Summer to remember in Sicily!!

Mia Nungaray Ruiz
2 days ago
5 min read

Ciao a tutti dalla Sicilia!! My name is Mia Naomi, I am a Santa Barbara girl born and raised, a biology major transferring to UCSB this fall 2025, an avid swimmer and lover of the outdoors and today I will be sharing with you my time so far in Sicily Italy!!

Picture (Pic)1: Beautiful views of Sicily sea. Pic 2: 1st night in Sicily. Pic 3: Fun swim with Wren looking at all the beautiful fish in the sea.

Before Travelling:

With all the excitement surrounding the trip to Sicily came some feelings of nervousness, such as flying and travelling to a different country I have never been to before. As excited as I was to embark on this journey, the days leading up to the trip is when the nerves kicked in; thinking of all the things that could possibly go wrong. But rest assured after diligently packing, going over the packing list several times and consulting with loved ones to assure myself I had packed everything that needed to be packed it was time to head to the airport.

Before the trip could even start we had some fun labs to do before we left. A very memorable one was going out in the Chanel Islands to do some whale watching.

I chose to do the group flight and thank goodness I did. Once I saw all of my classmates and professor Kay (who would be joining us on the group flight), the nerves I had building days before had settled. I realized that I wouldn't be embarking on this journey alone. I would have a group of people by my side embarking on the same journey facing whatever obstacle which lay ahead together.

Expectations before:

As someone who has never been to Europe my expectations for the program were in the middle. When speaking of the classes, I had high expectations (that were met) for the professors teaching the course. In our first lecture we had in Sicily and trips that followed, I quickly realized how knowledgeable our teachers were about everything around us, constantly connecting items we saw such as fruit and rocks to the material we were learning in lecture. When speaking in terms of Sicily itself, my expectations were for it to be a little town with a beautiful sandy beach. Those expectations were thrown out the window as soon as I realized this little town was actually a very busy city. The sandy beaches I am used to at home turned out to be by a very rocky SEA that didn’t have sand for you to lay on, instead it was rocks. Nonetheless despite it not being what I expected, I learned to love the new city, the beautiful crystal clear waters, and the place I would be calling “home” for the next month.

Pictures described left to right. Pic 1: Lecture in the woods, Pic 2 going down in a lava cave. Pic 3: Statute at the Latomie del Paradiso, Pic 4 Left: Mt.Etna Volcano Crater, Middle Pic 5: At the Latonie del Paradiso, Pic 6: Mount Etna from the North side.

People:

I came on this trip not knowing anyone, which seemed daunting since others who came along on the trip seemed to have known at least one person very well. But after a few days of getting adjusted, it started to feel like the norm to knock on your neighbor's door and ask if they want to go out for a cornetto (croissant) before class. And what would be a group of two going to a Café at first would end up being a group of six. The people on this trip are honestly an amazing group, full of smart, kind, funny and adventurous people who want to learn as much as possible from the best professors (Matt Kay and Geordie Armstrong) and have fun while doing it. And let me just say we are doing just that :)

pic 1: morning run for cappuccino and cioccolata calda with cornettos

Pic 2: swim after class

Pic 3: Shay,Avery and Audrey casually chilling on a volcanic rock

Experiencing culture shock:

The one thing I will say that was a culture shock when arriving in Sicily was the driving. People here in Sicily do not drive the same as they do in Santa Barbara. They drive very fast and the saying “pedestrians have the right of way,” yeah, that does not exist here. When crossing the street you at LEAST need to look at the driver for 10 seconds before even thinking about crossing the street, but I’ve also observed locals just throwing themselves in the bustling traffic, expecting the driver to stop. I myself have not been brave enough to do that, but when a local in front of me crosses I cross with them. Surprisingly I also noticed that the locals here are very helpful to us students. On our first full day in Sicily my floormates and I decided to go grocery shopping, which is a 10 minute walk from our apartment and we were not prepared for the walk back to the apartment. Since we were carrying lots of groceries that were heavy, not to mention cases of water, we were dropping things left and right since they were so heavy. With that at least three cars pulled over asking if we needed a ride to our apartment and handing us reusable bags to put our fallen items in. So, needless to say, the locals here have been very kind and patient with us students so far on this trip.

Pic 1: La piazza duomo in front of class

Pic 2 : Fonte Aretusa ( The Fountain of Arethusa)

Pic 3: views walking around Ortigia

Summer abroad expectations:

I would say that the reality of me spending summer abroad so far has been met. I am out in a new city or country I have never been to before, and getting to explore it with the new friends I have made so far. I get o go out to historical sites like Mt. Etna just days after an eruption and learn about the after-effects of an eruption and what makes a rock a rock.

Rooftop view with tan buildings, red tiles, antennas, and clear blue sky. Thin cloud in the distance. Ambient urban setting. — *Mount Etna Eruption from my apartment balcony*

Favorites of Sicily so far:

Some things I am enjoying the most about my trip so far is the fact that I am about a 20 minute walk from the sea. I love being able to take a pause from homework to go take a dip in the crystal water and just soak up the sun. It is honestly a surreal experience to just go and take a break in the beautiful water of Sicily and get back to doing work an hour later. I am also enjoying the excursions we have gone on. I am learning and seeing so much that I have never dappled in. I am just in awe of everything new to me. And, of course, I am enjoying the people I am surrounding myself with. Having great people around me is truly making my time even more enjoyable than I could have imagined.

Three people swim in a rocky, clear blue coastal area under a sunny sky. A distant cityscape lines the horizon. The mood is relaxed. — *Dip in the sea after class*

What I have learned from my experience abroad so far?

I have learned so much in the short time I have been here. I have learned about the history of Sicily, how it came to be and why, But I have also learned a lot about myself. This trip has given me the chance to trust myself and the decisions I am making. While I am abroad there is nobody to tell me what to and not to do. It is all up to me. Practicing how to handle unforeseen circumstances is also something I have learned to handle and manage with grace .Overall this trip has been a dream, an experience of a lifetime being able to explore and learn about Sicily and one I will never forget.:) Ciao et Grazie