Juliana Blakely
UMBC Faculty-Led: Comparative Politics and the Italian Political System
Major: Political Science
Study Abroad Post #1: Pre-departure
Ciao di Maryland (Hello from Maryland)! I officially have less than a week until I board the flight to Rome for the winter semester! Going into my first semester as a UMBC student, I hadn’t even considered doing a study abroad experience. To be honest, I’m a bit of a workaholic and couldn’t see myself taking off a month of work to traverse a different country, and I also worried about the cost.
During my first week on campus, I wanted to join groups on myUMBC and came across the UMBC Education Abroad group. To learn more about these experiences, I looked at the Study Abroad Ambassador blogs. When reading through all of the blogs, I fell in love with the idea of studying abroad and found the perfect program for me: Comparative Politics in Rome for two weeks. I also knew that if I was accepted to the program, I’d want to share my experience as a Study Abroad Ambassador, so I’m thrilled that I was able to receive this opportunity! Going to Rome is an amazing winter destination, especially right after Jubilee. Jubilee is an event that only happens every 25 years and can be described as a holy year for Catholics. It’s an important year for Catholics to seek forgiveness and deepen their faith. What this means for Rome is an even larger influx of visitors than normally expected. Jubilee began December 24th and ends January 6th, so we’ll have just missed this major celebration.
Back at home, I’m working on packing everything that I’ll need for my trip. I’m a little nervous, as I’ve never traveled by myself before (especially not internationally!), so I’m unsure about what to expect. There’s also been quite a bit of snowfall in Maryland for the past couple of days, so I’m hoping for no delays for our flights! Because I’m only taking one suitcase at this point and a comically large backpack, it’s been a bit like a game of Tetris to pack all the clothes necessary for 2 weeks.
Before we actually depart on our trip, we have about a week of online synchronous pre-departure classes, which I’ve greatly enjoyed! They’re about 6 hours, with 3 hours in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. Because of our lovely professor, time seems to fly by! Our professor is a member of the political science department, and she’s incredibly passionate about Italian politics, which makes the course more intriguing.
So far, we’ve been learning about different parts of the Italian political system and comparing it to what our equivalent looks like in the United States. We’ve been able to learn Italian phrases, so we won’t stick out as tourists while we’re abroad and even have cooking lessons at the end of our morning sessions.
In between packing and class, my family and I found some time to head to the National Harbor, where we were able to do a bit of shopping and take in the views. I also wanted to practice taking photos while I was abroad for the blog, as I was given a new phone for Christmas, and I wanted to get used to its camera. My parents and I had a lot of fun playing with the different camera settings, and I was able to come up with some photo ideas while I’m abroad.
What I’m looking forward to in Rome
Although I’ve been to Rome before, I went two years ago in the middle of an intense heat wave, so this experience will already be different than before. When I was accepted into this program, I already had some things that I wanted to do differently than the last time I was in Rome:
- Conversing more in Italian! The last time I was there, I didn’t speak a lick of Italian other than basic phrases like buon giorno (good morning), arrivederci (goodbye), and prego (thank you/please). I hope this time I’ll be able to converse more in Italian and even pick up some more Italian while I’m there.
- Make connections with people in my program. On my previous visit, I was accompanied by my family and other families on a study abroad experience, so I wasn’t able to make as many friendships as I had hoped. My hope is that like college, the fact that we’ll be living together in a different environment and spending so much time together will create friendships.
- This may be an obvious one but trying all the food! When going to Italy for the first time, I found my palate expanding and I tried more food than I anticipated I would before. While abroad, I hope to try all the delicious food spots in Rome and even in other cities. Previously, my favorite treat was gelato, which I had every day for a week. I’m hoping that my memory hasn’t served me wrong!
- Exploring the city! Although ironically, I’m not the biggest city person, I want to make sure that I’m seizing this great opportunity and seeing the sights to the best of my ability. I don’t have any specific places that I want to visit that aren’t already baked into our itinerary, but I’m hoping to find out more about potential sites while I’m there.
For most of the time I’ve been in school, I’ve studied French and before I did that, I was learning Spanish. Because of this, I felt pretty confident jumping into learning Italian. One thing I found out the hard way was how different Italian is from the romance languages I was accustomed to. Although there are some similarities, going from Spanish to French was much easier than going from French to Italian. Nevertheless, I’ve been working on it since I learned that I was accepted to my program and know a few phrases that should make it easier to get around and navigate around Rome.
