Rome is a fantastic place to spend a semester! Past Review
By Carly M (Anthropology, University of California - Berkeley) for
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Rome, Italy
Yes! I have learned so much about living in Italy while here, and about myself. It's been absolutely wonderful to spend a semester in Rome.
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. |
The work load was perfect for a semester abroad. We still had to maintain our studies, but we were also able to travel as much as we wanted on the weekends. The work load was much lighter than my home university, but I was just as busy due to traveling. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The staff was very friendly and helpful. We were always able to get help or recommendations whenever we needed it. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Our neighborhood was a huge benefit to adapting to the culture. Our apartment is situated in a very residential area of Rome, where hardly anybody speaks English. Because of this, our Italian language skills were much better than other American students in other programs who live closer to downtown. |
| * Food: |
The food here is AMAZING! We live next to a whole heap of pizzarias, pasticcerias, gelaterias, and the like. All of them are great. And, there is a fresh farmer's market right down the street where we can easily pick up some fresh produce. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We went to Florence at the beginning of the semester, and then to Orvieto towards the end. Both trips were fantastic experiences to places I might not have made it to on my own. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The safety advice we were given was quite helpful. In any big city there are dangers of theft, but we were able to notice who to avoid and how to not stand out in a crowd. Many students in the program were sick throughout the semester, but that is to be expected when in a new country and not getting a sufficient amount of sleep. The farmacias were quite helpful when we needed any over-the-counter medicines. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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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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? |
The course was helpful and I learned a great deal from talking with my professor. I learned the most outside of class, however, through conversations with locals. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live 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? | Be as extroverted as possible. You can't get a true cultural experience here without communicating with locals and trying to befriend them. The most fun I had while here was when trying to talk to locals. |
