Once the novelty of arriving had worn off I had to find a way of meeting people and getting to know the community. Mogliano itself is very small with very little aside from the rugby club. In the smaller areas of Italy though, as I subsequently found out from my fellow peers in their experience abroad, it is often the case that these less well known areas have a great sense of community and belonging. I joined a local football club which I found thanks to the basketball coach of one of the kids in my host family, and it was the perfect way to make myself feel at home. I was participating in sport – so doing something I loved – and as the only foreign member in the team everyone valued me and saw me as the (not so expensive) foreign import to befriend and make feel welcome. After games we would go out for lovely meals and usually some prosecco. The wine enthusiasts should know that prosecco is in fact from Treviso, so its quality was divine and was probably the number one reason why my mum hurried over to see me in the November half term!
When she came over with my dad we obviously went to Venice as aside from it being one of the most beautiful and iconic cities in the world, it was only 10 minutes away and a return train cost under 3 Euros. What made our trip to Venice unique though was that I had already asked my colleagues and friends for some advice on what to do, given they know the place so well. Added to the fact I could speak decent Italian by this point, I really felt like I was showing my parents my city.
After returning to England for a couple of weeks over the festive period, I had one more month in this picturesque corner of Northern Italy before I left at the end of January. Mogliano is not too far from the mountains, and this meant that January was extremely cold; below freezing every day and with high humidity the chill really got to your bones. I wanted to watch as much of the rugby training sessions as I could, but I could only really last 20 minutes before succumbing to the conditions.
The lasting impression I will have of Mogliano is the goodbyes I said on my last day at the club on the final matchday in January. I exchanged long hugs with these people that I had got to know over the five months I spent there, and I thanked them for everything they had done for me to help me settle and make my experience enjoyable. My experience in Mogliano will be unlike what many do on their year abroad; it appeals to those with a penchant for sport and those willing to take a plunge into the unknown. But it was incredibly rewarding. To see the impact that I had had on this small community was incredibly satisfying and told me that the more you put in, the more you get out.
"My experience in Mogliano will be unlike what many do on their year abroad; it appeals to those with a penchant for sport and those willing to take a plunge into the unknown. But it was incredibly rewarding"