ABOUT

My name is Jake DeCarli, and I am a current Fulbright English Teaching Assistant based in Matera, Italy for the 2022-23 academic year. The Italian language has been a passion of mine for the past four years of my life. I discovered my love for Italian during my first semester at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 13 Italian courses later, I graduated from Dickinson with a BA in Italian studies and international studies in May 2022.

 

I had planned to study abroad for the 2020-21 academic year at Dickinson's program in Bologna, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced a suspension of the program. However, I finally made it to Bologna in January of 2022 to complete field research for my honors Italian studies thesis. After being in Bologna only for two weeks, I knew that I wanted to return to Italy. 3 months after my trip to Bologna, I received the news that I won a Fulbright award to teach English in Italy. 

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In this blog, I will share stories from my adventures in Matera, Italy as a Fulbright scholar. Like any life experience, there are moments that are wonderful, confusing, challenging, and satisfying. I hope to take you all with me on this journey of navigating life almost 5,000 miles from my hometown. All of my stories and views are entirely my own and do not reflect the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State, or any of its other programs.

 

Add me on Facebook to see regular content of my journey: @Jacob DeCarli.

I am always open to answering questions, so please reach out to me via email! 

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