Alumni Interview with Sally Olmstead

What inspired you to travel abroad? 

I have always had an insatiable hunger for new experiences and knowledge, and from a young age, I was very fortunate to travel abroad often with my family. As I grew older, seeing brief glimpses of fascinating places around the world made me yearn for a longer-term immersion in a new place. I recognized that spending a semester abroad would grant me this opportunity, and I was very intentional in working to make it happen during my undergraduate education.

Why did you choose IES Abroad Milan - Italy ? 

My college has several program options for music majors who wish to study abroad, one of which is a partnership with IES Abroad Milan - Music: Voice, Composition & Instrumental. Several music students in the classes above me had taken advantage of the opportunity to study in Milan, and I had heard only excellent things about the program from them. I knew it would be valuable to study opera in the country where opera was invented and in the city that holds one of the most famous opera houses in the world. Another factor that influenced my choosing IES Milan was the fact that I would have the chance to more deeply immerse myself in the Italian language. I have always been a lover of languages, and I spent a summer at Middlebury College's Italian School in Oakland, California, where I completed a seven-week immersion intensive and totally fell in love with Italian. The chance to actually spend four months in Italy and further advance my language skills was too good to pass up!

What was your favorite part of Italy?

I am sure that almost everyone says this when asked about their favorite part of studying in Italy, and while I don't wish to be redundant, I would be lying if I didn't say it. My favorite part of Italy was the food! I was very fortunate to live with a Milanese family during my semester, and I had two unbelievable meals at home every day. Truthfully, every single meal I ate with my host family was the best meal of my life. No matter what dish my host mom was serving, whether it was risotto alla Milanese, spaghetti, or homemade pizza, I was in heaven. 

What made your experience abroad extraordinary? 

The educational opportunities that IES provided were truly once-in-a-lifetime. In my Staging Italian Opera class, my classmates and I wrote, staged, and performed an original one-act opera pastiche. To see the production process in a professional setting, we got to observe a rehearsal at La Scala for Mozart's Idomeneo and tour the opera house's workshops. We music students also had the opportunity to perform in a recital at Casa Verdi, a retirement home for musicians founded by Giuseppe Verdi himself. Additionally, I was able to learn more about opera by attending five amazing La Scala opera productions. Apart from my music classes, I took Service Learning and gained insight into the European migration crisis by volunteering at the Municipality of Milan's immigration office, putting the skills I was learning in the seminar (and in my advanced Italian class) to action. It was very eye-opening and moving to learn the stories of the migrants who came to the office, and I felt that I grew in empathy as a listener. All in all, my classes at IES Milan led me to experiences that I could never have had anywhere else, and I am very grateful for that.

How did the local program staff support you throughout your program? 

I found all of the staff at IES Milan to be extremely compassionate and helpful. Whenever I had a question about anything, whether it involved an upcoming IES-sponsored trip or a personal health concern, they always answered my questions and showed that they cared about me. I felt that I was in very good hands for the entire semester. Additionally, I felt very well supported by IES when it came to furthering my music education. For example, four of the five productions I attended at La Scala were paid for by IES. 

What's one thing you wish you would have done differently during your time abroad? 

I wish I would have done more research on what is considered appropriate dress in Milan. My college is in Minnesota and is ranked as one of the coldest schools in the United States, so I really skimped on packing winter clothes to take with me to Italy because I figured that I would hardly need to wear them in a Mediterranean climate. Instead, I packed dresses, sandals, and other summery clothing, and the few winter things that I did pack were quite shabby. As the semester progressed, I learned the hard way that the Milanese dress for the season, not the weather. To my shock, people were still wearing full winter jackets as late as April and May, whereas in Minnesota we pull out our Birkenstocks as soon as the temperature is above 40 degrees. But, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I never did get to wear all of those cute summer clothes I brought.

Describe what a typical day in your life abroad looked like. 

