The Start: Expectations for Rome!
Hey everyone! I am Barbara! I am going to be writing on this blog throughout my study abroad experience here at John Cabot University in Rome. This is my first blog, so welcome!
I decided to study abroad in order to complete my International Affairs minor as well as get to know the country where my grandfather is from. In addition, I would like to practice the Italian I have been studying by myself at home and make myself more fluent. Finally, I was always just curious and interested in Italy given that my ancestors are from there, and Rome seems like a great fit for me since I am a city girl!
I did have to go through the study abroad experience before, since I lived in Brazil my whole life and came to study in Boston for my higher education. I have gone through all the stages before: the famous “honeymoon” phase, the “homesick” phase and finally the “feeling at home” phase, which is the one everyone wants to get to right away. However, every trip is different, and I am sure I will go through some of those stages in Rome. I am looking forward to experiencing them and telling you about it!
As for what I hope to get out of this experience, I expect to be able to move around to at least some parts of the city by myself and become more confident as a person overall after this experience. In order to achieve that, I will be pushing myself to get out of my comfort zone and explore Rome with friends as well as by myself (safely, or course!). I will also be taking two classes which are focused on ancient Roman history, and I hope that they will allow me to learn a lot about the rich history of the place around me and talk comfortably about it with others.
I have a couple of apprehensions about this trip. I have a fear of getting lost, since I am not good with maps or directions. Once I actually got lost when all I had to do was go on a straight line. I also fear that my documents or money will be lost by me or stolen by Rome’s famous pick pocketers. However, I am taking precautions to prevent that. I will be trying to explore the city in a group rather than by myself most of the time, and that will hopefully prevent me from getting lost too much. I will also try to not use bags, and instead keep everything close to me in my front pockets.
I am most looking forward to learning about Roman history, viewing amazing historical sites, learning Italian, and making new friends with the people here. I also want to eat pizza and gelatto, of course! I am looking forward to informing you of what happens in Rome, see you on my next post about orientation.