What I’m looking forward to during the course
One of the unique aspects about this trip that I’m looking forward to experiencing is our official visits. We’ll be visiting different parts of the Italian political system, such as the Corte Suprema di Casszione (Italian Supreme Court), Palazzo Montecitorio (Parliament), and Palazzo Del Quirinale (President’s Palace). This week of official visits will definitely make for an interesting experience. Being a political science major, I look forward to seeing the similarities and differences between the Italian political system and the American political system.
A major advantage of my study abroad experience being through UMBC is I already had the opportunity to meet a few people going on the trip with me. Although I’m one of the only freshmen going on the trip, I already know a few other political science majors, which helps me feel at ease. I’ve also gotten to know my classmates due to our pre-departure classes.
It’s incredibly surreal that I’m going to Rome this soon! I can’t wait to give an update about how my first week abroad went. A presto (See you soon)!
Study Abroad Post #2: In-Country
Ciao di Roma (Hi from Rome)! These past few days have been a whirlwind! It still hasn’t completely hit me that we’re in Italy right now! Every day has been so full of activities, and it feels like we don’t have a moment to sit and process that we’re currently in the middle of such an amazing experience.
Jan 10th
Flying to Rome was surprisingly simple and easy. It also alleviated some unease about traveling solo, as my professor and a few other students from the program. Because I hadn’t slept well in almost a week, I slept through most of the 8-hour plane ride. When we arrived in Rome, customs and baggage claim also went incredibly fast. The ride from the airport to our apartment was slightly stressful since a lot of Romans are incredibly aggressive drivers. In a way, it was like we were back in Maryland!
When we got to our apartment in one piece, the girls and I were given a tour by the landlord of our apartment. The accommodations are enchanting, and we’re given a gorgeous view of our building’s terrace. After getting settled in, we walked over to the mandatory orientation for our program. While strolling through Rome, we were marveled at the beauty of the city and how warm it was (about 64 degrees Fahrenheit).
When going to the orientation for our host program (IES Abroad), we were told to anticipate lunch, but I wasn’t expecting a delicious buffet! There was lasagna, gnocchi, assorted vegetables, and chicken. Craving non-airplane food, I loaded up on gnocchi and zucchini. The gnocchi were delicious, and the zucchini was packed with flavor. For dessert, I had my first tiramisu ever, and it was even better than I expected! Although usually I’m not a coffee person, the coffee balanced the other flavors out.
After our meal, we were taken to a classroom where we were given a presentation about what to expect in Rome and general upkeep tips for our apartments. Although everyone was incredibly jetlagged, we somehow managed to get through the talk! Afterward, everyone was exhausted, so we all went back to our apartments to pick up some food from a grocery store close by. Part of our walk includes going over this gorgeous bridge, which we were able to take pictures of and pose by!
The group split off and some of the girls went grocery shopping at a store called Carrefour Express, which is basically a really small supermarket. They sold an array of items, such as pastries, sandwiches, and breakfast foods. To prepare to have breakfast for the next day, I picked up some orange juice and yogurt. After picking up groceries, we all went home and got ready to end our first night in Rome!
Jan 11th
On my first official night in Rome, I didn’t sleep well at all because I had to adjust to the time zone difference (for reference, Italy is 6 hours ahead of the East Coast of the U.S.). Although I got about 3 hours of sleep altogether, I must’ve laid in bed until noon the first day.
We had a free morning, so me and a couple of girls walked to a restaurant incredibly close to the Vatican called Spaghetti where you can
probably guess what they served there! We ordered tomato bruschetta as an appetizer, which is basically fresh tomatoes on top of toasted bread. Although at home I’m not much of a raw tomato person, when in Rome! The tomatoes tasted incredibly fresh, and I was instantly in love! I ordered fettuccine pasta with red sauce, which was a gigantic portion size and larger than I expected. Unfortunately, I still was adjusting to Rome, and although I woke up in the middle of the night partly due to intense hunger, I couldn’t finish it (which made me feel awful that I wasted food). 
