Author: miadervisevic

Postcards Home and Learning Opportunities

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It’s been so much fun walking around the city of Rome, exploring the streets, and stumbling across different beautiful monuments, cathedrals, and ancient artifacts. My friends and I have been taking to the town every day since we’ve gotten here, and all agreed to take as much as we can out of this study abroad. Planning day trips and finding new places around Rome, we have enjoyed our time here so far. We tried Japanese pancakes the other day while walking around the Vatican and made ‘vlogs’ along the way. Even when it was raining, we were out on those cobblestone streets enjoying the peacefulness that covered Rome.

However, comparing to last semester in London, I’ve already noticed some differences about my experience and myself. Rome is a far more sociable city than London, and I’ve noticed that in London I felt it being more okay to being alone. I felt as though London gives company to those who like solo time and gives more opportunities for solo dates, where Rome is far more social, and I felt more of a need to be around my friends and have less of a desire to go on solo dates- even the thought of it was a little more daunting. Maybe part of it is the fact that there is a huge language barrier now. Maybe I felt more comfortable and confident in London because I knew how to get around and knew everyone around me spoke English. However, I will try and work on my language skills and put my 2 years of Italian to use!

While on one of our walks through the city, my new flat mate and friend, Nicole, decided she wanted to send a postcard home. So, while she picked out a postcard, Abby found a cafe. Nicole quickly picked out a postcard, wrote a note, and sent it away. However, after a questioning from Abby, Nicole quickly learned that she needed to put a stamp on her postcard! She ran back to the stand, talked to the owner again, and quickly got the card back, to which she put a stamp on it and now it was truly on its way back home.

There have been quite a few learning opportunities here in Rome. From figuring out how to talk to locals, to ordering cappuccinos, figuring out where to get my nails done, and learning that even if its 60 degrees outside the Italians will still be in full winter coats.

The latter learning opportunity presented itself to me the other day. While I dress for the weather, Italians dress for the season. It was a sunny, 60-degree day outside, so I decided to embrace it and wear a t-shirt and jeans. While I thought it was fine, the Italians apparently did not. While walking around the streets, I got a few stares and a comment about it being cold. While it was a little uncomfortable being so stared at for just a simple t-shirt when it was warm out, I realized that’s what comes with living in a new country and learning what the locals do, how they dress, where they eat, and everything in between. Nonetheless, I’ll still be wearing my t-shirts because frankly, 60 degrees is quite warm when the sun is out…

While last week was filled with learning opportunities, this week will be filled with embracing those changes. This weekend, my flat mates and I will take on our first trip of the semester; Prague and Budapest! I’m excited to travel to these new places and explore the new countries I will be in.

https://www.instagram.com/mias_abroad/

Touchdown in Roma

Published on by miadervisevic1 Comment

This week marks the start of my new abroad experience, in Rome, Italy! I’m so excited to start this new adventure and have new experiences. This school year so far has been a wild ride! Fall quarter I studied abroad in London, which was an unforgettable experience and one I can’t even fully describe. I hope (and partially know) Rome will be the same.

It’s interesting, however, because people have been wanting to know by the end of this year abroad, how I compare the two places. I don’t believe you could though. Sure, in some respects they’re both big cities with new and exciting things to do and experience, yet they’re also so different. Rome has an entirely new language and culture with different history and ways of life, as well as it brings me new people and friends. So, in terms of comparison, I believe both places bring something new and I’m excited to see what Rome brings me this winter and spring!

I moved in on the 14th, and boy oh boy was that an exhausting day! With 12 hours of traveling total and 5 hours of check in at the University, I was ready to fall into bed to say the least. I admit, I was very nervous to see my new living arrangements and roommates because under privacy laws in Italy, I wasn’t allowed to meet or know who my roommates would be until I unlocked my apartment door. But once I walked through my old wooden Italian doors, I was happily greeted by my new roommates/flat mates (all 6 of them)! They’re all so nice and accommodating, we have already been on a few adventures together! While choosing to go random was daunting, it was the best decision I made in both London and here in Rome. However, after going out for pizza all together and learning that it was VERY cheap ($5 per pizza), I fell into bed and slept.

The next day, fighting the jet lag was an uphill battle. I overslept my alarm by 2 hours! And not to mention, I woke up at 3am, not being able to fall back asleep until 4. I had orientation as well and thankfully got up just in time to get ready for the events of that day! The jet lag had affected me more so than it did in London, and the next days after arriving, I was constantly adjusting and feeling tired during the day and awake at night. During the mornings I would rush around the apartment gathering my things and run out the door to my next orientation meetings (which I was never late for because I would oversleep my admittedly early alarms and wake up just in time)! It was difficult however, because there was no “free” day after moving in where I could sleep in and adjust to the new time change, as the whole week of arrival was about orientation and getting familiar with Rome and its winding streets.

While the weather hasn’t been that forgiving (cloudy and downpours of rain), we still made the most of our first week here in Rome! We explored the largest flea market in Italy, planned some trips, ate phenomenal Italian dinners, spent time together, explored the night life to some degree, and then of course, got ready for classes! All in all, this week was truly about bonding with my flat mates and exploring Rome before the busy schedule of classes.

Today, I had my first day of classes and saw the first glimpse of how this semester would progress. My courses all seem very interesting and I’m excited to dive into the new school semester! After classes, I came home, put assignments and readings into my calendar, and then sat around the dining room table with my flat mates and friends and talked about our days.

Honestly, while the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, and Spanish Steps were amazing to see, sitting around the dining room table or the living room with my roommates and talking has been the highlight of my week so far. One would be sitting in either place, and slowly but surely each of my roommates would join and we would just endlessly talk about everything and anything. It’s been so fun to just explore Rome, start new classes, and meet wonderful people- and I’ve only just finished the first week!

I’m excited to see where the rest of the semester takes me and what adventures lie in my future.

https://www.instagram.com/mias_abroad/