Hi All,
I wanted to let you all know that I changed my blog to a different platform on a different website because I’ve been having a lot of trouble with the interface of this system. The internet in my apartment has been denying me access to this website, so my new blog can be found at:
http://romeingaroundeurope.blogspot.com/
Ciao,
Michael
Location: Roma, Italia
Ciao Tutti,
A week or so ago, my ISC (Italian Student Companion), Silvio, had about ten of his friends over for dinner. I am happy to report that I was actually able to carry a conversation with them and understand the general ideas of what they were talking to each other about. We even played the Italian version of the game, Mafia. This was quite a challenge, but a great and fun experience!
Changing topics completely, last weekend I went to Barcelona. I arrived late on a Thursday night and took a train from the airport into the city center. By the time I got into the city center, the metro had stopped running (after midnight) so I had to take a taxi to my hostel. My hostel had a 91% review on HostelWorld.com, but I was immensely disappointed. I did not realize that the hostel only had a common bathroom in the hallway of every floor. I am so used to staying in hostels that have a bathroom in each room that this took a bit of getting used to.
On Friday, I took a free walking tour to see the architecture of one of Barcelona’s most famous architects – Gaudi. His buildings made me feel like I was in Whoville and a world of Dr. Seuss, but they were really cool from the outside. It cost upwards of 18 euros to go in, so I decided that the views from the outside were good enough for me. We also saw a church that he designed over around 85 years ago that is still being built. It is a very complex church and they say it will not be done for at least another 25-30 years! That one complex building!
One of the houses Gaudi desgined
Another one of the houses Gaudi desgined
One of the three facades of Gaudi’s church – the Sagrada Famiglia. Only two are finished. This is the Nativity Facade.
The Passion Facade. The Glory Facade just started construction.
After my walking tour, I took a hop on-hop off bus tour to see all of Barcelona. Barcelona is such a spread out city that the bus company had two different lines. It took me 6 hours to complete both lines, but I was happy I did it.
On Saturday, it poured the whole day. By this point, I had become a pro on navigating Barcelona’s metro and decided to go to the Picasso Museum. The Picasso Museum was a homage to Picasso’s older, lesser known works. All I knew about Picasso before this was that he painted “Scream,” but was very intrigued by his life story. He moved around a lot and changed his artistic style about once or twice a year.
After the Picasso Museum, I decided to go to a restaurant to have typical Catalonian food – tapas. They are basically a bunch of small samples, so you order two or three and try a bit of everything. I had ham & cheese croquets and something very similar to sesame chicken. It was really, really good.
Then, even though it was raining, I embarked on my voyage to find Barceloneta Beach. By this point my map was useless because it was raining so hard, so I decided to follow the signs to the beach – big mistake. I wound up 3 kilometers out of my way and had to backtrack to see it. I was happy when I finally got there, though. It looked like a scene out of 2012, the waves were about four feet high (pretty high for the Mediterranean Sea and I saw the cliché surfboarder walking away from the sea. It was a beautiful beach, though.
The Beach
After this, I decided to walk and catch a metro back to my hostel. After an hour rest, I went to the only bar in Barcelona that was showing the Penn State v. Michigan State game for the Big Ten Semifinals. I think I managed to find the only empty bar in Barcelona, but a combination of a Penn State win and some nostalgic food like quesadillas and chicken tenders was enough to make my day.
Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day. I loved it! I woke up early in the morning to walk the “La Rambla”, a very famous tourist promenade where artists and cafes line the streets. I decided to grab a seat and order “Churros and Chocolate” and people watch. They were so good.
La Rambla
Chocolate & Churros
After that, I took another walking tour of Barcelona. This one was a tour of Barcelona’s historical center. It was beautiful and reminded me a lot of Rome. I gained some insight into the history of Barcelona that was absolutely fascinating like the fact that Barcelona used to be occupied by the Romans when it was a walled city (hence why it reminded me of historical Rome). Also, I learned that the people of Barcelona actually consider themselves to be Catalonian, not Spanish. They speak Catalonian and Spanish and are constantly protesting the Spanish government for their independence. I also got to see where the King of Catalonia greeted Christopher Columbus after discovering the New World. The final piece of trivia I learned was that Barcelona could have built the Eifel Tower instead of Paris, but the government thought it was too weird looking and built an arch instead – big mistake!
