This month I was all about traveling. For the first three weekends of the month I traveled to a different city in Italy. First was Venice. I went to Venice with my roommate Priscilla for two days. We did not do much because when we got there it was extremely cold and we weren’t really prepared for the weather. We walked around the first day and got dinner.
I cannot believe how fast the month of October flew by! I am terrified that the month of November will go by just as fast or even faster! I am having an amazing experience so far here in Rome.
So I have only been here for five days but I have seen so much. I arrived in Roma, Italia on August 27. I was the first of my apartment-mates to arrive in the apartment. I walked into the apartment, put my things down and just sat down for 30 minutes. Then I called home to let everyone know that I was okay and safe.
After arriving in Rome soaking wet and exhausted I quickly unpacked. After unpacking I laid on my bed talking to my new roommate. Once everyone in my apartment had arrived we decided to go out to eat for the very first time together! While I was sitting outside enjoying my amazing meal I could not wrap my mind around the fact that I was now in Rome.
This program has impacted my study abroad experience dramatically. It is just such an amazing program that prepares you and guides you through this experience to make it the best semester abroad. The prep material that we received prior to arrival made everything so much easier, one of the best things that the program could have done was providing us with transportation to our house on our arrival day.
My experience with SAI in Rome was incredible. Rome itself was amazing and the staff of SAI and the program itself helped further my experience that much more. Before I came, I felt like I was prepared. Or at least as much as I could be, since I was going somewhere completely unknown without any familiar friends.
This was my last full month abroad, and I made sure to squeeze everything in that I could! I finished up all my papers and presentations, which was a huge relief, and now I just have to survive finals week. A few weekends ago I met up with my mom in London, which was great. We saw Lion King from the second row, road the London Eye, and took a tour of the London Tower.
Time to go back :( I am very sad that this semester has come to its end. Studying abroad has been one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I cannot express how much I have enjoyed this semester abroad, I truly recommend every university student to do the same.
This month I begin to see everything around me with even more appreciation, since I know that soon my study abroad experience will come to an end. I really feel a lot of gratitude towards the SAI program which has made this study abroad experience an unforgettable and unique time of my life.
The highlight of this month, and probably the entire trip, was getting to see the election of a new Pope. I was there the very first night for the black smoke and then again on my way the following night when the white smoke went up, and the city raced to the Vatican.
I am starting my last month in Rome and I cannot believe it. Rome is starting to get warm and the sun is starting to shine more and more which makes it that much more beautiful. I did not think it could be better, but it sure is. However, the tourists are coming now.
I’ve almost hit the two-month mark on my time in Rome. That is just crazy to me. All of the cool things that I have been able to see and experience make me never want to go home. I seriously feel like I’m living in a dream world. For example, I had the opportunity of hearing the Pope’s resignation speech yesterday.
Where did the month of February go? One more month that has gone through, which means that I have less time in Rome and I do not like that. This month I traveled to Venice and Florence and I have also spent a lot of time studying and doing school work. I went to Venice the first weekend of February for carnavale and I absolutely loved the city.
This month in Rome has been crazy and filled with travel. SAI took us to Tuscany to visit some wonderful small Italian towns such as Orvieto. The church in Orvieto was the most breathtaking church I’ve been to in Europe. The towns looked just how I’ve always imagined Italy, small back alley streets with looming buildings and vines crawling up all the ledges of windows.
Until this point I cannot believe that I am living here in this wonderful city. Everyday I learn something different such as an Italian word, expression, habit, and everyday I discover something new and amazing. When I first arrived in the airport I felt something that I will never forget in my life and that has changed me forever.
The Italian life has been treating me well this first month. It only took a few bumps in the road to settle in here in Trastevere, Rome. I traveled alone from Charlotte all the way to Rome and even made it smoothly to the door of my apartment and into the elevator, until I reached my floor.
