Amalfi, Italy
Author: Crystallyne Landrum | Major: Architecture
August 20th, 2021 marked the beginning of my Roman narrative. This was my first in person learning experience since March 2020. Never had I spent 4 months living away from home, nor had I ever set foot in Europe. My experience studying abroad in Italy was a season of newness and firsts.
As a student in the architecture program at the Fay Jones School, I had been counting the days until my chance to study abroad since day one of freshman year. Now, in my fifth year, it was finally becoming a reality. My program requires a semester spent in either Italy or Mexico. After careful consideration, I decided to travel to Italy since I had never been to Europe, and Italy is a hub of architectural history dating back thousands of years. Academically, I was able to learn from a new perspective by physically occupying the spaces that I had studied in lecture halls previously. I was also able to participate in an internship with Sinergi, an Italian sustainability consulting firm which allowed me to observe how sustainability in architectural practice is conducted differently than in the states. The coursework was often challenging and new compared to the materials I had experience with back home. My design studio was focused on the planning of a large urban neighborhood of Rome which differed from previous studios in both scope and scale. This was refreshing and broadened my educational background. Every instructor and faculty member were incredibly supportive of my academic and personal endeavors, going as far as reaching out into the community to find extracurricular groups that I would be interested in participating in. The most significant difference in my education while in Rome was the focus placed on experiential learning. We were expected to immerse ourselves into the culture of the city through exploration of places, language, food, etc.., and were allotted extra time during the week to do so. There was no class on Fridays to give time for travel. Some of my best experiences were on the required day trips we took outside of Rome to Ostia, Hadrian’s Villa, Villa d’Este, and Orvieto. My favorite was our trip down the Amalfi coast where I observed the cultural variations from region to region through the food, products, and architecture.
Dancing down Roman streets with my fiancé
During my free time, my goal was to explore as many new things as possible that Italian culture had to offer in addition to the interests I brought with me to see how they differ from home. Food and drinks were the easiest way to experience something new every single day, and something I will miss the most. The landscapes surrounding Rome provided opportunities for diverse experiences within nature. My first weekend, I took the metro with some friends to Ostia where we spent the day sunbathing on the beach and floating in the ocean. My love of recreation was something I wanted to explore while in Rome. With the help of the Rome Center faculty, I found an indoor and beach volleyball team to play with. My bike was my favorite means of transportation. I would ride through St. Peter’s Square and over Ponte Sant’ Angelo on my way to school. The most interesting encounter I had was with a local photographer named Guido. He photographed my engagement as he led my fiancé and I from Trevi Fountain to the Spanish Steps and Villa Borghese. I enjoyed his anecdotes while he led us down the colorful cobblestone streets that I admire the most.
I would recommend the Rome Center program to anyone! The fall semester was a perfect opportunity to experience three seasons and holidays. Looking back, I wish I had been better about budgeting my time and money beforehand so I could have capitalized on more trip opportunities. I had a small background in Spanish which helped a bit, but I wish I had dedicated more time to learning Italian. Having not experienced a time zone difference as great as seven hours before, I didn’t realize just how difficult scheduling communication back home would be. It was important to set a routine to negotiate healthy habits. The first thing I will do when I return to Arkansas is eat food from my favorite Mexican restaurant with my family and cuddle up with my dog.