When we all met up, we visited the Pantheon and St Ignatius Church. We had the Pantheon walking tour where it ended up being about 80% walking to the Pantheon and describing what we’ll see and then about 20% actually touring the Pantheon. We thankfully were given plenty of time to take photos and observe. Words can’t describe how grand the Pantheon is in person. I was in awe of its beauty when stepping in. After observing and taking pictures for some time, we began the walk to St Ignatius.
St Ignatius Church was gorgeous! Seeing all the detailed paintings and grand altars, I was wowed. In a small room of the church, we actually got to see a model of the church and different Catholic churches around the world, which was so cool!
Afterward, we got gelato with our tour guide and went thrifting at a cute Roman thrift store where you can get really cute, trendy pieces for €5-10, which is incredibly cheap. My roommate found a really cute jacket for €10, whereas I found a navy-blue sweatshirt for €5.
A part of Rome I’m not as fond of is the number of pickpockets there are. One of my roommates on the trip pointed out that someone was looking to pickpocket one of the boys while we were all shopping in the thrift store. This was worrying to me since I felt like there was nothing we could do to relatively blend in and not be targeted by pickpockets or scammers.
Once everyone was satisfied with their thrift shopping, we all either went to bed or went to dinner. With a few of my roommates, we were able to enjoy dinner together close to our apartment (about 15 minutes). For dinner, I decided to double down with gnocchi two nights in a row. The taste was different from what I was accustomed to, which is most likely because there wasn’t any kind of sauce. For dessert, my roommates and I decided to indulge in tiramisu, which was delicious! All in all, it was an eventful first full day in the Eternal City!
Jan 12th
Today was Colosseum Day! It was the first time on the trip that we had to actually take public transportation, so we weren’t sure what to expect. Riding the train was a little jerkier than I was expecting, but we got there in one piece!
One thing I wanted to take away from the Colosseum and the Forum was a deeper understanding of the history and look at it with a fresh pair of eyes, as the last time I went was a few years ago and in different conditions. With our tour guide, we walked in to be wowed by how massive the Colosseum is! The area where people take the most pictures is where we saw the scope of the Colosseum and how many people were actually being packed into this space in ancient times. We all took our pictures and then shuffled into the gift store to peruse.
We then went to the Forum, which was gorgeous (although it was much colder than I expected)! Unfortunately, I had issues hearing our tour guide, so I couldn’t hear more about the history. Afterward, the class all went out to lunch at a pizza place close by, where I got bufala, which is a Margherita with buffalo mozzarella and apple juice. What I didn’t know about buffalo pizza in Italy is that there’s no buffalo sauce in/on it. Rather, it’s actually referring to the type of cheese, buffalo mozzarella, which is a more delicious version of mozzarella cheese. The juice options in Italy are delicious! Instead of the thin juice we’re accustomed to, juices in Italy are actually thicker and have a more intense flavor. I ended up getting 2 juices at lunch.
Deciding to see more of the city, we all walked to the Trevi Fountain and passed the President’s Palace on the way. When we got to Trevi Fountain, we were welcomed by a quaint winter crowd. Because January is one of Rome’s “off” tourist seasons, there are many fewer people than I saw when I went in the summer. We were all able to take pictures, both group and individual. Pickpockets are also a bit of a problem at Trevi Fountain, where one of the members of the group almost got pickpocketed.
After the fountain, I decided to pull away and do a bit of shopping in the downtown area of Rome. I first stopped in the store Doppelganger, which is an Italian store specializing in luxury clothes, because I noticed there was a massive 30% discount on everything.
Browsing through, I wasn’t expecting to see anything I really wanted until I saw this gorgeous tan camel-hair trench coat for about €80, with the original sale price over €130. After seeing one in the size I wanted, I immediately bought it. After buying it, I removed the tag and started wearing it, since I was freezing from the overcast day. After walking around the downtown area, I decided to call it a day and head back to the apartment.
Jan 13th
Today was the first day of getting actual breakfast on the trip and the first day of our official visits! We started out with Corte di Cassazione (Supreme Court), and I wasn’t sure exactly how our official outfits would work practically with the cold Roman mornings. For breakfast, I ended up getting water and a savory croissant from a little cafe called SciaScia Caffe not too far from our apartment. The savory croissant was a regular croissant with ham and mozzarella cheese. I hadn’t had Italian ham before, but it was much saltier than I expected.