Rome, Italy: The Eternal City. I live there and have been living there for 3 weeks now. That thought still blows my mind. I am starting to feel at home here, but for some reason it still does not seem real. It’s not some vacation that I am here for, but for school and for a good 3 ½ months.
The last month has gone by so quickly! I’ve been to Venice and Florence, and even Paris. In December, I’m taking one last trip to Milan. It’s had its ups and its downs and it’s been a great learning experience. There is a lot that I’ve learned about myself and my friends – I’ve made new friends, and drifted away from others.
All good things must come to an end. Or do they? With only a few weeks left in my study abroad experience, it’s hard to believe that it is almost time to head back home. While we will no longer be in Rome, I know that the end of this journey is the beginning of many more adventures to come. This past month has consisted of a lot of traveling and exploring.
This past month has been one to remember. October was filled with midterms, unforgettable adventures and my birthday. At times I was really stressed out and homesick but I knew I still have so much more to see and experience. Midterms week was horrible, just like back at home. But to make matters worse, everyone was sick, including me! It seemed as if everyone at John Cabot was passing on the flu or something.
After my second month in Rome I can honestly say they weren’t kidding about the stages of homesickness. But it’s pretty easy to distract yourself with all there is to do here. Within the past month I have made a couple more trips and managed to survive midterm week. One night we went to the ballet through SAI. We saw Romeo and Juliet in an incredible theater and had a great excuse to dress up.
For the past couple weeks since midterms, I have been very stressed and overwhelmed, so much so that I have absolutely no desire to do anything. I have research papers and presentations to prepare for and I have graduate schools to consider, with application deadlines right around the corner. I have my last semester of undergrad coming up and graduation is just another block away.
It has been two months since I have been in Rome! Time is going by so fast and it is a constant reminder to enjoy as much as possible! A few weeks ago, I participated in SAI’s cooking class. It was my first Italian cooking class and it was unbelievable! We made a three course meal.
I have been in Rome now for a little over a month and it has been nothing but one adventure after another. This is my first time out of the United States and it was quite the culture shock before I even got out of Fiumicino. I was lucky enough to travel with my good friend back home so all the challenges we came across we faced together.
My first full month has had its ups and its downs; since the Umbria excursion, I was able to meet several new friends who have enlightened in many ways my experiences here in Rome. These are people with whom I hope to remain long-time friends. My trip to Umbria was greater than anything that I’ve done in Italy thus far, even than visiting the religious sites in the city.
I guess the saying is true-time goes by fast when you are having fun! It’s already been a month since I’ve been in Rome and I can’t believe it! This past month has been filled with numerous trips, activities, challenges, and wonderful experiences. The first weekend in September, my roommates and I went on SAI’s first weekend excursion to The Green Heart of Italy-Umbria.
My time abroad thus far has been at times difficult. It’s been a while since I was last thrown into a situation in which I knew no one and no one knew me.
I have been in Italy for about a week and a half now and it still feels like I’m in a dream. I never imagined I would in Rome of all the places in the world for school. I live right by the university in the historic neighborhood of Trastevere. Everywhere I turn I see something unbelievable, whether it be the Pantheon, the coliseum or the Trevi fountain.
I have been in Rome for almost two weeks now and I still can’t believe it. What an incredible experience it has been so far. I can’t wait to see what the semester will be like. I personally struggled with airline and luggage issues coming to Rome, but all my worries were set to ease when an SAI staff member greeted me at the airport.
Living in Rome I feel that I have gotten to experience what the real life of an Italian has been like, instead of just experiencing the tourist attractions. Walking through the piazzas, alleys and narrow roads that make up the heart of Trastevere at night has exposed me to traditional Italian customs that I would not have seen otherwise.
My last month in Rome, I started to see things in a different way. Between the stress of finals and packing, and the exhilaration of traveling to some of my new favorite cities, you would think that Rome was the last thing on my mind. But that is far from the truth.
