The Iowa State University sophomore got the chance of a lifetime when she signed up to take a four-month study-abroad journey, which started with a stay in Italy.

The trip was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the month she spent in Italy was an unforgettable experience.

The 2018 Webster City High School graduate arrived on Jan. 24, and once she set foot on the foreign soil, it was love at first sight. Olson, a public relations major at ISU, was part of an 11-person group staying in Italy.

“We were in Urbino, which was a special city,” Olson said. “There was a one-lane road (through the community), and on both sides, there was big architecture.

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Webster City High School graduate Cinestie Olson, left, enjoys some dancing time while on her study abroad trip in Italy.

“It felt like you were on a movie set.”

While in Urbino, the group took classes, including an “intensive” Italian course. Urbino was a small town, but Olson was able to explore the area, checking out the restaurants, book shops and cafes.

“There was a mall with a tiny little shop in Fortezza that had a beautiful overlook,” Olson said. “On the weekends, we would travel to nearby cities on the coast. We would have little adventures.”

Visiting Fortezza had a huge impact on Olson.

“I have a lot of good memories from Fortezza,” Olson said. “It was a great place to hang out and have a picnic or take a nap while observing the view. There was a swing set and zip line. We spent a lot of time up there taking naps and enjoying the weather.

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Shown here is a view from Italy where Webster City graduate Cinestie Olson took her study abroad trip with Iowa State University.

“It was a really nice place to go after class. With no plans, it was good to just go there and relax.”

The biggest culture shock was the transition from speaking English to Italian.

“My expectations were that there would be a lot of English, but there wasn’t very much,” Olson said. “We had some people with us that spoke a little Italian, but we were basically thrown into it.

“Everyone was very friendly and had a huge impact on us. There were no cars, so we did a lot of walking.”

The Italian cuisines were as expected.

“The pasta and the food — everything was amazing,” Olson said. “They were some of the best meals I’ve had in my entire life.”

Learning about the culture, of course, was a key component to traveling the land.

“Our schedule was so different than back at Iowa State,” Olson said. “Our schedule was different each week. We would have classes for about three hours a day and then have the rest of the time to ourselves.”

With her trip cut short due to the pandemic, Olson wished she had time to do a little more exploring.

“I regret not going further away, but I thought we would have had more time,” Olson said. “We were planning on going to Milan, because we had concert tickets there. On spring break, we planned on going to Europe, Amsterdam, London and Paris for school.

“We were set up to go to Greece and Croatia before we got sent back. It’s been my dream to go to Rome and see the Coliseum.”

The four-month expedition was officially cut short with an email on Feb. 29, when Iowa State University informed the group they must return to the United States. Italy was at warning Level 3 for the coronavirus at that point.

With that announcement, everything changed in the blink of an eye.