The Italian Supreme Court was gorgeous, with being the highest jurisdiction in Rome. We actually got to meet two Supreme Court judges, which was incredible. Both were extremely kind and answered all of our questions.
Because we had so many questions, we didn’t have much time to change clothes for the guest lecture we had at the IES Abroad Center, so I decided to get a sandwich from a nearby hole in the wall and rushed over to class. The guest lecture was about populism in Europe, which was incredibly interesting.
For dinner, a few of us went to eat at a lovely restaurant, where we were given a free appetizer and dessert. At this restaurant, I decided to try my first lasagna ever, and it did not disappoint! For dessert, we had Nutella pizza, which was surprisingly delicious (apologies Italy!). We then stopped at a convenience store to pick up a few things for our apartment and then went home.
Jan 14th
Today was our Palazzo del Quirinale (Presidential Palace) visit! We got there using the buses, which wasn’t as confusing as I expected it to be. We ended up being on time, but there was a bit of a scheduling mishap with the Palace, as they expected us there about two hours later than expected. While waiting in the uncomfortable morning cold, we noticed a boy’s high school in Rome was also touring the Palace and wasn’t dressed up at all. Although that was a little annoying, as everyone in our group dressed extremely officially, at least we all looked fancy!
Walking around the Presidential Palace, I was in awe of how grand everything was. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see a good chunk of the Palace, as there was a state visit occurring around the same time when we toured. When being rushed out of the Palace, we did get to see the Italian president, which was so cool!
After leaving, I ended up getting pizza with a couple of people from the program and then gelato afterward. In between, we stopped by a super cute antique bookstore. The man running the shop had photos of his wife all over, which I thought was so sweet! Although I didn’t buy anything, I still enjoyed looking at the books offered there.
Afterward, we went to the IES Center for our first lesson! We all split into groups to work on a research project; my group is working on why democracy is in decline and why democratic citizens lost trust in democratic institutions. I’m excited to explore this topic some more!
After class, everyone was a little tired and stayed home. I ordered Greek food from a place called Restaurant Ikaros, and it was so good! I haven’t gotten Greek food often, but it was so much better than I could have imagined. I ordered calamari and a chicken dish and enjoyed a quiet night inside. Although a big part of studying abroad is to explore your city and see the sights, sometimes it’s better to have a night in and unwind to process our experience.
Conclusion
Being in Rome so far has been such an amazing experience. This sounds odd, but I can actually feel myself changing. Before studying abroad, I tended to be more of an overthinker and a little bit more codependent. After roughly a week in Rome, these behaviors have changed completely! I feel more confident in myself and how I approach situations.
My favorite part of studying abroad thus far is how unexpected every day is. Although we have a set itinerary, I always feel like every day I wake up, the day is full of unlimited options for places to eat, places to see and activities to do. In Rome, there’s a delicious restaurant on every corner, a unique store in every neighborhood, and gorgeous views everywhere you go. Next week will be more lowkey, with a few free days and group dinners. I can’t wait to update you all about my last week in Rome!
Introduction
It’s officially been almost 2 weeks in Rome, and I feel like a semi-local! Although I’m not a tourist, I’m not super well-versed in the city. This week has been full of activities, as it always is, but they’re slightly more adventurous than I was expecting them to be looking at our itinerary.
Jan 15th
Today was Vatican Day! We woke up bright and early and picked up breakfast at a cafe across from the girls’ apartment. I ended up getting a lemon muffin, which was so good. I also picked up a bottle of water, since Rome has places where we can refill them all over the city. Afterward, we headed over to the Vatican to meet up with the rest of our group.
Our visit included the Vatican Museum so we were able to tour there. Our tour guide’s name was Giuliana (another spelling of Juliana), so it was fun to meet another person with the same name as me! Our first stop was the Vatican Gardens, where we got to know more about the stories the paintings in the Sistine Chapel were telling from our tour guide. Afterward, we continued the rest of the walking tour. We saw gorgeous frescoes, incredibly detailed sculptures, and massive tapestries. When walking to the Sistine Chapel, we had to pass through a beautiful hallway full of maps of Italy and a detailed ceiling.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of it because it’s forbidden to take photos inside of the Sistine Chapel. However, it was beautiful and more grand than photos can describe. A massive Michelangelo painting is right when you walk in and the ceiling is full of gorgeous frescoes. When standing there staring at the ceiling, my mind was having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that someone created this. Although it took Michelangelo years to finish, it was still insane that one person thought of and created these paintings. The large painting at the beginning of the Sistine Chapel, The Last Judgement, stretched to the ceiling and depicted Judgement Day, an event Christianity believes will happen, with Jesus comes back to Earth.
