From Peru to Italy

Hello, I hope that each and every one of you is very well! There is less than three weeks left until I finish my year away from my beloved Lima, where I have come to study my masters degree in Tourism in Rimini.

What I was thinking before

I was just thinking about everything that I have had to go through to get me to where I am now. Honestly, Italy has always caught my attention but I have to say that initially my goal was to work in Australia but unfortunately I couldn't apply for the programme that allowed me to spend a year there.

Learning Italian

As is life, I remember that right at that moment I was already starting to learn Italian in Lima in the language centre called CIVIME. I spent roughly 150 soles per month and I went there three times per week for a night class after I finished work.At that time I was working in the reservations sector in the Westin Lima hotel. One of my friends there pushed me into studying something while working so that is what encouraged me to learn Italian since I always wanted to learn it.

Source

My great teacher who loved people

Despite the fact that I was usually tired when I left work, I arrived to my classes and I listened to my teacher Claudia Vanini speak Italian. It was a delight for me and it motivated me to continue. The Italian course at the CIVIME centre is one and a half years old and there are daily, inter-daily and Saturday courses.

The Italian course

When I started the course there were five of us and I remember that little by little the group was disappearing. After that I also had to leave because I went to Buenos Aires of holiday and when I came back I had to wait for two months before the course was available again. At this time, there were 12 of us and by the final term there were only four people left in the group. This was with the same teacher who taught me before I left for Italy.

Secrets, secrets

Honestly, I didn't tell anyone at work that I needed to experience a life away before I could settle down in Lima. So I started looking into the process without telling anyone and after a while I told my close friends without them telling my boss anything.

My ally, the Strategic Alliance

The first thing that I had to do before coming to Italy, was to start looking up information on the internet. I always remember that there was a strategic alliance in my university, which is an agreement between the three universities: the National University of San Marcos, the National University of Engineering and the National Agrarian University.

Source

Visiting the Casona of the National University of San Marcos, on multiple occasions

The strategic alliance office is located in the Casona of San Marcos, where I started my first training as a tour guide, so every time I came to hand in my papers and get information, it was like I was going back to my past.

Going for a chat to help me decide

What I also remember, that really stuck with me, was the first time I went to talk and find out about the process of coming here, I ended up convincing myself that since I was already studying Italian, I had to choose Italy as my destination, from the options that they had in Europe. I also knew that I would have very good experiences here and that it would be worth it.

Continuing with the procedure that I had to take before coming here

I did all this little by little and the procedure and process that I had to go through took about a year. At the beginning I didn't have enough documents so I had to go back to my university, San Marcos, to ask for evidence of me being a student there and certificates that would support me in my application to the universities I wanted to apply to.

The paperwork and requirements that I had to go through as part of the Strategic Alliance procedure were the following::

• To have completed secondary school education.
• To be within the top third or fifth of your year (including the average grade of your last completed semester).
• Proof of the current language level required (Italian, English, etc).
• Applicants for the scholarship in Italy, have to take an exam in June, on their knowledge of Italian, to be able to continue with the process.
• Cover the costs of your return journey to Italy.
• Cover the expenses of your stay: food, accommodation, insurance and other minor expenses (some of which will be partially subsidized).
• Attend at least one of the informative talks that are offered.
• Age limit: 34 years old, up to the 30th of August.
• APPLICANTS who are accepted at their chosen Higher Education Institution will have the option of financing their expenses through an EDUCATIONAL CREDIT.

Documents that I had to fill out

The applicant must bring the following documents to be evaluated:

• Application form.
• Order of documents.
• Authority letter.
• The applicant's commitment letter.
• The admission's commitment letter.
• Options table.
• C. V. The European model (3 pages maximum).
• The language letter of commitment.
• The search for information on Italy.

However, once the Strategic Alliance accepted my application, I started processing a lot more documents than the ones I have mentioned. For example, I had to go to the Ministry of Education, the SUNEDU (National superintendency of university higher education), my university again, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and my college, among many other places.

Needing help

As at that time I was working during office hours, it was almost impossible to have the time to go to these places, so I had to ask one of my cousins to help me make the arrangements. Of course I also had to pay for his services haha. It was not for free since I was taking up his time.

Choosing Italian universities

As the months went by the time came to select at least three universities so that the Strategic Alliance could show them my application to study a master's course at their respective universities. At that time the I wanted to study in Rome the most, so I applied with my first option as Sapienza University, then the University of Pisa and finally the University or Bologna, which was the university that ended up accepting my application.