The steps that Christopher Columbus was welcomed back on
After the walking tour, I took the metro to Park Gϋell – another one of Gaudi’s projects. It was declared a World Heritage Site a few years ago, so I figured a trip to Barcelona would not be complete without seeing it. Getting there was a difficult task. After taking the metro, it was a kilometer walk to a series of eight escalators to take you to the top of a mountain. At the top of this mountain, you had to walk down hill about a half of a kilometer to get to the park. By this point, I was exhausted. It was so worth it, though. I saw the longest bench I have ever seen and a bunch of other cool looking houses, sculptures, and architecture!
View from the Park
I think Dr. Seuss used to live here…..
An overhang at the park.
The other park entrance.
On my way back to the hostel to grab my bag, I found a Dunkin Coffee (they don’t call them Dunkin Donuts over there) and splurged on the biggest ice coffee I have ever had. In Italy, I can only get an espresso – they really do not have American coffee. It was probably the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had (probably because I haven’t had one in so long). I topped it off with a ham & cheese panini and a chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles – the icing on the cake.
After grabbing my bag at my hostel, I went to the airport and came back to Rome. In my next blog post (very soon, probably later today), I’ll bring you up to date with everything I did this week and weekend, post a few pictures from the past month, and post the bucket list I made of things I need to do while I’m in Rome.
Ciao,
Mike
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Ciao Tutti,
I am currently on a plane to Barcelona, Spain & can’t wait to get there! I’ve heard great things about it and many people have told me that it cannot be described in words. We will see if I can do that in my next blog post, but I wanted to update you on what I’ve been up to over the past week.
I spent all of last weekend doing “Rome as a Tourist” and got a lot accomplished. I downloaded a few audio tours from Rick Steves on iTunes for free. I put them on my iPod and listened to them as I navigated some of Rome’s most famous attractions.
On Saturday, I went to Vatican City – namely St. Peters Square and St. Peters Basilica. I was there when I was 12, but was completely taken aback by the grandeur of the Basilica. I walked inside and felt like I was an ant compared to everything else. The church itself was huge – 400 meters long, but what struck me even more was the size of the sculptures inside of it. The statues that were “babies” were taller than 6 feet! Everything about the church was amazing, my jaw hung open the whole time I was inside! Rick Steves even joked about the size of St. Peters Basilica by saying that birds don’t even realize they’re inside when they fly around. I may not understand anything about art, but I could definitely appreciate the beauty of everything inside of St. Peters. It was certainly a great experience!
After St. Peters I went to the Trevi Fountain and did the typical tourist stuff. After taking what seemed like 100 pictures, I ventured down the steps to throw a coin in the fountain. They say that if you put your back to the fountain and throw a coin over your shoulder you are guaranteed to return to Rome one day. I did it when I was 12 and now I’m studying there. Coincidence? I think not. After I finished with the Trevi Fountain, everything was closed so I headed back to my apartment to rest up for Sunday.
On Sunday, my first stop was the Pantheon – another building that made my jaw drop. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but once you get inside your eyes immediately gravitate to the huge hole in the ceiling. It is amazing that the Romans built it almost 2000 years ago without any machinery. I had another audio tour by Rick Steves for this which was nice as I was able to gain insight into the history of the building. It was once a place to worship Pagan gods, but was converted to a Catholic church after Catholicism became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Another fun fact I learned is that Victor Emmanuale (the person who united Italy & the first king of Italy) and his son have their tombs inside the Pantheon. It is also Rapheal’s final resting place.
