From the start of the semester, I have held tight to the idea that I would be spending this upcoming semester in Rome. Spending the entirety of my life living in suburban Central Florida, with short-term visits to cities of cultures vastly different from my own, I envisioned what life would look like living in…
Category: Italy: ISA Rome
11 Days Until I Leave For Rome by Allison van Tilborgh
It is not the fear of a foreign land, language, or culture that frightens me. It is the feeling of doing something on my own.
Grazie per tutto, Roma!
After spending 4 months in the incredible, eternal city of Rome, I feel as though I need to reintroduce myself to my family, friends, and acquaintances. Studying abroad was the best experience of my entire life, and I have grown more in these 4 short months than all of my other years combined. Of course,…
Leaving Rome: A Reflection
Today, I leave the city I’ve called home for 109 days. Rome has been wonderful and I loved the city, but I realized in these last few weeks that it’s the people who have made my time here truly great. I wasn’t expecting to make close friendships while studying abroad, and now I have friends…
The Last Month in Rome
The study abroad semester is almost over, classes are starting to get a little harder, but I had a great month of November. During the last month here, I didn’t travel much because I wanted to finish discovering Rome. On the first weekend of November I went to Florence with some friends because I felt…
Studying Abroad: Expectation vs Reality
Like most people, I had a fantasy in my mind before studying abroad of what it was going to be like. I thought that I would travel to a new country every weekend, never have to do homework, become best friends with my roommates and that we would cook dinner all together, that I would…
Second Month in Rome
By now, it has been two months since I first arrived. Now I know how to speak a little bit of Italian, I’ve been taking Italian classes every school day. I am able to communicate at the restaurant and at the supermarket and I am able to understand most of what I read. I know…
First Month in Rome
It has been a month in Rome. I have been living with 5 roommates which I get along with very well. This month has been very cool, I have visited all the the historic monuments in Rome which are extraordinary. My life style has changed a bit from what I’m used to, I have a…
Pre-Departure Rome
I have lived in the Caribbean all of my life, bouncing between the Islands of St. Maarten and Puerto Rico. Interacting with Hispanic, French and Dutch citizens has allowed me to develop a culturally diverse identity. Moving to Winter Park proved to be a challenging experience. Campus life proved to be intellectually exciting, but socially,…
Fall Break: Paris, Geneva, & Nice
Fall Break abroad is as glamorous at it sounds. Being located in Rome, Italy comes with the perk of cheap travel prices for basically anywhere in the EU. The downside is that when it came to planning out fall break was there were so many options! I was traveling with my friend, Nancy, so we…