The last month came and went in a blink of an eye. My friend went from being in the middle of the best experience of our lives to having to say goodbye. The first week of April I took a trip to Corfu, Greece, which was the most beautiful place I have visited yet. From the beach to the mountains, it was an amazing sight to see.
I cannot believe 4 months have already flown by. There are so many significant memories I have while studying abroad that I cannot choose a favorite. These past 4 months have been an incredible and unique experience. Leaving Rome is extremely bittersweet. I will be departing Rome this Saturday with a stronger appreciation for the Italian culture, a handful of new friends, and a ton of amazing memories!
I am on the verge of tears knowing that this will be my last monthly letter. How do I put into words the most amazing semester of my life? In my time studying abroad in Rome, I have met so many people, made new friends, and had the most amazing experiences possible.
The past month I have discovered something totally different from my previous month of traveling outside of Rome; this month I have discovered the beauty of Rome in the springtime. Seeing the city in full blossom, with the sun shining and the air smelling of flowers and grass, was something that I had not expected, and it did not put me in the mindset for doing school work!
The month of March was one of the busiest but most memorable months I have ever had. Each weekend I traveled around Europe, going to Nice, Florence, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and finally Paris. At each location, I found myself absorbed in completely different cultures. With each culture I encountered, I broadened my understanding of not just the world around me, but my understanding of myself as a person.
Being in a big city like Rome makes traveling so much easier because there are always cheap flight deals to nearby cities! With this said, I had the chance to travel to the French Riviera for Carnivale during the first weekend of March. The French Riviera has to be one of my favorite places in the world. Traveling from city to city was so easy by train and each town had a beautiful coast.
I am writing this letter from the Termini Train Station as I wait for my train that will take me to Florence, my final destination. It is hard to believe another month has gone by and that I only have one more left. This experience has definitely made me grow as a person.
Having been abroad for two months now, my new favorite experience has been traveling outside of Rome. I have yet to venture outside of Italy, but have instead visited places like Venice, Florence, and various small towns in Tuscany. Each time I traveled outside of Rome I gained several things. I gained a renewed sense that Rome was definitely the right city for me to study abroad in.
February came with a fury as Rome was shut down due to a snowstorm. Apparently we came during Rome’s coldest winter in 100 years, which includes the most snow in 25. My friend Kelsey and her friends came to visit Rome for the weekend, which started out to be a disaster. The city was in utter chaos as the snow covered the streets.
These past 2 months have flown by incredibly quickly. I guess it’s true what they say, time flies when you’re having fun! I can say without a doubt that making the decision to study abroad in Rome was by far one of the greatest decisions I’ve made in my college career. I say with so much certainty that I will carry with me these stories and adventures to share with family and friends for the rest of my life.
So I have been in Roma for seven weeks now and it just keeps getting more and more amazing. I am now able to navigate the city on my own, for the most part. The weather is just starting to get gorgeous and I try to spend every waking minute outside exploring the city.
I have been in Rome for three weeks now, and I can already tell that the next couple of months will be unlike any that I have experienced before. I have quickly discovered that being in Rome as a tourist and living in Rome as a student are two completely different things. I have already seen a new side of Rome that I did not get the chance to see before, and I fell in love with this side of Rome immediately.
The minute I walked through the streets of Trastevere, I knew that choosing to live and study in Rome, Italy was an incredible choice. The streets of Rome are so inviting to any foreigner, with interesting monuments, ancient ruins and a beautiful river that distinguishes this city from any other in the world. Rome is also relatively larger than the other cities in Italy, which I see as a great advantage.
Having arrived in Rome about three weeks ago, my experience abroad has been a dream come true. Thinking back to boarding the plane in New York just a short time ago, I never imagined I would have adjusted so easily and felt at home so quickly. I thought I would be home sick and miss being at school but I have not experienced either.
I have been in Rome for almost two weeks now and I can say with out any doubt that studying abroad was the best decision of my life. I never imagined how inspiring it would be to travel thousands of miles from home and live in another country for a semester.