After the Pantheon, I went to a place called the Capuchin Crypt. It was an eerie place. Located beneath a church, it is the bones of 300 Friars arranged in a way that makes it a work of art. It was very, very weird. At the end of the crypt, there was a sign that said “What you are now, we once were. What we are now, you will be.”
My final stop was the Spanish Steps. I honestly have no idea why they are famous, but felt like I had to at least climb them once as a student in Rome – what a workout! I was exhausted when I got to the top and dreaded going down. Now, I can check that of of my bucket list.
I decided to get organized on Sunday night and make a list of everything I want to do before I leave Rome in May. Now I have a list of things to do over a page long – I will post it when I get back to Rome.
I had a relatively normal week of classes. We went on a field study for my architecture class to see a piazza designed by Michelangelo. My time in Rome has definitely taught me to look at art in a different way. I’m beginning to appreciate the small details of everything.
In Italian, we had to give two oral presentations. The first was during a field study around Roma Storico (Historical Rome) where we had to present two different places of interest. Afterwards, our teacher rewarded us by buying the class Ciocolato Caldo (thick hot chocolate) – it was amazing! Our second presentation was on anything we wanted. My group talked about a film we saw the first week of class, La Finestra di Fronte. It went pretty well – we think.
Before I conclude my blog, I would like to reflect on something I have noticed from a lot of Italian people – specifically older ones. They are highly critical of their country and their people in general. My Italian teacher said the quality of life in Spain is much higher than in Italy because Italians are never organized and nothing ever gets done. Coming from America where I bleed red, white, and blue, I am not used to this type of criticism from people about their home country. I personally love Italy and would love to work over here at some point in the future – I have only been here for 6 weeks though.
I will update soon about my experiences in Barcelona as well as a few pictures from my “Rome as a Tourist” weekend.
Ciao, Mike
Location: Rome, Italy
Ciao Tutti,
I again apologize, but I am posting this a week after I wrote it. I wrote this blog entry on my iPad on my way back from the French Riviera and just remembered I never posted it.
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I’d like to start off with a big congratulations to all those involved with THON 2011. I can’t believe we raised $9.56 million – completely skipping the $8 million dollar mark! While I was disappointed I was not able to be there when the final tally was raised, I can assure you that all the Penn Staters’ from IES Rome were celebrating! Apparently, this must be an annual occurance because my Italian roommate, Silvio, knew what THON was and how to make a diamond with his fingers. Like they say, Penn State travels well!
On a more general note, I am definitely settling into life in Rome, Italy (or Europe in general). After spending last weekend in Florence, I had a relatively easy week of classes. It is nice to have a four day week while studying abroad because the week flies by and it is the weekend before you know it.
On Monday, my roommates and I went to our friends’ apartment for dinner. We all had a great time and played a few games of Scopa afterwards, an Italian card game (very similar to Spades or Hearts). Our team won in blowout fashion – 23-3.
On Tuesday, for the second week in a row, I went to Tratteria Night. It is a dinner sponsored by IES at a local restaurant. It’s open to 15 students a week. The students pay €10 each and IES covers the rest of the cost. The food is phenomenal! It is a seven course meal – bruscetta, grilled vegetables, pizzettes (fried dough with pizza sauce and parmigian cheese on top), potato soup, spaghetti with tomato sauce, penne with pesto sauce, and tirimasu. They also provide a at least eight liters of wine for the table and all the water you want. Not a bad deal for €10! At the end of the night you walk away full and with a few new friends. I sat next to an ISC (Italian student) and we spoke in Italian for the duration of dinner. I was very pleased with myself. Even though I only speak Italian in my apartment, it was great to speak to someone new.
This weekend, I booked a last minute trip to the French Riviera with Euroadventures. We left on Thursday night out of Florence (I had to take a train from Florence to Rome) and had a great time. It was about a five hour bus ride to our hostel in Nice.
