Rome: Eternally In Love With My Time In The Eternal City Past Review

By Mike A (Marketing, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities) for

IES Abroad: Study Rome - Language & Area Studies

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

I think quite simply it just opened me up much more and exposed me to a world I didn't know existed. It not only expanded my personal boundaries by forcing me to change, adapt, and extend my comfort zone, but also my boundaries of the world. I had never really even left Minnesota much before, and here I was in a foreign land. An experience like this really helps you grow and realize what is out there in this world for the taking- and just what exactly you want to take from it.

Review Photos

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The lack of a prerequisite for one of my "upper level" art classes kinda left a few others and myself struggling. Other than that, all of my classes were a real joy and the field study experience was unlike any other academic experience I have had.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	My only complaint is we didn't realize how helpful they could be on issues we didn't think could be solved (IE- we didn't have an oven for 2+ months), but overall I felt the program was well run.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	We didn't really interact with any of our neighbors- except for the woman below us who felt we were too loud, even though we were the only apartment to never have people over. She chose to scream at us in English, so we truly got no benefit from those interactions haha. The apartment had a decent location in proximity to others, and was right on the tram line. The kitchen didn't have an oven, and it was something we didn't really think could be fixed, but ended up getting one with a month left. Overall, we lived pretty fine.
* Food:	I don't think you'll have any problems finding bountiful amounts of delicious food in Rome. Building a nice rapport at Tony's in Trastevere was key for us- we had our best group meals there full of multiple courses and free bottles of wine.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I wish I had gotten a little more engaged with Rome itself through an internship. Other than that, socially, I had the time of my life with everyone in our program- whether it was on an IES field trip, wandering Rome, or traveling Europe.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:	I never felt truly unsafe- the only issue is there was a much higher threat of being pick pocketed in Rome than what I was used to.
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)

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
Language acquisition improvement?	You could practice your Italian with any of the faculty really. I would say you would use at least a little Italian every day (when you were further away from tourism, such as at the grocery store, small coffee shops, etc), but you could get by a lot of places speaking mostly English.
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Apartment
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	If you have any interest in living in a city full of history and beauty, obviously Rome is a home run. You can enjoy it's beauty, churches, and architecture throughout the day, while still having plenty of options for a nightlife. My advice would be simple- do everything, every day. Don't pass up an opportunity. Do something you can't do at your home university every single day, even if it's just walking past the Colosseum for the 28th time. Quite simply, just never let your time abroad become routine- it's too short and too amazing for that.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Medieval Art
Course Department:
Instructor:	Lila Yawn
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The churches we got to see was a real plus. Other than that, though, this class was a no go with her. She mostly lectured on history, popes, Longobards, etc, then tested us on the meaning of mosaics and such, which a few of us with no prior art history knowledge struggled to grasp on our own.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Italian Economy in the EU
Course Department:
Instructor:	Efisio Espa
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Fairly cut and dry lectures in the classroom. Really nice and knowledge professor though, so the class was just fine.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Forma Urbis: Archaeology of Ancient Roe
Course Department:
Instructor:	Gianni Ponti
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Firmly believe this was the best course offered there. Gianni was awesome and the knowledge and experience I gained throughout the field studies were unmatched.
Credit Transfer Issues: