CEA Rome: A Learning Experience Past Review
By Annie B (Humanities, Providence College) for
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Rome, Italy
Yes
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Most classes required papers, sometimes research papers (which can be difficult given the lack of real library resources). Class attendance is kept fairly strictly but each class has a specific number of class you can miss without penalty. Class participation is also important but its not hard to be involved in the class due to small class sizes. There are also midterms and finals. The classroom environment is much different than at PC however. Usually the classes have a pretty relaxed feel and the students often develop good relationships with the professors, which has been one of my favorite aspects of the program. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The CEA staff in Rome are so helpful and kind and they will do their best to help you with any problem you have, however insignificant. They are always available to chat and it is very easy to develop friendships with them as well. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
We live in a very safe neighborhood of Rome, within a 5 minute walk to the CEA Campus. |
| * Food: |
Lots of pizza and pasta! CEA's mealplan was also really helpful. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The overnight excursion to Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri was one of my favorite memories from the semester. Everyone in the program got to know each other and I have many fond memories from that weekend! Not to mention the Amalfi Coast is beautiful! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I didn't have any health issues during my semester. |
| 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) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Remember that you're using the Euro, not the Dollar! Many people forget to think about the conversion when they purchase something. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
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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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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? | Have patience. Rome can a difficult or frustrating place to live. Life is unpredictable and things (such as public transportation) are often unreliable but I've become a much more patient person since living here. |