On Friday, our tour group took a train to Monaco – the richest country of the world and the home of the world famous Monte Carlo Casino. We were able to see a Ferari dealership. I’m not much of a car guy, but it was really cool. After the car dealership, we went to the harbor and took pictures of multi-million dollar yachts. Then, we climbed up a cliff about 500 feet high for great views. We saw the Price of Monaco’s palace and went into Jaque Cousteau’s aquarium. Then, we descended the cliff and tried our luck in Monte Carlo. It cost €10 to get in, but it was well worth it. I can now say that the first casino I ever gambled in was the Monte Carlo. I also won €10.07, so I covered my cover charge and still walked out up .07 cents. I can also say that I won in the Monte Carlo. Not a bad day! Monaco is, by far, the most beautiful place I have ever been. I hope that I will be able to afford to come back one day!
On
Saturday, we went to Cannes – home of the famous film festival. It was another beautiful city, but it is hard to imagine how crazy it is during the film festival! We walked to the harbor and saw more yachts. They were so beautiful! Saturday night was the huge Carnivale parade in Nice. This was a great experience! The floats were amazing, but they were easily overshadowed by the atmosphere of the crowd. Kids (and some adults) were dressed up in costumes that we would wear for Haloween. The crazier thing, though, were the silly string and confetti wars. No one was safe, but no one was innocent. I was attacked by parade goers from 2 years old to 80 years old. By the end of the night, I was covered in a mix of confetti and silly string from head to toe! In my opinion, Mardi Gras simply cannot compete with Carnivale.
On Sunday, we explored Nice. It truly is a beautiful city. I can’t even imagine what it is like in the middle of the summer! On the way back to Florence, we stopped in a Mideval town built into the side of a cliff called Enz.
I am so happy with my decision to travel to the French Riviera. It wasn’t originally on my bucket list of places to go, but I will remember this weekend for the rest of my life. It was beautiful and a great experience. The views were absolutely breathtaking! The food was great – I had 3 crepes, 2 croissants , and 2 pastries. It all tasted amazing! I truly had a great experience this weekend and met a lot of great people.
Arrividerci,
Mike
Location: Nice, France
Ciao Tutti!
I have had this entry written and ready to post for a week now, but the internet in my apartment was not working. I apologize for some of the references which seem a bit late…
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I am sitting on the train on my way back from Florence, but before I get into that let me start with the first week of classes.
I am taking five classes (16 credits) in Rome. IES requires you take one Italian class and four other classes called “area studies courses”. The area studies courses are anything from art to classes on the European Union. My schedule went over a lot of revisions over the past week as I was in a few art classes that were over my head, but I’ll describe the classes I am currently enrolled in.
“AH/US 230: Roman Architecture and Urban Design” – This is one of the classes I switched in to half way through the week. I missed the first lecture, but the second class was great. We started off with a half hour lecture on the history of the Castel Sant’Angelo which was very interesting and informative. It is amazing that a monument I can see from my apartment was a part of some of the most important events that shaped Rome as it is today. After our half hour lecture, we actually got to go to the Castel Sant’Angelo and see everything. It was originally built as a tomb, but was transformed into a fortress because it was ideally situated for battle. Then, the Pope made it his safe house when the Vatican was attacked. He actually built a mini-palace within the confines of the fortress! After the Church lost most of its influence, the Pope did not need a safe house anymore, so the Italian Government turned it into a prison for a period of time. Now, it is a tourist site with great views of Rome from the top.
“IR 341: Italy and the European Union” – This class is great! It is basically an overview of the formation of the European Union from the Post World War II era to the problems that plague the rapidly expanding organization. I love history, so I cannot wait to learn all about the European Union. I think this will be very beneficial for me later in life when I am working in Finance. I will know the basics of how the EU works and will be able to apply it to my job.
“FS 200: From Viewing to Making a Film on Rome” – I absolutely love this class. We are going to watch four Italian films that were filmed in Cinecitt� (the Italian version of Hollywood). The films were also filmed on site at Roman locations. After watching all four films and learning the basics on Italian cinema, we are going to film two scenes from the films we saw on site. We watch “Bicycle Thief” on Monday – I can’t wait.
