A year of trains, self-discovery, and gelato in Bologna, Italy Past Review

By Sarah F (History of Art, Wellesley College) for

Eastern College Consortium (ECCO): Bologna - Università di Bologna Study Abroad Program

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

My study abroad experience was incredibly worthwhile and wouldn't trade that year for anything. I learned how to be more outgoing, to make mistakes (when learning a new language it is bound to happen), how to cook, and how to be my own best friend. The year was incredibly inspiring and I can't wait to travel again!

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here:	University of Bologna
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The ECCo classes were great! I enjoyed them immensely. Especially the Art History courses. Lucia Corrain was inspiring!! I did have one particularly nasty experience, which I will expand upon below.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	The Italian administrators are terrific! They were helpful and knowledgeable.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I had an amazing room. It was gigantic. But I was also one of the most insecure Italian speakers and I was put in an apartment with 10 other foreign students who spoke fluent Italian. It was overwhelming and a wee bit scary at the beginning.
* Food:	Umm. I do not believe I will ever eat so well ever again. Really. Go to places that have a lot of people eating or waiting around but pretty much everywhere in Bologna is delicious. And don't forget to cook your own meals (buy breathtaking tortellini at Mercato dell'herbe). And say hi to Rita for me! (She will be giving you cooking lessons, provided by ECCo)
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I had an absolutely amazing time in Italy and traveling to other countries. The program had great field trips to Umbria (1st semester) and Napoli (2nd semester). The only change I would make would be having the 2nd semester trip further in the semester cause it was very cold in Napoli and I would have it to Sicilia because the island is hard to get to and pretty much everyone wants to visit.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	I didn't get sick while abroad so I had no health issues. The only times I felt unsafe I was outside Bologna. I always felt safe in Bologna.
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)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	I was all over the place. One week I wouldn't spend any money on food and just eat other peoples food, but the next week I would spend lots on food to pay all those people back. It varied greatly.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	I didn't think that I would be spending much money eating out but when everyone started doing it, and you were in the food capital of Italy, it was hard to say no.

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 202
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?
Language acquisition improvement?	We were supposed to speak Italian all the time. But we did not. We spoke Italian a lot though. The only change I would make would be to make the ECCo office an Italian only zone and make the kids sign a form about it at the start of the program. I think it probably was an Italian only zone but I would stress that more at the beginning and be tough on the students.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Dorm
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Local Students
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Do it! It will be tough sometimes but in the end it was all worth it.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Archaeologia dell'Emilia Romagna
Course Department:	Dipartimento di Archeologia and Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia
Instructor:	Paola Porta
Instruction Language:	Italian
Comments:	The course seemed amazing and I learned quite a bit in the actual classroom. My issue came about when I was taking my final oral exam that was going to be my whole grade. I went into her office after many of my American friends had finished their exams and were incredibly pleased with the results. The second I stepped into the office something was off. She had just gotten off the phone and seemed upset about something. She started asking me questions that were not covered in the readings we were assigned to read for the exam and got very and and frustrated with me when I was unable to answer 100% correctly. Another professor had walked in with me into the office and Prof. Porta started commenting to this professor about how stupid Americans were. I became very upset and she jotted down a grade for my exam that I thought was too low so I protested. She scoffed at me and said that I had nothing to offer but would let me try to explain a topic from the reading. I grasped at staws and tried to explain anything I could. She simply shook her head and told me to leave. That was an eye-opening experience, but supposedly that happens all the time in Italy. I was mostly hurt by her additional snide comments about America. That hit me hard. I would not recommend this course.
Credit Transfer Issues:	Don't know yet.