To Italy and Beyond

Hey, I'm Jake Jandacek, finishing my sophomore year at Batavia High School. I've always been interested in the unknown, and recently I've taken a strong liking to traveling. I jump at virtually any opportunity to travel, and being able to study abroad and live in Italy for an entire year is something incredibly astronomical to me. I gave the idea a lot of thought, and finally applied to study abroad with AFS next year. My departure from O'Hare September 8th, and I'll be in Italy until July of 2012. 


I've always had a fascination with Europe and its expansive culture. There's so much of the world that people will never personally see, and I want to have the opportunity to see as much of it as I can. A big reason why I want to study abroad is for the experience. People's high school years are the years that form who they are and what they make of their lives. Being an exchange student is definitely going to be a life changing experience for me.


I had a seemingly endless amount of possible countries to choose from, and deciding on a final choice was not an easy task. When I decided on Italy, it was because of everything it has to offer. Having taken Latin courses, I'm really interested in ancient Rome as well as much more of Italy's past. I'm heavily involved in music and interested by art, so that was definitely a major factor in my decision as Italy has a plethora of artistic and musical culture. I know that regardless of where I go in Italy, I'll have an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime inter-cultural experience. I feel that being an "ambassador" of the US will really be a good thing for me, sharing the American culture with my host family and community, as well as learning about the Italian culture.


Grazie e arrivederci,
Jake