“CM 330: Memory and Conflict” – This is the other class I switched into. It is a really interesting class which is taught by the director of my study abroad program. It is basically about conflict resolution techniques, but uses historical events to put the things we are learning into context. I would not be surprised if I use the techniques I learn later in life.
This brings me to Florence. Two of my friends (Sam & McKenzie) and I decided to go to Florence earlier this week. We left on Thursday night after class. I found a bullet train from Rome to Florence for only 19 euro. The train was so comfortable and the ride was so short.
Picture of the inside of the train.
When we got to Florence, we met up with one of Sam’s friends from her home school, Emory. He took us to our hostel (which was in a great location). The hostel we stayed at was running a special where you can stay three nights for the price of two, so I paid 28 euro for three nights at a hostel. The hostel was called “Plus Florence” and probably the nicest hostel I will ever stay at. It was very clean, had a nightclub downstairs with a restaurant/bar, game room, a pool, a sauna, and a steam room.
On Friday, we woke up early and hit the two big museums in Florence before lunch time. We wanted to make sure we beat the crowds. The people I traveled with are studying Art History I school, so I was the beneficiary of a free tour of all the important pieces of art. We went to the Academia first and saw Michelangelo’s “David”. It was absolutely amazing. After the Academia, we went to the Uffizi. This museum was huge! We were in it for three hours!
After the Uffizi, we met up with some of Sam’s friends from Emory who were studying in Florence and a few people from our program in Rome. We had a quick bite to eat and then five of us headed over to the Ponte Vecchio. They all bought leather jackets, I decided not to get one because I’m hoping to get a suit while I’m over here instead.
Over the past two days, we went to all the major churches in Florence – the Duomo, Santa Croce, San Lorenzo, and Santa Maria Novella.
Here are some pictures from our trip to Florence.
The one thing that really surprised me about Florence was how small it is. We walked everywhere we needed to go and were never walking for more than a half hour at a time. Florence was a beautiful city, but I am happy I’m studying in Rome. As a Finance major, I do not appreciate art as much as I should. Now that I have seen everything I wanted to see, I am happy to be looking at the beautiful Tuscan countryside out of the window of my train back to Rome.
On another note, I planned our trip to Florence around THON. I made sure the hostel had wifi and made sure our train would have me back in Rome to watch the final four hours of THON. I may be 3,000 miles away, but I have been thinking about THON a great deal this weekend. A lot of my friends are dancing and it kills me that I can’t be there to support them. gWatching the THON Webcast makes me feel like I’m there and I lit a candle in the Duomo FTK! I look forward to watching Family Hour from my room and, like all other Penn Staters, will go crazy when the total is raised tonight at approximately 10:00 PM my time.
Always FTK,
Mike
Location: Florence, Italy
Ciao!
It’s been a while since I last updated, but I had another crazy week in Roma. With every passing day, I come to love this amazing city more and more. It seems like everywhere I go I wind up basking in amazement at a beautiful statue or a detailed fountain.
Last week was what IES called “intensive Italian” week. This meant that we had Italian every day for 2.5 hours. On Monday we had 12 students in our class. By the end of the week we were down to 8. For me, the class was not too hard. We reviewed three of the “past tenses” in Italian for the majority of the week. Although I have studied them before, I welcomed the review. Each tense has very specific rules about when you can use it, so I needed the review.
Our class also watched a movie called “La Finestra di Fronte”. When our teacher asked if we wanted English subtitles, one of the students surprised her by asking for Italian subtitles instead. This was a great idea as it allowed us to better understand the film and the Italian language in general without depending on English. I know that I definitely expanded my vocabulary while watching that film!
We had an exam on Friday followed by a field study. Since the film we watched took place in the Jewish Ghetto of Rome, we were sent there to fill out a worksheet. I love how IES tries to get you out into the city as much as possible. I was very happy to have my first field study so early!