After we finished the Sistine Chapel, we went to St. Peter’s Basilica, which was one of the grandest churches I’ve ever been in. One thing I won’t get used to while being in Rome is the amount of times I’ll have to walk into a room and look up at the ceiling to a fresco or an incredibly detailed painting. After perusing the church, I received the news that class for the day was canceled and we had a free afternoon to ourselves.
For the free afternoon, I went to a Vatican gift shop close to the Basilica where Giuliana was able to get us a 20% discount on everything. Because I hadn’t found anything for my family yet, I ended up buying a Jubilee keychain for my sister, an Italy hat for my dad, and an Italy hoodie for myself. After checking out the gift shop, I got lunch with my professor and some of my classmates.
The place we went to lunch was near the Vatican. On our way on the way, we saw several stores where you can buy priest clothes or clothes the Pope wears, which we assumed that the people residing in the Vatican shopped at these stores. When we finally got to the restaurant, we had incredibly attentive service. Because I was craving seafood, I split an appetizer, calamari and prawns, with one of my classmates. For my main, I got lasagna, which was delicious! One of my favorite parts about Italy is la dolce vita (the sweet life).
La dolce vita is an Italian lifestyle where it’s celebrated to savor your experiences and adopt a slower pace. From my experience so far, this applies to restaurants. Unlike in America where you’re rushed out of a restaurant and it’s considered rude to dawdle after you’ve finished your food, in Italy it’s encouraged (if not part of the food service) to enjoy your meal and take time for your surroundings. During all of my meals, I’ve noticed that the food took longer to come out and when we call for the check, the waiters take longer than in American restaurants.
After our meal, we got gelato, which was delicious! I got raspberry, mango, and amarette with cherry chunks in them. I then worked on my research at my apartment and then went out to dinner with my classmates. We went to a restaurant called Old Bear, and I got steak with potato wedges. A fun part of studying abroad is getting to know the people in your program with you. Throughout just a couple of weeks, I feel like I’ve gotten to know a lot of people in the program better than people I knew in my everyday college life.
Jan 16th
On the 16th, we went to the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Italian Parliament. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside, but we did sit in on a session of Parliament, which was so cool! The bill that was being passed was about the judicial branch, and we saw several PMs (Parliamentary Members) getting incredibly heated when delivering a speech. Because it was closing remarks, the other PMs weren’t necessarily reacting, since they already knew how they were going to vote.
After our visit, I got lunch with some of the girls before class. We enjoyed the time and then headed back to the apartment to change out of our official clothes and get ready for class. The class has been going incredibly smoothly. We were getting started on our research projects, and we all began on a strong start.
After class, I walked around Rome at night by myself (which is the one thing they advise against…)! In a silly way, I felt accomplished since I was able to successfully navigate around at night by myself in an unfamiliar area. I was meeting a couple of people for dinner about 20 minutes from my apartment, and I decided to walk the distance by myself. After that day, I feel more comfortable and confident navigating places, whether to class or around the city, by myself.
I met a couple of people at Restaurant Ikaros, a Greek restaurant about 20 minutes away from my apartment. I had Doordashed this restaurant a few days prior, but it was so good, I decided to head back. We got calamari to split as an appetizer, and I ended up getting steak since I had been having an incredibly vegetarian diet for the past week or so. For dessert, we split like a Greek cake. The food was delicious and authentic!
Jan 17th
Today we went to Palazzo Madama (Italian Upper House). I was unfortunately running late, but I took my first-ever solo Uber drive to get there! The ride was smoother than expected, and I was less nervous than I thought I would be. Because we weren’t allowed to take photos again, I unfortunately don’t have any pictures. It was an incredibly beautiful building and it was interesting to see the differences between the Lower House and the Upper House. Afterwards, we had a free day. I decided to spend my free time getting lunch with a few of my classmates and exploring a castle called Castel St. Angelo which is right by my classes. The view at the top was worth all the stairs that I had to climb to get there!
