My experience in Rome thus far has been nothing short of incredible. After a long flight to Zurich and a quick hop to Rome, I met the other people in my program and our program coordinator, Carla, at the Fuimicino Airport. We loaded up a coach bus and drove to the city where the bus was unloaded and each group was showed to their apartments. To say my apartment is “basic” would be an understatement, but I shouldn’t complain. We live in an area of Rome called Trestevare. We’ve been told by Carla and other program coordinators that it’s a very trendy area with lots to do at night but we haven’t found exactly what they were talking about yet. With that said, our particular apartment is only one block from the Tram which we take North to school every day.

Our school, Scuola Leonardo da Vinci, specializes in teaching language to foreign students from all over the world. It’s located in a cleaner area of the city with lots of shops and nightlife. My particular program is called “Rome Food and Culture”. Italian 101 is taught by an attractive young woman named Marlena. Food and Media (focusing on the media aspect of the food industry) and Food and Culture (food science, wine and cooking lessons) are both taught by Fredrico, a food journalist and sommelier. Italian Society and Culture focuses on tying the history of the Roman empire with more recent history of Italy. That is taught by the very expressive and funny Andrea Barchi. Last but not least, Layers of Rome, a class which teaches us ancient Roman history on location throughout Rome. It’s taught by our only non-Italian teacher, Dr. Gwynne. He is a Englishman who is very funny and looks exactly like one would picture a history professor from England. Our first excursion took us to Tiber Island, near the place where Rome was founded in 753 BC. He explained the founding all the way through the decline of the empire as we sat at the base of the island and listened. He is extremely knowledgeable and will be a great guide to other monuments and culturally significant places in Rome in later classes.

Throughout the semester the program calls for various activities not related to any specific class. For example, our second day in Rome we were given a typical Mediterranean four course meal. I had the pleasure of sitting next to the director of the school and the attached cooking school/cafe, Pierre Alberto. Although he majored in political science, his passion has always been food and wine, which prompted him to open the school and the cooking program. He was very gracious and explained many things about the meal and italian life in general to my table.

In between classes my friends and I have been exploring the city and finding many neat shops and eateries. It seems as if every small back street has something new and interesting to offer. There’s so much to see, both obvious and hidden. My four months here seem like a long time now but I’m sure they will fly by faster than I want. I am excited to see as much of the city and country as is possible. In one short week I have had an absolute blast and have made a lot of new friends. If the rest of my experience is a fraction as good as it has been so far, I will be one lucky guy. Ciao!