Rome Sweet Rome! Past Review
By David D (International Relations, Tulane University) for
IES Abroad: Study Rome - Language & Area Studies
I became more independent, self-assured and confident.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
It was all super easy, homework was minimal and grading policies were lax, save that they were strick about attendance. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
IES was often unorganized but the staff was always very friendly and helpful. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host mom treated me like a guest in her house, I never did anything outside of the apartment with her or her son. I had my own room, which was appreciated, but the apartment itself was far away from my school, as well as many other students' apartments. |
| * Food: |
COnsidering the fact that I lived in Italy, I was surprised how bad the food was. I know that that sounds incredibly pretentious to just insult Italy's cuisine, but given that it has such an international reputation, I thought Italy's food would be better than what I've had before in America. Although it wasn't always unsatisfactory, I was honestly surprised how underwhelming Italian food was, especially given its high price tag. Otherwise, the monotony of pizza and pasta became tedious. Gastronomical variety was surprisingly minimal in Italy. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
i got to see a ton of monuments and churches and museums during my stay in Rome. Sightseeing was definitely one of the highlights of living in Rome. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt very safe all the time |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | WAY TOO MUCH MONEY! Which means I always spent at least $100 a week, but typically more. Rome is very expensive, which is strange given both the current economic crisis in the Eurozone and Italy in particular as well as the fact that Rome boasts a generally the lower standard of living (apartments do not have air conditioning, dish washers, microwaves, dryers and often also ovens). |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't buy bus tickets in Rome, no one ever checks them. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Italian 313 - Italian Language and Composition |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
While IES did require that every student take an Italian language class, I feel that language improvement was entirely dependent upon students' own ambition and tenacity to practice the language outside of the classroom. |
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? | Choose IES abroad! It's easy and fun! |
