Author: Alexandra Salonen | Major: Biological Engineering | Semester: Summer 2024
Did someone order fettuccine?
Until I got involved with the Honors College, I didn’t even know that studying abroad was a possibility for me. I learned a lot about all the different programs offered by the U of A and when I saw we had a campus in Rome, I knew that’s what I wanted to look into more seriously. My first two years I was a little lost in what I wanted to do career-wise, so seeing that I could take general humanities classes through the Summer Core program at the Rome Center seemed like the perfect chance for me to study abroad and still make progress in my degree. Italy had always been a bucket list location for me to visit and it’s amazing that I could check that off my list through school. I hadn’t been out of the country before either, so having guidance from the University was another reason I chose to study at the Rome Center.
The classes I took while at the Rome Center were beyond anything that I expected. To Rome With Love, a class focused on Italian language and culture, helped make integrating into Italian life so much easier. We got to learn applicable lessons such as ordering at the coffee bar, where we even got to take a trip down the street to practice our Italian in real life! One of my favorite moments of the whole five weeks was the cooking class we took as part of the culture section of our class. It was truly such a fulfilling night to share laughs with my classmates and teachers over a plate of food we made together. I’m definitely going to attempt to make fresh fettuccine again soon.
My other class, Contemporary Images of and From Rome, took us on daily walks throughout the neighborhoods of Rome to learn about the context of different parts of the city. I saw so much of Rome that many visitors don’t usually get the chance to see. Our professor was a middle-aged Italian man named Fabio and I can’t think of a more perfect person to teach us about Rome. It’s a rare opportunity to stand inside the monuments you’re learning about instead of just looking at pictures and I’m so grateful for that. Though class would end with my feet sore from walking for miles, it was a fair trade for the once in a lifetime learning experience.
Included in the Summer Core program was a weekend trip to Florence and secretly I think I liked it more than Rome. The slightly quieter Tuscan charm makes me look forward to hopefully coming back in the future when I can spend more time exploring the city away from a big group. Because the days were full of group walking tours, it was a great chance for me to bond with my classmates and make new connections with people I hadn’t met before.
One of the biggest things that scared me before departing for Rome was the fact that I knew absolutely nobody in the program. I didn’t realize until getting there that many people already knew at least one person, and I felt like I was going into this alone. Some had weekend trips prepared before coming to Rome which left me looking for solo activities around the city. When I started college at the U of A I came in with friends from high school, so I never felt completely on my own. Luckily for me I can be a big chatterbox and within the first hour in Rome I was already making friends with people that happened to be rooming right next to me! Everyone I met was so nice and willing to be a friend to anyone. This experience wouldn’t have been what it was without all the amazing people I met through this program.
People always told me that I would come back from Rome as a different person. I like to think I’m still the same me, just with a newfound love for amatriciana and one more tattoo. When in Rome, right?