The smell of espresso and fresh bread filled the air as scooters zipped past Valentina Barrientos, a student at the Columbus School, on a warm July morning in Milan. She clutched her train ticket next to her friend Antonia, heart racing with excitement. This was the city she had always dreamed of—the center of fashion, culture, and everything she loved about Italy. “The city was amazing, and I felt like I belonged there,” Valentina said. For her, Milan wasn’t just another stop on a summer exchange; it was the moment she realized how much she had grown in just two months away from home.

From June to August 2024, Valentina left behind her familiar routines in Colombia to live with a host family, study Italian, and experience life in Italy firsthand. Along the way, she faced uncomfortable adjustments, navigated cultural differences, and learned to manage her own freedom. This wasn’t simply about learning a language—it was about learning how to be independent.

Valentina’s decision to go on the exchange started with a love for the country itself. “I always liked Italy because I love the language and the culture was really interesting to me,” she explained. For her, Italy wasn’t just a travel destination—it was a place to connect with fashion and immerse herself in something new.

But living with a host family proved different from what she expected. She missed the little comforts of home, like being able to open the fridge whenever she wanted. “My lady in the family was like an older woman who only gave me food at certain hours,” [34:61 – 41:52] Valentina said. At first, the rules felt restrictive, but they forced her to adapt. She later admitted that “not being able to go to the kitchen and grabbing something to eat was challenging at first,” but it helped her realize how much she had taken for granted.

Outside the home, school presented its own set of challenges. “Studying Italian was also a really fun experience because I was the youngest person in the class and everybody was more experienced or had been there before,”[57:72-01:09] she said. Making friends wasn’t easy at first, but she grew to appreciate how much the experience stretched her socially.

Cultural differences also caught her by surprise. “Italians are very harsh people, they are very direct with the way they speak, and how they say things sometimes sounds like a little rude,” Valentina said. Over time, though, she came to see their directness as honesty rather than rudeness. That shift helped her adapt not just linguistically, but culturally—a lesson she carried with her even after the summer ended.

Perhaps the biggest change, though, was the freedom she had to manage on her own. “I feel like this trip really changed me because I needed to be able to manage my own money and my time and do everything independently,” she said. For the first time, there was no curfew, no one setting limits for her.  That freedom, while overwhelming at first, taught her how to balance responsibility with independence.

Exchange programs are often framed as adventures abroad, but for students like Valentina, they become turning points. They’re about learning how to adapt, communicate, and grow in unfamiliar spaces. Her story shows how stepping outside your comfort zone can reshape how you see yourself.

Standing in Milan, Valentina saw more than a city; she saw proof that she could build a life on her own terms. Independence, she learned, was the greatest gift Italy could give her.