I then went to the cooking class. We made bruschetta, pasta, and tiramisu. Part of our group was on handmaking the pasta, which added flavor to it. I worked in the kitchen preparing the vegetables, thankfully far from the action of the cooktop! The best part of cooking is that you can taste the effort that you put into your food to taste good. We all had an enjoyable meal for a couple of hours. After that, we explored the area near the cooking class. We looked in several shops, but we were out so late after the cooking class that most stores except for a late-night gelato store were open.
Jan 18th
We went to the Palazzo Chigi (Prime Minister’s Palace) and then had a free afternoon. The Palazzo Chigi visit was incredibly short, and we ended up exploring about 4 rooms, but what we saw was very cool! After, I got pizza at the same restaurant as the day of the Colosseum visit and ordered the same dish (bufala pizza). It was even more delicious the second time since it had begun to rain heavily after leaving the Palace. Once we all finished eating, I branched off from the group with a couple of other classmates, we got tiramisu and did a bit of shopping. The tiramisu place we went to had several options such as strawberry or pistachio tiramisu. I wanted to branch out and get the strawberry tiramisu, which was delicious! We decided to then do a bit of shopping for our relatives. Because I also wanted to go shopping with my roommates, I took the bus back by myself, which wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. My roommates went shopping at several stores, and then we went to dinner. I got steamed salmon, which was cooked very well. We got obligatory gelato afterward, since when in Rome!
Jan 19th
Today was the first free day. We went on a day trip to Pompeii, Positano, and along the Amalfi Coast. Our day was so long, and we saw so much! Pompeii was so cool to be in since when I was a kid, I had always wanted to visit. Walking around ancient ruins and visualizing that this was actually where people lived, raised their families, and conducted their day-to-day lives is sobering, since we remember how the people died how they did.
After Pompeii, we headed to the Amalfi Coast. Unfortunately for our tour group, Positano is much more bustling in the summer, since it’s tourist season. By the time we got there, everything was closed and we couldn’t properly shop. However, I got some candies for my grandmother, who loves everything lemon-flavored. Luckily for me, one of the only stores open was some kind of lemon paraphernalia shop, so it was pretty easy to find something for her. I would recommend doing a day trip, as we were able to do so much in just 13 hours! We also got back at a pretty reasonable time (9 PM) and paid a pretty reasonable price as well (approximately €100).
Jan 20th
Today was the second and last free day of our trip. We went to Florence with most of our class, with a few people staying behind to finish work on their research projects and our daily journals Although I’ve already visited Florence, I decided to go again, since the last time I went was several years ago and not outside of tourist season. We decided to go early and by high-speed train, which was a bit of a fiasco. We couldn’t find our train platform for the life of us and had to ask around to different people who happened to work on the metro where we could find train platforms. Thankfully, we found our platform and our train and headed to Tuscany.
Once we stepped off the train and left the station, we went straight to a cafe, where I ordered a croissant with a honey filling. After we gathered our bearings and figured out what we wanted to do next, we began walking through Florence. One thing I was surprised about was the fact that Florence was empty. When I had gone previously in the summer, the city was full of activity and life. Although Florence is a smaller city and isn’t as major of a city as Rome, it was surprising how much more quiet the city was.
The group decided to shop at Ponte Vecchio, which is a famous bridge in Florence with tons of luxury shops. I didn’t buy anything, since I still had a couple of things I wanted to save my money for. After everyone was tuckered out shopping, we went to try the Florentine steak. What we didn’t know was how expensive it would be and how large! The steaks that were offered were over 1.3 kg (a steak big enough for two people) and almost €90. Although the steak was delicious, I had no idea I would be paying that much when I went into the restaurant.
After the restaurant, I wandered around the city. I visited the Duomo, Galileo Museum, and Medici Palace. I hadn’t been in the Duomo before, but I was wowed. All the museums were incredibly interesting to me as an art lover and a history lover. What was also great about them was the fact that there were barely any people in them, so you could wander around and take pictures without feeling like you were being confined in a room. Of course, an important part of the trip was comparing and contrasting Roman gelato with Florentine gelato. Although it’s tough to say, Roman gelato may take the cake. However, even okay gelato is still delicious gelato! After wandering around, I headed back to the train station.