The whole week I was debating whether to go to Florence with some friends or stay in Rome and do “Rome as a tourist” with some other friends. I decided to stay in Rome. On Saturday, we decided to go to the Colosseum (or try to go to the Colosseum). We wound up getting there at 3:30 PM thinking we would have no problem getting in. We were wrong. It turns out that people are not allowed into the Colosseum after 3:30 PM and it closes at 4:30 PM.
While this was very disappointing we certainly made the best of it. We walked around the Colosseum, took pictures of the Forum, and basked in the glory of the Arc of Constantine. It was amazing. At one point, I turned to my friends and said “Are these the same blocks that Julius Caesar walked on?” It really put everything in perspective, for me at least. The blocks I was walking on, the statues I pass every day, the monuments I gaze upon with awe, and the fountains I stop and rest next to are all older than not only the United States of America, but were all there when Christopher Columbus discovered that the world was not flat. That is pretty amazing. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.
Tomorrow, my full schedule begins, I can’t wait to meet all my professors and find out exactly what we will be learning about. I want to continue to take advantage of all Rome has to offer.
Location: Roma, Italia
Ciao Tutti (Hi All)!
It has been a week since I have arrived in Rome and I am finally getting around to updating my blog. I think that says a lot about how crazy my week has been!
I arrived in Rome last Friday (a few days before my program started) to do some sightseeing before I had to start my classes. I stayed at a hotel near the Vatican which was nice in that it was a bit quieter than staying in the city center of Rome, but it also meant that every time we wanted to get to the main part of the city we needed to either walk 25 minutes or take a taxi. I normally took a taxi, but it set me back about 10 Euro each time. In hindsight, I think it would have made more sense to stay a bit closer to the city center.
My first impressions of Rome are pure excitement and amazement. The weather is gorgeous (55+ every day I’ve been here) and it seems like there is a beautiful building, statue, or fountain around every street corner. I think it is impossible to see all the sites in Rome in a lifetime, yet alone in 4 months! Given this, I got started right away by going to see a bunch of sites the right after I got to my hotel. I took a taxi to my apartment’s address and started from there. As I mentioned in my last post, the Castel Sant’Angelo is literally a 2 minute walk from my apartment, so I saw that one first.
After seeing this, I ventured into the winding cobblestone roads behind my apartment. My apartment is situated in what was the rich section of Rome during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, so chances are that I am walking on the same roads some of the great minds of Rome walked on. There are so many great looking restaurants close to me – I hope I can see them all! After about a 10 minute walk (and passing the famous “Steeler’s Bar” in Rome), I stumbled into the Piazza Navona which is considered to be one of the nicest Piazzas in Rome.
This is a fountain that is in Piazza Navona. Piazza Navona is a very touristy place, but that does not detract from its beauty. There are artists selling their gorgeous art, a lot of cafes along the sides of the piazzas, and musicians playing the “typical” Italian music. I could definitely see myself walking down to that Piazza to people watch while enjoying some gelato.
After seeing the Piazza Navona, I continued on to see the Forum and the “Wedding Cake” (a name that tourists gave to a monument commerating Victor Emmanuale – it actually looks like a wedding cake!).
Largo Argentina. It is actually below street level by at least 30 feet. The reason for the change in street level is because the Tiber River used to flood every year. This led to a higher street level. The Romans eventually built walls around the Tiber River to keep this from happening again.
This is the Wedding Cake AKA “Il Vittoriano”. Il Vittoriano is also home to Piazza Venezia, another well known Piazza in Rome.
I then walked down the Via del Corso which can be equated to New York’s 5th Avenue. It has a lot of very well known stores. Along here, I bought a cell phone with a company called Tre. This was very challenging because it was the first time I had to use upper level Italian, but I succeeded and got a phone. Very proud of myself, I continued on my way up the Via del Corso.
The Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps are both a block off of the Via del Corso.
The Trevi Fountian.
The Spanish Steps.
A fountain near the Spanish Steps.
