Adjustments

This is the first week that I have started to feel the culture shock that Ana prepared all of the study abroad students for. I find myself missing the ease of having a dinning hall available almost all hours, or being at home with a fully stocked kitchen, with all the utensils/equipment that I need to cook. Just a bit of frustration with "living on my own," but not unmanageable.

Classes also started this week. I am registered for five classes: ITL 102 - Intermediate Italian Two, ECPO 204 - Introduction to the European Union, IARE 302 - Islam and Politics, IA 200 - International Relations: Theories and Cases, and IA 360 - Special Topic: Model UN. Originally the last two classes I wasn't registered for, but I switched into them after attending my Ethics and Global Policies class, which seemed like the intro to ethics class that I've already taken, and the All Roads Lead to Rome religion class, which I found out was a course taught by SEVEN different University of Miami teachers, who flew out to teach this course in Rome. I didn't think having a different teacher every other week was going to help with the adjustment, so I transferred out of it.

I'm excited about all of my classes now, but I am most excited for the Model UN class. The class is required to attend a MUN conference, and the teacher (who's last job was working with the UN World Food Program, as the Country Director and Representative in Ethiopia and Mozambique) has chosen the conference in The Hague, Netherlands, in April. I have wanted to attend a MUN since I was in middle school and one of my classes attended the International Day of Peace in 2007 at the UN Headquarters in NYC. In the MUN, I will be a member of the General Assembly, a member of the Human Rights Committee, or a member of the Environmental Committee. I'm not sure which one I'll pick just yet, as I don't know what country I will be representing.

My Islam and Politics class is making me wish that I hadn't rented the book we used in World History II last year, Destiny Disrupted. I remember all the general information when my professor is lecturing, but not exact details. Maybe there's a kindle version. And my Intro to the EU class is really fast paced but so far very good. I've been told by AUR students that most resident students wait until their senior year to take macro economics, because it's only taught by him. But they also said that he's a good teacher, as long as you come prepared and are willing to work. So it should be a fun, challenging course.

The view from the rooftop terrace of the American University of Rome 

The zoom on my camera is amazing. The tallest tower is the Santa Francesca Romana Church, about 4 kilometers away.

The Wedding Cake, or Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland)

Oh, one last thing. Just when I thought I had my main bus route to and from school down, I'm proven wrong. I take bus 44 both ways, and it's nine stops to school and ten on the way back. I was riding back to the apartment, and had gotten off to go to Todis, a supermarcato on the bus route. When I got back on, I was standing near two school children who were talking, and I was listening, to see if I could recognize any of the words that these children were saying. I was so focused on how much larger their vocabulary was from mine, that I didn't notice that we went right by the stop I'm supposed to get off the bus. I didn't even notice until the bus was turning off the street, which doesn't happen before my stop. So I got off and looked at the sign, and the bus had gone seven or eight stops before I realized it. Luckily, I was able to find my way back, but it was a bit nerve wracking as I was by myself, and in an area I haven't been in before, without internet or a phone. Always a blast. But at least my life is interesting.

Until next time!

Arrival and Orientation Week

January 19th and 20th

My trip started with my father and I driving to Montreal for my flight to Rome, with Air France and a layover in Paris. Both my checked bag and my carry-on were underweight! I kept setting the metal detector off, so I was patted down both in Montreal and in Paris. Other than that, everything else went as planned.

During the layover in Paris, I met up with seven other ISA students who were taking the same flight into Rome as I did. The flight got delayed because of fog, so we got into Rome a bit later than scheduled, but ISA was still there to pick us up. Because we flew in from the EU, our plane landed in Terminal 1 instead of 3, which is where ISA pickup was scheduled to meet, but they surprised us and were waiting outside baggage claim for us.

ISA had hired drivers to carry us and our luggage to the apartment, giving us a chance to settle in, go grocery shopping, etc. The car ride was terrifying, because our driver was on his cell phone the entire time and didn't seem to want to stay in his lane. Myself and another ISA student named Jessica were in the very back of the van, and we were sure that we were going to die before we even got to do/see anything. We finally got to the apartments, where a group of people helped us bring in our luggage and showed us how to use our keys and walked us through the apartment. I had been awake for 27 hours by that point, so none of the details are sticking out in my mind.

ISA had told us to meet them downstairs in the lobby of our building by 6:30, so they could take the 8tram with us into Rome, to the last stop near the Trevi fountain. We had dinner, which was amazing! The first course, Primo, was a pasta sampler dish, which was very good. The Secondo and Contorno was Saltimbocca Alla Romana (veal topped with prosciutto and sage, and paired with roasted potatoes). Dolce was tiramisu.

