Three croissants in at the Louvre.
Author: Hannah Gray | Major: Architecture
One of the main reasons I was so drawn into the architecture program at the University of Arkansas was the required semester abroad. I was determined before I even got accepted that I would spend that semester in Rome and I started planning. Anyone that knows me knows that I am a meticulous planner for pretty much everything—studying for tests, what I buy at the grocery store, and most importantly what we’re going to do when traveling. An unsurprising but ridiculous amount of anxiety prefaced this time abroad and it all stemmed from a fear that I would feel unfulfilled if my experience didn’t live up to the years of planning that had led up to it. This semester was more than anything a chance for me to step out of my comfort zone and experience the joy, excitement, and knowledge that came with unexpected changes in my plan.
The best way I can explain my academic experience in Rome is refreshing. After a year and a half of doing almost all of my school work remotely, being back in the same space with all of my friends and peers was amazing, and to do it in such a magical place made it even better. The studio experience really didn’t differ too much from what we’ve had in Fayetteville but being in the setting for an urban project brought new forms of inspiration during the design process. I took two other courses outside of studio that were both actively engaged with the physical environment in Rome (and were also largely to thank for my daily walking average of 5 miles). Architecture of the City was a course that explored the historical and contemporary alterations of the built environment in Rome through the means of hand drawing. I have always enjoyed sketching and this class gave me the opportunity to expand my skillset of communicating through drawing by hand. In my Modern and Contemporary Rome course we were immersed in the neighborhoods that lie outside of the historic center of the city and learned about the history and culture that have developed different architectural styles in these areas.
Taking a photo during a boat tour around the island of Capri.
I was most excited for the ability to travel around Italy and from Italy to neighboring countries. The looming presence and uncertainty of the pandemic was certainly a limiting factor in my ability to travel but I was still able to travel to a new place almost every weekend while abroad. We made the most of the warm weather during the first weeks of the program by traveling along the west and southern coasts of Italy, visiting Capri, Positano, Naples, Sperlonga, and Cinque Terre. Some of the best meals, sunsets, and travel mishaps happened during these first few weeks and were perfect for acquainting me to everything that I couldn’t read on the internet about maneuvering the transit systems and adjusting to life in Italy. The following month I was able to visit the Biennale in Venice and it was one of my favorite experiences of the whole semester. I also began traveling outside of Italy and visited Spain, Greece, France, and the United Kingdom almost back to back. It was during the end of these weekends that I began to value Rome more as a home than a vacation. The walks around our neighborhoods became familiar, restaurants became go-tos, and coming back at the end of a trip was comforting.
The last few weeks that neared our final review and final exams were much slower and we stayed closer to Rome. I got to spend a lot of time focusing on my capstone research in the town of Orvieto. Over the course of the semester I visited Orvieto six times to create a photographic narrative of the city which I will use to complete my capstone in the upcoming semester. I really enjoyed getting to find a smaller place to return to over and over during my time in Rome that felt like a retreat from an unfamiliar life in such an urban city. After the stress of reviews and exams were complete, I was able to make a final trip out of the country to visit Amsterdam, Hamburg, and Cologne that was full of Christmas markets, incredible architectural experiences, and the cold weather I had been looking forward to for months. On the flight back to the States we were going through photos, telling stories, and reflecting on our favorite and most memorable moments from the last few months. I realized that over the whole period of time I never wondered or worried whether or not I was making the most of my time because I was always learning something new, seeing something for the first time, or being inspired by the incredible environment that was the setting for my everyday life. I feel a little silly looking back at how much I stressed about what my experience studying abroad this semester would be, but the most important lesson I’ve learned from it is understanding the value of both my intense albeit ridiculously detailed planning as well as my newfound ability to find enjoyment in the uncertainty that is unavoidable. I can’t recommend the study abroad experience enough to prospective students, especially this program, and advise everyone to do their part in researching and planning as much as you can that makes you feel comfortable and prepared but to embrace the unexpected bumps in the road because they often lead you down a path of an equally valuable and memorable experience.