A photo of me atop the Torre Guinigi in Lucca! The tower itself had trees plants on the top of it, and it gave us a panorama of Lucca and the surrounding Tuscan countryside as well!

Author: Katie Strickland | Majors: International & Global Studies and Political Science

In the minds of many, studying internationally may seem to be mutually exclusive with any semblances of normalcy or routine. For some, an international lifestyle may inherently invoke feelings of freedom from old routines as both distance and a newness of culture and environment force temporary adaptations to new ways of life. For others, living internationally brings with it an obligation to pull away from one’s regular routines. There seems to exist an expectation that one should lose themselves to totally immerse into a new culture and “Eat, Pray, Love” every second of every day, to reference the well-known Julia Roberts movie.

I have never considered myself someone particularly dependent on routine and consistency in order to function, a rather self-indulgent observation for myself. Yet, throughout my eight-week Internship in Italy program in Rome, Italy, I found myself being especially drawn not just to those extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime moments, but also to those spaces of normalcy which allowed me to rest and fully appreciate the time I was spending fully living and working across the pond. As an Arkansan, the outdoors have always been a space where this sense of rest and normalcy poked through the most. In a large urban center such as Rome, finding natural spaces such as this may seem impossible, but I was able to find my favorite in the Park at Villa Aldobrandini. Layered atop buried Roman ruins and old fortress walls, the park overlooks central boulevard Via Nazionale, the monument Il Vittoriano, and other pieces of the Roman skyline. While centrally situated, the park remains a place of quiet and peace; benches dot along gravel paths which wind through the grass, encircling palm trees and worn stone statues that overlook the people (and often times, just as many dogs) which stroll around the park.

Villa Aldobrandini became my nearly daily stop on the way home following my internship. Just a couple minutes from my bus stop, I would find a bench and sit, call family and friends, read, or just sit in peace for a few moments. I found myself looking forward to this hour of my afternoon routinely, a space where I could reflect on the day, enjoy old hobbies (I had not read for fun in a while!), and fully settle into this new space I was living in. This normalcy did not dull my time studying abroad whatsoever; rather, it helped build my sense of belonging in my host city, bonding me uniquely to this place full of others bonded in their own unique ways as well.

This spirit of structuring a new routine to help me adjust and fully enjoy my time abroad easily translated to my weekly schedule as well due to the nature of my internship program. As a member of our small internship cohort at the Rome Center, I interned for over 220 hours with the European Institute of Innovation for Sustainability (EIIS), a sustainability education organization whom I actually worked with virtually in the Spring of 2021. Located within the same Palazzo Taverna as the Rome Center, I was often able to visit the Rome Center and see friends from home before heading over to my internship, where I worked from 10:00am to 6:30-7:00pm each weekday. Throughout the day, I would work with my supervisor on various tasks related to promoting and executing EIIS’s Food & Sustainability Certificate Program, focused on bringing people together to learn more about global food challenges and how a growing world population can be sustainably fed. From designing lecture course guides to directly interacting with interested potential students, I was able to constructively assist in providing the fourth edition of the program, picking up new skills along the way as well. Hours of hard work were interspersed with our daily trips to a local Italian supermarket or sandwich shop for lunch, which obviously also had to be followed by a cafeteria stop for a post-lunch espresso.

This time of socializing, mixed into the work I was doing, displayed for me a more relaxed, people-focused work-life balance unseen thus far in my internship experiences in America. Not only was my internship experience able to build my skills in marketing and program management, but the relationships I formed with my coworkers strengthened intangible skills necessary for eventually working in an international environment, such as my intercultural communication skills and being able to work successfully in an office where the majority of coworkers spoke primarily Italian. Despite the language barriers, I was still able to collaborate on team projects and substantively contribute to the efforts of EIIS’ Education Department to expand their outreach to new students across the globe.

My Elementary Italian I course also helped lower the language barriers, giving me the basic tools necessary to communicate simply with those around me, whether at work or even in the streets of Rome. Taken in the first five weeks, the course combined basic Italian grammar and vocabulary with cultural experiences where we could apply our new language skills in real time. For example, one afternoon our class ventured to the famous Sant’Eustachio Café to order coffee in Italian near the Pantheon, while another afternoon we were guided through an exhibit on Dante and art inspired by his Divine Comedy at the Villa Farnesina. Another day, we took a field trip to the Tor Marancia neighborhood, where we observed several murals on the sides of municipal rent-controlled housing with beautiful, moving images depicted. This academic experience, alongside workshops taken as a part of my INST 300V International Internship credit, all helped build a foundation of understanding for all of my experiences in Rome, allowing me to navigate the city and enjoy all it had to offer all the more.

While my internship, class, and daily routine structured my weekday time, weekends were shaped by Trenitalia, the Italian train system. From the Roma Termini station just a ten-minute walk from our apartment in Monti, my roommates and I were able to catch a train to nearly anywhere in Italy. Some of our favorite places we explored included Lucca, a small fortress town in northern Italy. Here, I was treated to a 1:1 tour of an art museum set within a medieval villa, with the guide sharing anecdotes and artistic notes on everything from sculptures to altar pieces and everything in between. Venice was another site we visited, eating at the oldest continuously running café in Europe and taking the obvious gondola ride. Closer to Rome, a friend and I visited Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence, and paddle-boated on the volcanic Lake Albano. Finally, visits to Tivoli, Assisi, Florence, and Orvieto all included my space of normalcy – somewhere in a garden or forest outdoors, where I could sit on a bench, people-watch, read, and watch a new corner of the world roll by. Even in these hectic days, I was still driven towards spaces of peace and relaxation at times, spaces where I felt both at home in a foreign country and confident in my ability to thrive in a different country and culture. In enjoying these types of moments, I found myself better prepared to fully participate in my internship, feel confident in my contributions, and know that I belonged in Rome, no matter how long I had been there or not.

I cannot be more enthusiastic about encouraging any student to participate in an international internship abroad, especially in Rome. In itself, an international internship gives you the practical experience necessary to perform well in any new job environment, as you become comfortable navigating cultural differences competently, communicating clearly and respectfully, and working independently to promote your company’s mission. All of this exists in addition to the life skills attained outside of the workplace, as you learn to tackle a new city and its transportation systems, grocery stores, restaurant etiquette, and more all on your own. Add the location of Rome on top of that, and you will find yourself living and working amongst the sights you’ve always seen in textbooks in a city so much history and energy to offer.

My largest piece of advice for those looking to intern abroad though is that balance truly is key. When working or studying internationally for a long period, burnout is surprisingly prevalent, and it can be easy to feel like a tourist for many weeks on end – a tiring experience, to be sure. Take your time to adjust and rest, getting to know the city both in its loud and its quiet, peaceful moments and spaces. Building a routine for yourself, or at least some sense of normalcy through a favorite hobby, location, etc., can play a pivotal role in allowing you to not only enjoy the city to the fullest extent but also to build the sense that you can and do belong in a place that is far away from the town you may have grown up in. For me, that looked like reading on a bench in Villa Aldobrandini, taking in the sunset each day. For you all, the possibilities are endless!