Richmond in Rome Rules Past Review

By Sean H (Finance and Financial Management Services., The College of William and Mary) for

AIFS: Rome - Richmond in Rome and Internship Program

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

It was awesome. It helped me learn to adapt to new cultures and different customs. It made me more culturally and linguistically aware. I have a greater love for travel now more than ever.

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Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	My experience with Richmond in Rome was an amazing cultural experience. My professors offered interesting perspectives as Italian professors that taught both Italian and American students. I took a diverse mix of liberal arts courses from 7 credits of Italian language, a course in Italian Political history, a course on the European Union, and a course in High Renaissance Art History. Art History was awesome because we met for most classes in churches and museums.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Roasana Graziani is awesome. She organizes and manages the program and the administrators beneath her very well. The other administrators like Marco, the librarian, was helpful with everything from finding books for research to helping speak with travel agents. The other event organization staff was awesome in booking and escorting us to events.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	great 4-person apartment with 3 bedrooms, dining room, kitchen and 1 bathroom in awesome location tucked away next to the Campidoglio. washer, no dryer.
* Food:	learned to cook from roommates, which was helpful. there was a deli right downstairs where i could pick up lunch
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	awesome trips through the program on weekends and through my own planning. the night life was awesome and i made great friends
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	i got really sick when i was in Florence, and the program head called an English-speaking doctor for me at 5 in the morning to come to where i was.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget? (1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	pay for your trips at the beginning of the semester and divide up your money accordingly afterwards. it was nice to have meal tickets, but it was frustrating when too many were used for alcohol.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	None
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure?	Italian 101
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?
Language acquisition improvement?	they offered after-school aperitivos and dinners with local Italians to practice speaking.