

What surprised you the most about yourself while being abroad?

Ni: I thought I would suffer more the absence of my family and friends. But I’m not alone, I’m surrounded by amazing people.  
Na: I’m surprised that I made a lot of friends, I feel lucky. I’m studying, taking care of myself and running my business at the same time, so I can give myself the credit to have done a good job.
C: When I was in Turin, I hated staying alone. Here I learnt to appreciate the time by myself. I enjoy situations that would have freaked me out a year ago.
A: Living in another country can be really overwhelming and I had anticipated struggling with that a bit, but it was not as difficult as I thought it would be. I got comfortable and familiar with the place a lot faster than expected.

What do you study?

Ni: Cultural heritage.
Na: Drama education and English language teaching.
C: Philosophy.
A: History.

What are/were you doing in Warwick/Venice?

Ni: An Erasmus. It’s a cultural exchange. You go abroad and you study in another university for three, six or nine months. You live a completely different life from the one you are used to, at least for me.
Na: A Master of Arts. It’s a way to further my undergraduate studies. I majored in teaching English as a second language. So, from a schoolwork perspective, it’s useful for deepening my teaching knowledge.
C: An Erasmus. It’s a great opportunity to study abroad, also because part of the cost is covered by your home university.
A: A term abroad. Even though we were in Venice, we followed our usual lectures and seminars. We did weekly trips to places around Venice which were historical sites and museums.

Why did you decide to do it? 

Ni: I’ve always loved travelling. I wanted to do the exchange year in high school, but I couldn’t. After getting my diploma, I went to Ireland and I worked there as an au pair. I promised myself that, if I had started university, I would have done the Erasmus. It’s an experience which completely changes your life.
Na: I wanted to do it in the UK because I believe that for an English teacher it’s very important to experience the culture firsthand. The reason why I chose Warwick is because the university has an excellent reputation for drama studies.
C: I’ve always wanted to do an experience abroad and I needed new stimuli after living in the same city for twenty years.
A: They offered this incredible opportunity and I thought it was very stupid to not do it. It was such a unique thing to be able to actually live in Venice, considering both the costs and the large number of tourists. Also, it was a short amount of time, less scary than a whole year, and my two best friends were going.    

Tell me 2 pros of your exchange programme.

Ni: You meet new people from different cultures and you can talk in English 24 hours. It really helps, maybe at the beginning you are scared because it’s not your native language, but then it becomes easier.
Na: Here I live alone and so I can spend more quality time by myself. I have the feeling of being seen and heard by people of other cultures. This is very meaningful to me because it helped me reflect on my identity as a Chinese.
C: Since you are here for only nine months, everything feels special and the basic becomes extraordinary. You experience other cultures firsthand and you get rid of many stereotypes.
A: Because it was such a small group of us, I got to know more people on my course a lot better. The historical trips were incredible: we learnt so much and we saw even the tiniest churches.

Now 2 cons.

Ni: You’re away from your family and friends. Living in a flat with other fifteen people may be difficult… the kitchen is not always the cleanest.
Na: I hate the carpet in my bedroom, they don’t lend the vacuum! Being far away from my homeland is a big challenge. To be honest, sometimes I feel lonely because, due to the time difference, I can’t keep in touch with my family and friends. Winter here sucks, the daylight is so short.
C: Costs, everything is so expensive compared to Italy. Essays, because they are a completely different method of examination.
A: There are no cars and I’m always late. To go to school, it was a twenty minutes’ walk, which is fine, if you’re leaving twenty minutes before. We had to cross the Rialto Bridge, full of tourists. It took us two days to say: “We’re locals, get out of the way”. Another massive con was that there was only one bar we could go to. And the flooding!

Abbey, you’re the only one who has already finished her term abroad. How did you feel?

A: Oh my god, it was awful. Awful! It was the most emotional thing ever. The last few weeks we were constantly counting down. We did many “recap walks”, just crying. From the plane we could see the whole city: it’s an evil thing to do to someone who’s leaving. It was an incredible experience… I felt an overwhelming gratitude and sadness, very bittersweet.  

How has this experience changed you?

Ni: It helped me discover what I want to do, who I want to be and where I want to live. Now I know I can rely on myself.
Na: It made me feel more confident and it gave me faith about what kind of life I want to live.
C: It was a sort of confirmation. I gained some confidence and awareness about the fact that I’ll be able to do a similar experience in the future.
A: My experience was different from yours because you are talking about the independence aspect of it. I went from living alone to living with friends and it turned out to be so good for me because I had their support. It taught me the importance of community.

Anna Baracco