I then walked to the Piazza del Popolo and went back to my hotel. I was amazed to see how many amazing and famous sites were within walking distance to my apartment. I even missed a site along the way – the Pantheon. The Pantheon is a 10 minute walk from my apartment. Rome is truly an amazing city.
The next day, I took a hop-on, hop-off tour and was able to see some other sites like the Colosseum, Circus Maximus, and the Baths of Caracalla.
Then, it was the day I’ve been waiting for since I knew I wanted to study abroad – move-in day. Our apartment is absolutely gorgeous and exceeded my expectations in every single way. It is less than a 2 minute walk from the IES Center where I will be taking all of my classes. It has a great view of the Castel Sant’Angelo from my window. There are two bedrooms, a huge living room, a kitchen with a dishwasher and a washing machine, and separate dining area. I was so happy that we have a washing machine because it would have been painful to bring my laundry to a laundromat every week!
This is my room. My bed is the one closest to the window.
This is the view from my window looking to the right. Not a bad view at all….
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I am in an “Italiano a Casa” apartment which means that all four people who live in my apartment can only speak Italian within the confines of my apartment. The hope is that by using Italian in an everyday conversational context I will be able to pick up Italian at a much faster rate than I would otherwise. It is definitely working – one of my roommates, Silvio, is an Italian student who attends the University of Roma Tre, another of my roommates, Jordan, is an Italian major and goes to Seton Hall, and the last roommate, Zach, is an Italian minor at Connecticut College. My Italian is definitely the worst out of the group, but I look at it with a sense of optimism in that I have the greatest chance to improve my Italian.
I can already see a difference in my Italian. When I first arrived in the apartment, I understood around 60% of what my roommates said. This was partly because I was not used to listening to Italians talk as fast as they do. Now, I have gotten used to the speed and have built up my vocabulary a bit. I would say I understand about 70% of what my roommates say – not a bad improvement for only 5 days!
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were the orientation to IES Rome. We were introduced to the staff, listened to a police officer talk about the rules of Italy and how to stay safe, learned how to take the public transportation in Rome, and took our Italian placement exams. I placed into Italian 301. I’m very happy I got into this one because I did not do very well on the oral exam. The questions they asked you were hard to answer in English, yet alone Italian. The hardest one was “If you were the President of the United States, what would you do?”. I obviously did well enough to get into the 300 level class which will transfer to Penn State and satisfy the requirement for my minor.
We also had the chance to introduce ourselves to the other students. It definitely is true what they say about Penn State – we travel well. There are 16 other Penn Staters in the program (143 students in total), so Penn State was the most common school. I had the opportunity to meet people from many schools including Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Emory. Everyone at the program is so outgoing and so much fun to be around. I could easily see myself socializing with anyone over here.
On Friday, we took a tour of the historical section of the city. We saw many sites that I already saw like Piazza Navona, but I got to see the Jewish Ghetto which was very interesting. It has all been torn down, but all the Jewish people of Rome had to live in an area of four square blocks between the years of 1555 and Italian Unification in 1861. It is estimated that at one point, there were over 9,000 people living in those four square blocks. The Jews were also forced to go to Catholic mass on Sunday. The people who remained in the Jewish Ghetto after Italian Unification were also the first people to be sent to concentration camps in Italy during World War II.
On Saturday, IES hosted a scavenger hunt called the Amazing Roman Race. This was very exhausting as we had to walk to pretty much every major site in Rome in period of three hours.
That brings me to today. This morning, my roommate and I went to an open air market called Porta Portese which is the largest open air market in Rome. It is open on every Sunday and the vendors sell things from clothes to electronics to old books and postcards. I bought an alarm clock for 10 Euro, so I was satisfied. Tonight, we’re going to one of the “American Bars” in Rome to watch the Super Bowl. It starts at 12:30 AM, so it is going to be a long night.
I apologize for the length of this entry. I will try to update my blog more frequently once things calm down.
Ciao,
Mike
Location: Roma, Italia
Ciao!
