A perfect summer experience Past Review
By jjlawler (University of Southern California) - abroad from 06/10/2013 to 07/19/2013 with
AIRC: Rome - Interdisciplinary Semester in Italy
I returned home with a maturity level that I've found in very few of my peers. Besides the confidence I gained from living in Rome without a word of Italian, I also completed a rigorous course and made more genuine friendships than I have had in a long time. I have thought about my time in Rome every day since I left (as I write this review, it has been about three weeks), and the further into the past it goes the more I value the experience.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The program was very slick and ran without a hitch - there wasn't a single delay or missing resource to detract from the wealth of information being passed down by the professors. A truly first-rate learning experience. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Satisfying service, no problems, no complaints. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I was placed in what happened to be the worst housing unit of the group - and I stayed in a suite replete with balconies, a fully equipped kitchen, and a TV. I visited every unit in which the students in my class were housed, and it was satisfying (nearly luxurious) across the board. |
| * Food: |
Obviously, in Italy, the food was spectacular. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The only detractor is that I never learned Italian. Otherwise, I would have been as integrated as anyone, since our professors regaled us with local color and (by the same coin) stories about the places we saw. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Two students who became too sick to continue with the program were swiftly and painlessly flown back to the U.S. Another student who sprained her ankle was given crutches and restricted from participating in the dig until she was at full health. I commend the people in charge for their professionalism. Of course, Italy's healthcare system is no marvel, so if anything more serious had happened, I would have been worried about the result. |
| * Safety: |
No problems arose with the students in my class, because we were all careful to always travel in large groups at night. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* 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) |
I made the choice to eat out and experience the city, but some of my roommates chose to cook their own meals every night and experienced a very low-cost arrangement. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $150 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | It's very easy to be cheap in Rome, so long as you cook your own meals. Spaghetti, a little meat, tomatoes, mozarella, olive oil, vinegar: all these ingredients can be mixed around to create a different meal every night, and it will invariably be delicious. The quality of food in Italy is unsurpassed. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | It is completely worth the effort to learn Italian. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
