Vegan foodie studies sustainability and stays full in Rome. Past Review
By Marguerite Horton (University of Vermont) - abroad from 05/22/2017 to 06/23/2017 with
Borromini Institute: Rome - Institute for Food Studies Semester and Programs
I learned that there are amazing people doing amazing work to combat the social and environmental issues that I am passionate about. I also learned how important it is to get worldly views of these issues and to compare and contrast how effectively they are being dealt with in one place compared to another.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
My favorite part about Gustolab was how hands on the entire learning experience was. I think that inside the class room, what was asked from us was incredibly fair. I don't think I would been able to get the full experience of Rome if I had taken another course or had more work to do. However, I do believe that one of the responsibilities of being accepted to a program that encourages constant critical thinking and the immersion of yourself into the culture, is being constantly active and engaged during your stay. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
How Salem, Margherita, and Maria Palos can handle so many students at one time I will never know. Together, they are always there for anyone who needs anything literally ever. I greatly appreciated them throughout my stay in Rome in addition to my professors and Sonia Massari. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Not the greatest arrangement but I was only there to sleep and grab a snack between class. |
| * Food: |
Rome has UNREAL vegan food. I was so surprised and so thankful for the amount of restaurants I found that had no issue accommodating to me. It gave me so much hope to find and eat at all vegan/vegetarian establishments while studying sustainable food systems abroad. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I highly highly highly recommend either knowing Italian before you go or taking a class while you are there. I found social interactions to be so incredibly beautiful and was bummed I could not engage myself because I did not know any Italian. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Be smart! I found how safe I felt to be similar to when I am in NYC. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I would absolutely love to go back, especially to catch up with the program's faculty and staff. I hope the connections I made will last me a life time, there is no doubt that what I learned and experienced will. |
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) |
This depends what/where you eat. I enjoyed going to smoothie shops and vegan cafes that tended to be less expensive. However, for lunch or dinner the meals were a bit pricier. I did some grocery shopping in "ugly fruit" and leftover bins and since I taking a food waste course did I partake in eating some food "waste" which allowed me to save money. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $120 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Have a general idea of what you want to do in Rome before you get there. Do you want to go to concerts/experience night life or eat really good food? Don't feel like you have to over indulge in everything. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Really try to be familiar with it before you go. |
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? | How much speaking the language would have benefited me and having a general idea of what I wanted to do outside of class while I was there. |
