After an eight hour flight, senior Alma Velazquez found herself in Italy. She was surrounded  by people speaking a different language and by beautiful pieces of artwork. In order to take this trip she had to do a lot of paperwork and write many essays. She received the chance to go to this this trip through Crystal Charitable foundation which paid for everything on this trip.

“ I got a lot of help from Mrs. Matz and my family but I had to meet them halfway if I really wanted to go,” said Velazquez.

Through her trip she learn how to make pasta and cheese, hike and walk around the beautiful streets of Florence and Rome. She also learned basic Italian like “ My name is.. How are you? … I am fine,” with  the numbers and phrases for shopping around Italy.

“Wherever you go, you are going to have to learn to adapt to anything you might not be used to. If you do not know how to adapt, you will not enjoy your time anywhere,” said Velazquez.   

What she enjoyed the most about the trip was being in a different place from Chicago. She enjoyed seeing art all around her and the beautiful sightseeing.

“I would definitely recommend this trip to everyone because  it was an amazing experience. I not only got to see beautiful places but I got to meet new people from all over the country. I learned so much on this trip every day it was something new,” said Velazquez.