Source

The day that I was accepted, the start of my journey

I remember that it was the 17th of June when the university of Bologna accepted my application to study my masters degree in tourism, in the city of Rimini, where I am currently. Once I had their approval, I started the next steps of completing my B1 level Italian exam, at the Italian Culture Institute in Lima and the B2 level English exam, through IELTS (International English Language Testing System).

Borrowing money

I also had more procedures on the way, such as starting to process the study visa for Italy. In this case I had to start looking at my options for the bank to lend me the money I needed. Since life has been generous to me, at that time I was fortunate enough that one of my uncles helped me out by lending me the money without interest. With that, I had almost everything ready to go on my trip.

In the search for the study visa

I was given the Italian study visa in August 2015 and then I started to look at prices for my ticket and my insurance to come here. I found a travel agency and bought a one way ticket to Bologna through them, where I had to stop off in Amsterdam. I spent the first night in Bologna and then took a train to Rimini, my final destination, the following day.

Friends and contacts always help :S

There were a lot of things that helped me follow my dreams. For example, a friend in Lima, knew an Italian living in Bologna and they kindly offered to collect me from the Marconi airport in Bologna and bring me to my accommodation. There, he taught me how to use the train card and how to use the machine so I could buy my train ticket since everything I saw was new to me.

Everything moves at the speed of light

The time before leaving my beloved Lima passed too fast, I felt many mixed feelings knowing that I would not see my family again for another two years, which was not short time. Between the paperwork and goodbyes, my last days in Lima were quite busy since I had to do paperwork as well as translations and legalisations of it all, I spent roughly 1000 soles, in addition to the expenses I had to pay already.

Time to leave

I will not forget my last moments in Lima, saying goodbye to my family, my house, my neighbourhood and my country, was a feeling that I will never forget. However, I know that this sacrifice was worth it and I wanted to experience it before I took my last breath.

The University of Bologna, my house of studies

So little by little I started adapting to this new Italian culture with my classmates of various nationalities. I was also lucky in that my Italian flatmates were very nice and quite cool. I was able to share my daily life in a fun and simple way, learning about Italian culture and immersing myself more and more in its customs, every day.

Source

However, there was something that didn't sit well with me, something that made me always have the crazy desire to go back to my country. Especially when it was coming up to dates that you would normally spend with family, like Christmas or someones birthday. I had to gradually learn to deal with it all.

Rimini, the small city with a big heart

One of my aunts that lived near Milan, found out that I was living in Italian and invited me to spend Christmas and the New Year at her house. For those days, I felt like I had never left Peru or rather that I was speaking spanish with the Peruvian accent again that I missed so much. I spent a very nice week there with my aunt, listening to stories about what made her come to this side of the world.

Tedious procedures upon arrival, a nice Italian welcome :S

As well as talking about the emotional part, I also have to mention the paperwork that I had to complete as soon as I arrived in Italy. Especially when it came to my student residency permit with the Questura in Rimini. As well as looking for somewhere to live and start to find myself in this city which luckily wasn't so big, but anyway, little by little these came together and I was moved forward.

Starting classes

I'll be honest with you, in terms of the courses, I didn't like all of them. The teachers didn't meet my needs or maybe I was the one with the problem. Of course not all of them were like this, for example my math teacher was excellent and loved people.

I needed to go back to Lima

The months were passing by and so in May, I decided to buy a ticket to Lima to go and surprise my family. I spent three weeks in my home in San Martín de Porres. Honestly, I didn't tell anyone in my family that I would be there for that long. So I took a few days to myself in peace as well and used that time to do my uni work for this year 2016.

Experiences that come and go

After spending this time in Lima, I went back to Rimini with my batteries recharged and had to finish some exams and look for a job. I found one as a receptionist in Riccione, which I think I have mentioned in other posts. In the end I only worked there for three and a half weeks, I didn't like the work environment very much. Even thought I tried to keep myself out of it, I have to say that I could see so many injustices every day that made me very disappointed in the seasonal work system in Rimini, this summer. In some way, it really made me value what I had, back in Peru and my job in the reservation sector of a hotel in my city in Lima.

Conclusion

Time has passed by so quickly and with it the rush to continue growing and experiencing new things, getting to know my classmates more and more and becoming friends with one of them, being able to relate to them more and more every day.

On the other hand, I was able to learn about this culture more and more everyday and for that, I can say, thank you Italy! For giving me an incredible opportunity. Now that I have seen everything that I could see, feel and experience, I know that all of the highs and lows were worth it. It is part of life.

I hope that you have enjoyed this post and I will see you next time. Until then and thanks for reading. See you!

Photo gallery