Catania: A Hidden Treasure Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was significantly less than at Tufts, but that does not mean I did not learn a lot. I took a creative writing class in Italian in which I learned different styles and types of creative writing and then at the end of the term I put together a portfolio of all my writings. That was by far my favorite class. I only had three people in two of my classes and six in the third class, so the class setting was also different than at Tufts.

On-site administration of your program

I had wonderful support from our residential director. He seemed to know everything and organized events for us to attend. Also the professors were good sources of support and were knowledgeable about the culture and city.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My roommate was American and on the program with me, but we were in a dorm with Italian students. The dorm was in the center of the city and walking distance to all areas of the city. Classes were held about a 15 minute walk away. The dorm was very nice, it had a gym, dining facilities, laundry, and a nice courtyard. My room was a typical double and came with a desk, nightstand, and closet. There was internet access in the rooms through an ethernet cable. Our room was connected to the room next door by the bathroom. The girl in the room next door was also American and on the same program. Everyone at the dorm was very friendly and we became quite good friends with many of the students living there.

The food was fantastic!! The fish was fresh, the pasta was homemade, and the gelato was so creamy! I did not have a single bad meal. At the dorm two meals a day were included in our program. Breakfast consisted of pastries, corn flakes, yogurt, crackers and jam. They also served expresso and juice. For dinner you were offered the choice of two pasta dishes, two meat/fish dishes, and vegetables. You could also ask for a salad and dessert was a piece of fruit. For lunch we went to a bar close to our classes or to a gastronomia which is like a take out place where you could get pasta, fish, and meat. Sometimes we would just eat a pastry or sandwich for lunch.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

We went on a day trip to Palmero which was included in the program. I wish we had spent a whole weekend there since it is a big city and I feel like I did not get to see everything. We also went to a Greek amphitheater and saw a Greek play in Italian. There was also an organized trip to Mt.Etna. As a group we attended a swordfish festival and festival for Saint John. It was easy to travel within Sicily, since there were buses that went between major cities, so a few weekends we went to Taormina, which is a small little town on a hill. Also the last weekend of the program we went with one of our professors to Salina, which is a tiny island. It was a nice relaxing place. Within the city of Catania, we hang out in Piazza Bellini, which is where all the young Italians hang out at night. We went to the discotecas a few times and since it was the summer, they were outside and a few were right on the beach. One regret I have is that I did not travel more within Sicily.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never felt unsafe. However just like any city, you should not walk around after dark alone.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

In Sicily, not a lot of people spoke English, thus in order to converse with anyone I had to speak in Italian. My Italian improved tremendously and I feel more confident speaking. We also spoke Italian to the Italian students who lived in our dorm and to our Italian language partners.

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• Dorm

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• Local Students

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• Americans