After dinner, we had to take the 8tram back to our apartments by ourselves. One of the ISA directors led us back to the trams and "accidentally" put half of us on one tram and half on another. We all made it back safe and sound but it was a little nerve racking since we didn't know for sure what stop it was to get to the main road, to lead us back to Antonio Bennicelli where the apartment is.

January 21st

ISA/AUR had scheduled an orientation for 10:30, so myself and two of my roommates, who both happen to be named Hannah and are from central Ohio, left around 9:45 so we could be a bit early. We knew we had to take either the 44 bus or the 870 bus to get to AUR, but we could not find either of the bus stops to get on. We walked all over the nearby streets with the little maps ISA had given us, which weren't very helpful because the neighborhood we live in is cut off of the map. We finally found the stop for the 870 bus around 11:15 am and got on, but it didn't ever go north of where we boarded the bus, it just kept circling. So we got off when we were near our apartment and went back upstairs to call ISA and look up the 44 stop again. It turned out to be on the next street over from the main street near our apartment, so we all felt pretty stupid for not seeing it and figuring it out. We got to AUR around noon, where Vera, one of the ISA directors met us outside the gates of the school and helped us get started on filling out our student IDs and permit to stay forms. We then went to ISA's office to have the orientation we missed, but luckily we weren't the only group of students that got lost that day.

At 2:15 ISA had planned a walking tour of Rome, so myself and Hannah Squared had lunch at a little pizzeria, which was molto delizioso. We met back up with the ISA students and started our walking tour. It was amazing to see everything that I had learned about in middle and high school, and some of the things I had learned about last semester in my Italian Renaissance Art History class, like all the piazzas, the Pantheon, and all of the arcades and columns.

The View from Fontana dell'Acqua Paola

Graffiti near the Fontana dell'Acqua Paola. It reads "It is the hour of getting drunk! For do not be tormented slaves of time, be drunk always! Of wine, of poetry or of virtue, as you please.

Tiber River

A street near the Palazzo Farnese

Fontana del Moro in Piazza Navona

The Pantheon 

Sculpture of Christ on the Cross inside The Pantheon

Raphael's Tomb inside the Pantheon

Close up of the tomb 

The Trevi fountain is under restoration :(

But they put this up so I could still have my Lizzie McGuire moment :)

Ciao!

If I had planned better...

... this would have been the first post. It's sort of the About Me page, why I'm studying abroad and who I am.

About the blogger and the study abroad program:

• I am a 20 year old female college student who is about to leave the United States and study abroad in Italy for the next 17 weeks.
• I am in my last semester of my junior year at Castleton State College in Castleton, Vermont.
• As a Global Studies Major at Castleton, I am required to study abroad for at least 15 weeks and become culturally immersed in the country I will be living in.
• Becoming culturally immersed is the key part of this study abroad experience. I have to be an active participant in Roman culture, to experience more than just the college and my apartment. Here is a link to an article that explains this idea really well. 
• I plan to become culturally immersed in a few different ways:
• 1) Find a language partner. The American University of Rome (AUR), the school I am attending, states on their website that they have an existing program for this purpose, which I plan to use.
• 2) Sign up for a cooking class, and if time/money permits, a painting class. I want to learn how to cook authentic Italian foods, and I want to improve my painting skills. (I can't think of a better place for either!)
• 3) Volunteer my time while I'm abroad. AUR has a few opportunities for students to get involved in the local area, and there may be some in the neighborhood I am staying in as well.
• When I return to Castleton in the Fall and start my senior year, I will be enrolled in a Capstone Seminar, where I will prepare a presentation and a paper that connects my education at Castleton with what I learned abroad through my cultural immersion.

Why Italy:

• I chose Rome for my study abroad for a few different reasons. 
• First is that I have always wanted to visit Italy. Italy has drawn me in since I was little. There is a whole list of why: the amazing food and flavors that are authentically Italian; ancient buildings that exist to this day; the language sounds beautiful; the Vatican; the Renaissance period with artists like Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Giotto, and Bramante; the sights from tall towers, looking over the entire city. My grandfather and his partner Joe go to Florence every eight years or so, and I have always dreamed that I would be able to go to Italy on my own someday. I had considered a transfer year when I was in high school, but I instead skipped my junior year and graduated early. Italy just made the most logical sense for my study abroad when I transferred to Castleton.
• Second was the courses that were available to me, and their ability to transfer back to Castleton. I am taking three political science classes, a religion course, and a foreign language course, which will apply directly to my Global Studies Major and my Political Science Minor. These courses will give me a first hand opportunity to learn about the European Union while living there, to learn about the global impact from different countries foreign policies, and learn about religion and culture in a country that has a huge influence on both. 
• Third is best described by my blog title, which is "il cuore non sbaglia." This literally translates to "the heart is not wrong." However, its English counter proverb would actually be "The heart sees farther than the head" or "trust your instincts." Rome is a gut instinct. It feels right.