The countdown is on. I leave for Rome in less than a week. My program does not start for two weeks, but I am going over early so I can get my bearings before things get hectic with school. I already have most of my clothes packed and am going to spend the next week relaxing and tying up all of my loose ends.
Over the past month, I have learned a few things about how to manage my money while I am abroad (can you tell I’m a finance major?). I found out that most banks and credit card companies charge fees to use their cards internationally, but there are a few that do not. I opened up a checking account with TD Bank because they do not charge any transaction fees when you withdraw money out of an ATM or use your debit card to buy something. This was a huge discovery as my old bank wanted to charge me a 3% fee on anything I debited and a $5 fee if I took money out of an international ATM. TD Bank will even refund the ATM surcharge that the Italian bank imposes on me. Also, I found out that Capital One does not charge any transaction fees on any charges I make while I am abroad. This will also save me 3% on credit card transactions.
I also learned that I can suspend my cell phone service while I am abroad. This will save me a lot of money as I intend to purchase a pay as you go phone once I arrive in Rome.
On another matter, all of the IES participants got their roommate assignments and 
living arrangements. My apartment is literally a block away from our school which definitely made my day. Also, our apartment is very close to the Castel Sant’Angelo. I specifically remember visiting the Castel Sant’Angelo when I was in Rome about 7 years ago and thinking how beautiful it was – now I’m going to be living across the street from it!
I will be living with two American students and one Italian student. One of American students attends Connecticut College and the other one goes to Seton Hall University. We do not know who the Italian student will be yet. All four of us are going to sign a contract that we are only going to speak Italian in our apartment. I am really excited for this as I will have the opportunity to use Italian in a different context. My goal is to try to master the Italian language as much as I can.
Thanks for reading my blog. The next time I update, I will be in Roma!
Arrivaderci,
Mike
Location: Cortlandt Manor, NY
Ciao!
Things are starting to wind down at Penn State this semester and finals week is dreadfully coming near. The good news is that this means I am closer to studying abroad than ever!
Before I get into too much detail, I want to give you all some background information about me. My name is Mike McHugh and I am a junior in the Smeal College of Business. I am majoring in finance and minoring in Italian and International Business. I recently started and am now Co-President of a club called Adaptive Outreach, play Wheelchair Basketball, and am actively involved with THON as a member of the Finance Committee. Outside of Penn State, I am on a ski team for people with disabilities and coach a travel baseball team.
One of my true passions is traveling. I have been all over the United States (including Hawaii), to Italy (Rome, Florence, Ravenna, and Venice), Australia (Sydney & Melbourne), and Hong Kong. My favorite country was Italy, not just because my mother’s side of the family is Italian, but because of all the beautiful architecture and rich culture the country has to offer.
As you have probably figured out by now, I am heading to Italy. Rome to be more exact. I cannot wait to get over there as I have not been there since I was 12. Rome is a great city with amazing people and famous landmarks around nearly every corner!
One of the things I am most looking forward to is improving my Italian language skills. I have been taking Italian since the seventh grade and absolutely love the language. This fall, I am taking a course entitled “Fluency in Italian” and have learned a great deal about the intricacies of the language. I can’t wait to apply it in real life situations on a daily basis.
One of the great things that IES Abroad offers is a contract called “Italiano a casa” which means “Italian in the house”. While it is completely optional, I am going to sign this contract and agree to only speak Italian to my roommates within our apartment. I believe this is the best way to master a new language. Also, I will be rooming with two other American students and one Italian student called an ISC. Our ISC will help us truly immerse ourselves within the Italian culture and show us some places off the beaten path. This is exactly what I want to accomplish – I do not want to be a tourist, I want to be a resident of Italy!
While I am abroad, I intend to travel across Europe and visit as many amazing places as possible. My current list of places I definitely want to go to are Dublin, London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Belgium, Venice, Milan, Sicily, Naples, Pisa, and the Amalfi Coast.
I would like to leave you all with a quote by John Hope Franklin – “We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.”
Arriverderci,
Mike McHugh
Location: 10567