Cooking Class

Author: Peters Ethan | Majors: Biochemistry, Spanish | Semester: Summer 2023

I just returned to the U.S. after spending six weeks in Europe! The first five weeks, I was part of the U of A Rome Center Summer Campus study abroad program. The last week I spent in Interlaken, Switzerland and Paris for some independent travel. I went to the Rome Center as my last official undergraduate activity to learn Italian and immerse myself in a new culture, but I was surprised at how much the program prepared me for my next steps as a graduate.

In preparation for this summer, I started learning Italian in February. Using online resources and working with Dr. D’Eugenio, a UARK Italian professor, I was able to make quick progress with the language. My Spanish knowledge also helped! By the time I arrived in Rome, I already had a good foundation in the basics and could really start working on my conversational skills. The one issue with my unexpected progress was that I had signed up for Elementary Italian I, a course designed for students with no knowledge of Italian! Since there wasn’t an opportunity to take a more advanced Italian course, I reached out ahead of time to Barbara Spaccini, my Italian instructor at the Rome Center, and asked for advice. She agreed to adjust the course significantly to meet my needs. She modified my assignments to increase their difficulty and met with me individually to answer my many questions about Italian grammar and vocabulary. After spending time getting to know each other, I told her that next year I will be working as an English teacher in Madrid during a gap year before medical school. Going above and beyond her obligations as an instructor, she suggested that I take on a TA role for our Italian class so that I could get more comfortable with teaching and prepare for my future. I wrote a lecture, workshopped it with her, delivered it to the class, and helped create a scavenger hunt around Rome which my classmates completed while practicing their Italian. I also want to teach medicine one day, so that practice pertains to my long-term future. Very rarely have I had an instructor who was so concerned about my individual progress. My other course, art history, also exceeded my expectations. In lecture, we covered the theory and history which formed the context for developments in Western art. Several times a week, we went to museums and churches in Rome to see thematic sculptures, paintings, and architecture with our own eyes. The on-site component of the course greatly enhanced my theoretical knowledge. It’s one thing to hear a lecture on famous artists but quite another to admire their highest achievements in person.

I learned just as much outside of the classroom as I did within. Living in Rome is a very different experience from living in Fayetteville. I loved getting adjusted to the daily rhythms of life there – taking the metro, going to the market for groceries, stopping for a quick espresso in the morning alongside the locals. I love Italian food, so I was delighted to discover that a cooking class was included in the program! We learned how to make ravioli and cavatelli – both were delicious. Knowing some Italian greatly enhanced my experience there. I was nervous to speak at first, but I quickly realized that the best way to learn is just to go for it, even if I make some mistakes. Many Italians were very kind and excited to help me practice their language. Courage in speaking out led to some of my favorite memories. For example, one day while I was walking up the stairs to my apartment, I heard our neighbor practicing the piano. As a pianist myself, I was impressed by their skill. Despite my nerves, I decided to knock on their door, introduce myself, and give them a compliment in Italian. The neighbor, Julien, was a very friendly student from Germany who was there to learn Italian and experience Rome. His English was great and his Italian was quite good, so we enjoyed switching between languages while talking. We even decided to go to the beach together the next day! We have kept in touch, and I plan to visit him in Munich later this year while I am working in Madrid!

My experience in Rome exceeded my expectations in every way. The Rome Center faculty, the people, and the city itself were amazing. I would advise anyone considering this program to go for it. I would also encourage students to travel as much as possible while in Rome! My friends and I went to Milan, Como, Pompeii, Amalfi, and Naples on the weekends. After the program was over, I traveled solo to Switzerland and Paris for a week. One highlight among many was paragliding in Interlaken! I will cherish the memories and friendships made abroad for years to come.