View from the top of St. Peter's
1. La Citta Eterna
Rome. The city itself is unbelievable. Rome has many sides to it, and regardless of what people may say, it is a great city. At times, it was quite difficult to live in (rude Italians, and equally, if not ruder, Americans and tourists). But, it truly is the Eternal City. Where else would I be able to say I go to school 10 minutes walking distance from the Pantheon (Temple to the Gods?). I walked by history everyday, in fact it surrounded me, and mesmorized me too.
2. Il Cibo
Yes, the food. When I cam home from studying abroad, I think the majority of my relatives were shocked to see that I did not really gain any weight (4 pounds, if you're really curious). I talked about food, a lot, but trust me, Europe's portion sizes, and culture really does allow you to try a lot without stuffing yourself. Food tells me so much about a country. What grows locally, what are customary dishes, why people eat and drink in a certain way. Of course, Italy as a whole probably wins the contest for best cuisine, but I definitely enjoyed trying local dishes from all of the other places I visited.
3. Travelling
It's amazing how accesible it is to travel to other coutnries, once you are in Europe. Through the use of countless budget airlines, trains, buses (not a fan), and research, I was able to visit countless cities within Italy, and various country's within Europe. By doing so, I was able to meet friends in other country's, such as Ren in Austria, and Kirstin in France, and travel with my new friends I had met during the program.
In Italy, I went to: Venice with my Mom, Sicily with Mac and Kate, the Amalfi Coast and Florence with Mac, and to the small regions of Abruzzo and Fumone with my school.
Outside of Italy, I went to: Vienna and Salzburg in Austria, Dublin and Cork in Ireland, London, England and Paris, France.
4. Interning
Intern! There are so many opportunities out in the world for all of us to explore our interests, and I find interning to be one of the greatest ways to do so. I am so grateful that I lived with Mac (she's the ultimate intern...if only you could see her resume!), who really inspired me to ask about interning while in Rome. Our program was also encouraging all of the students to find a job, internship or volunteer. Interning for Katie Parla, of parlafood.com, was one of the best experiences during my Fall term. Between my internship, and Mac's with Hande from Vino Roma, we had the dynamic food-wine duo, as well as built life-long friendships with another great pair of best friends. I thank them both for the immense amount of knowledge, and the experience I shared with them, or was able to have, because of their suggestions (and yes, presence on the Roma food scene).
5. The People
This program would not have been the same without all of the amazing people I met, spent time with, and lived with throughout my stay. An apartment with eight girls is always a (very) overwhelming thing to think about, however I was incredibly lucky to have had the best apartment mates. We were all so different, yet always got along, and would end up in the kitchen for late (wine and chocolate) night discussions. Additionally, I met so many other wonderful ladies (and some gents, but our program was predominantly female), whom I had the pleasure of going on excursions with and experiencing the city through class site-visits, and excursions.
Mac, myself, and many others had the BEST Italian teacher, Mario. Some people may argue they disliked 9 a.m. Italian, but I personally loved starting my day with our extremely enthusiastic teacher. He will always be one of the most motivating academics I will ever have.
Of course, Hande and Katie, who are photographed above. Knowing them allowed us to meet a lot of other awesome foodies and international residents of Roma.
All of Mac's wonderful friends that we visited and came to visit. I am so lucky to have met so many of her friends abroad, whom I have now seen multiply times here at UCSD: Jen, Patrick, Liz, Zach and Zack, Kevin, Kirstin etc.
Lastly, my biggest fortune was being able to room with such a great gal: Mac. Our dynamic was, and still is exceptional. She was my ultimate travel buddy, planner, food consumer, wine teacher, and overall best friend.
My Last Night in Rome- Finally Tossing my Coing into the Trevi Fountain
My list could keep going, but I think this top five is an accurate way to sum up the best parts of studying abroad. I encourage anyone, and everyone, whether you are a student or not, to travel for an extended period of time. There are so many opportunities and programs out there that make this accessible. I know, I am already thinking up my next plan of action to get out of the States. (Italy will definitely be a place I will return to!).
Thank you all for reading Nuovo Inizio. My readers were my motivation for keeping up this blog throughout my stay, and I will always be grateful I did this.
La Fine.