I generally woke up at 8:30 AM and started getting ready for the day. For breakfast, I would often have toast and jam, cookies, and tea. I usually left the house around 10:15 AM, because my first class of the day always started at 10:55 AM. I would make the 35-minute commute to the center of town on the metro, which was never crowded at that time of the morning. Then my class would begin, ending about an hour and a half later. For lunch, I usually went with some friends to Panini Durini, a very popular sandwich shop just down the street, and we would take our food back to IES with us. Then I would have a class in the afternoon. After that, I would often walk to the immigration office to do some volunteer work, whether it was sitting in on the migrants' interviews or tutoring the social worker I shadowed in English. By this time it would be early evening, so I would take the tram from the office to the Duomo metro station, enjoying a brief glimpse of the magnificent cathedral before going underground to take the metro home. After getting home, I would use the hour before dinner to practice voice, going over the music I was learning for my voice lessons and my Staging Italian Opera class. When my host mom would call, "È pronto a tavola!" around 8 PM, I would eagerly go into the kitchen, helping her set the table before sitting down to an unimaginably delicious, home-cooked meal. As my Italian family consisted of four young kids and two parents, our dinner conversations were very lively and prone to bursts of laughter. After dinner, I would help clean up the kitchen. Then I would retire to my bedroom and do whatever homework remained, often ending the day talking to a friend or family member from the U.S. before finally surrendering to sleep.

What did you enjoy doing in your free time abroad? 

During the weekdays, if I had a free hour or two and needed a study break, I would often take a walk near my house. I lived pretty close to a canal, and I loved to stroll along the water and watch the ducks paddling about. I would always listen to my favorite music, and after these walks, I felt very refreshed and calm. On weekends, I would frequently take trips, either alone or with friends, to see other parts of Italy, but I also loved staying in Milan and getting work and sightseeing done. When I did stay in Milan, my friends and I would often enjoy an aperitivo together in the evening as a way to unwind.

What type of accommodation did you have? What did you like best about it? 

I've already talked a bit about my homestay; I lived with a family of six in a house that was 35-minutes away from the IES center. The best part of my homestay was the family I was with because they truly made their house my home away from home. They made the difficult moments easier to bear with their compassion, and they made the best moments all the better. It was so fun to have younger Italian siblings and to truly immerse myself in the Italian language. I was especially close to my seven-year-old host sister, who was such a sweetheart. She loved American music but didn't speak any English, and one day she asked me if I would be willing to teach her how to sing her favorite song, which was Katy Perry's "Roar". I was delighted! So almost every evening before dinner, my little sister and I would go to the piano to work on the song, gradually adding a new verse of English each time. She was diligent about getting the English pronunciation correct, and it gave me immense joy to see her eyes light up in excitement as she sang. She and the rest of my host family hold such a special place in my heart, and I enjoy keeping in touch with them to this day.

What is one thing every future participant should know about your program before their program begins? 

Know that this program can be whatever you make it! The music students are given a lot of flexibility in their schedule so that they can do exactly what they want to do with their time. If you want to take a class at another institution, you can. If you want to perform in a local ensemble, the program directors will help you find an opportunity. If there is a certain subject that you need to cover before going back to your home school, the IES music professors will tailor the course content to suit the students' needs. The sky is the limit as to what you can do to make this program work into your undergraduate degree.

Would you recommend  IES Abroad Milan - Italy to others? Why? 

I would absolutely recommend the IES Milan music program to other undergraduate music students. The semester I spent in Milan challenged me in ways I never dreamed I would be challenged, and I learned so much about myself and experienced so much personal growth as a result. If you can take the leap and study abroad, do it.

What do you feel the biggest benefit of traveling abroad is?

The biggest benefit of traveling abroad is the chance to make connections with new people, thus forming a better understanding of our world. I feel that we live in times of great division and polarization. By meeting people whom you would normally never have the opportunity to get to know, you begin to question your previously held perceptions and prejudices of others, and you develop greater empathy.

Now that you're home, how has your time abroad impacted your life? 

I think the biggest aspect of my time abroad that has impacted my view of my home country was my Service Learning class and the time I spent volunteering at the immigration office. I didn't know all that much about immigration before learning about it firsthand in Milan, nor had I thought in great depth about the complexity of service during previous volunteer experiences. However, the seminar really taught me a lot about the European migration crisis, the unimaginable conditions from which people are being forced to flee, and how countries like Italy are handling the influx of migrants. These were timely things for me to learn, especially because of the current situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, and I feel that I now have the tools to form a better understanding of the "how's", "why's", and "what can I do's" in this close-to-home context.

What does meaningful travel mean to you? 

To me, meaningful travel means taking the time to think critically and reflect upon what I am seeing, hearing, and feeling in a new place. Throughout my semester, I found that writing was the best way for me to make my travel meaningful. I kept a weekly journal, and I also enjoyed blogging about my experiences.