The train ride back to Rome was much better than the ride to Florence since I was asleep for a good chunk of it. When the group got back to Rome, we decided to get Chinese food at a restaurant close to the Metro. I ended up getting a bao bun since I’ve never had one before and beef dumplings. Both were incredibly delicious, and I was missing the taste of the U.S. As much as I love pasta and other Italian foods, I’m getting homesick towards the end of the trip.
Jan 21st
We had a free morning, and I went to breakfast at Pops Roma, like an American diner back home. I ended up getting pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Although I’ve been craving bacon, I forgot that Italy uses a different kind of bacon than what the US uses. This diner kept its enormous portion sizes consistent with its American counterparts. I forgot in the US portion sizes were huge and I wasn’t able to finish everything. Thankfully, I went out to breakfast with a few people from my program, so I was able to entrust that task to them.
After breakfast, we took the bus to the Capitoline Museum, located near the Colosseum. I didn’t know much about the Capitoline Museum before going, but I didn’t know about the large collection of items. There were paintings and sculptures galore. There were three levels full of items like tombstones to altarpieces of Madonna and Child. I enjoyed exploring it, especially since a rainy day in Rome can be a damper on your mood. Rome is beautiful in the rain, but it becomes less beautiful when you’re trudging through the cold rain.
Although me and a couple of my classmates wanted to savor the museum, we needed to start working on our research projects. Because the women and men were staying in separate apartment buildings and I was hanging out with some of the men, I ended up taking the bus back to my apartment by myself. Although I was a little apprehensive at first, I figured it wasn’t that big of a deal since I had already walked at night by myself through Rome, and a bus ride in the rain sounded much easier.
After I got back to my apartment, I quickly got ready for class and my research project. I’m very interested in what we’ve been researching, which makes it that much easier to digest the information and then transcribe it. The class went well since everyone was in their groups getting ready to present. My group has been doing pretty well and we’re excited to present what we’ve found to our peers! Shortly after class, we all had a group dinner and surprised one of my classmates who had a birthday the day before with a cake and the “Happy Birthday” song!
Conclusion
It’s surreal that study abroad is almost over! It feels like just yesterday that I was packing my bags and unsure about what to expect. Our final group dinner is soon, and I’m not ready to say goodbye to everyone yet! We’ve all made such real bonds, and I’ve loved creating friendships with everyone on the trip with me. I’ve gotten so used to living in Rome and with my roommates, it’s going to be so odd being back in Maryland around Americans for the first couple of days. Nevertheless, I’m getting a bit homesick, so it’ll be a bittersweet feeling having studying abroad under my belt going into the spring semester.
Introduction
It’s hard to believe that the winter semester is already over! It feels as though just yesterday, I was worrying about going to Rome and traveling by myself. Our last few days felt relatively anticlimactic compared to the rush of the first week. Of course, there were still plenty of activities, but they just weren’t as structured.
Jan 22nd
On the 22nd, I met up with my program professor and a couple of other people at a cafe for breakfast/brunch. The cafe was about a 20-minute walk from my apartment and required walking through the main shopping area in our district of Rome. It was an easy walk in regular cloudy Roman weather but was a little gloomy in the rainy weather. An interesting thing about Roman traffic patterns is that they’re nonexistent. People drive where and whenever they want to, regardless of traffic lights or pedestrians. Although I knew of this rule, I learned this the hard way when I almost got hit by a bus on my way walking to breakfast. I thankfully walked away unscathed, but it was definitely a scary experience.
When finally getting to breakfast, I wasn’t sure what to order. At this point in my experience, I wanted to get something other than just a breakfast croissant and I’m unfortunately not a coffee person. Taking full advantage of my nonexistent allergies, I randomly picked out two pastries: 1 savory and 1 sweet. Both looked extremely similar, but one was slightly larger than the other. Both were very good, and it paid off to try something unknown to me and out of my comfort zone.
After breakfast, we headed to the Lego store, which was surprisingly very well decorated for a Lego store. Complete with everything from Lego suitcases to a gigantic Lego mosaic of Trevi Fountain, the Roman Lego store exceeded my expectations. Because me and my family aren’t big Lego fans, I decided not to buy anything. After leaving the Lego store, I decided to get some last-minute gift shopping done, since I’d mainly been enjoying my time and the cuisine. While stopping, I checked out a leather store, where I saw leather journals with inspirational messages on them. One of the ones that particularly caught my eye was a message saying “The best is yet to come.” Looking back, I probably should’ve purchased it. I didn’t have the smoothest high school experience, and what got me through hard times was the mantra “The best is yet to come.” Eventually, better days were ahead and the bad experiences were far in my rearview mirror.
After leaving the leather store, I checked out a trinket store with different Roman touristy items for my family. While perusing the store, I felt a little sad, since it was the next-to-last day of being in Rome. Studying abroad is such a magical experience, and it was a little disappointing it came to an end so quickly. After months of holding my breath, terrified of flight changes or not being prepared for the course, I was there, walking through Rome. After carefully going through the store, I selected a gift for my boss, a few of my friends and my mom. Once I got all the gifts, I headed to class, where we were putting final touches on our research projects. It was remarkable that all groups were able to pull off such remarkable projects in such a condensed period of time. After two and a half hours of crunch time, we decided it was time for a quick post-class snack at a McDonald’s close by to our study abroad center.
Studying abroad definitely brings out parts of ourselves that we wouldn’t have seen in our normal environment, since several of the people in our group hadn’t had McDonald’s in years. However, when in Rome! It’s very interesting to see how different countries adapt the McDonald’s menu to their own cultures. For instance, when going to Toronto a few years back, it was interesting to see how they included poutine (a French-Canadian dish) in their McDonald’s menu. In Rome, I was pleased to see that tiramisu had made it onto their menu as well as macarons. Because we were strapped for time, I ordered my regular at McDonald’s and got a milkshake, since the ice cream machine always works! After McDonald’s we went to a leather store while waiting for our bus. Rome surprisingly has a lot of leather shops, with one practically on every corner and every vendor claiming to have authentic leather goods. After catching the bus, we headed out to get dinner. We ended up getting dinner at Riso, a restaurant with different Asian cuisine options, such as Thai food, Japanese or Chinese food. I ended up getting shrimp sushi and shrimp dumplings, both of which were delicious. On our way to our apartment, we stopped and got some gelato to finish off the night!
Jan 23rd ~ Last day!
Our last day in Rome was filled with fun. Today was the day to present our research projects. Public speaking isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it is much easier when you’re presenting to a group of people you’ve spent 24/7 with for the past 2 weeks. Everyone’s projects were unique and interesting, and it was so cool to see everyone’s different perspectives!
After presentations, we were given free time, where I ended up stopping for a final Roman sandwich, which was delicious! The best part about Roman cuisine was that even if the ingredients are simple or the dish is simple, the food would be incredible just because of how fresh everything is. The sandwich place I went to was owned by a husband and wife, who would hand-slice all of the cuts of meat. After my delicious final sandwich, I spent the rest of my final free afternoon in Rome exploring Villa Borghese’s beautiful park. Once I decided I explored enough after walking around it for most of the day, I made a last-minute stop at the Spanish Steps, since I had always wanted to go. What I didn’t know was that the Spanish Steps had a church at the top, which was one of the smaller churches I’d been in while in Rome.
After checking out the church and the Spanish Steps, I began heading back to our last dinner. On the way back, I decided to stop for gelato. Since it was the last night, I decided to try a new flavor, hazelnut, which was so good! It wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was a flavor I wouldn’t have had in the US. Our last dinner was full of laughs and reminiscing on different moments of the trip. While sitting at a table with all of the people I’ve spent the past two weeks of my life with, I was a little sad that our experience wasn’t at least another week. Although you can’t explore all of Rome in two weeks, I think we all experienced a lot of the Eternal City.
Conclusion
After getting back, it was such a quick turnaround, since we landed on January 24th and then I moved back on campus on January 26th. Although I’m still missing different parts of Rome, such as the food, culture and walkability, I’m glad to be home. This sounds cliche, but even with my ups and downs while in the program, I wouldn’t change a thing. Every good experience was amazing, but every bad experience was still a character development moment. Walking away from this experience, I’ve made friendships, great memories and exposure to a different culture that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. In the future, I would love to study again, especially with the UMBC Study Abroad department!