Coronavirus. Probably not the word you were thinking, but it is the word we should discuss. Italy is #4 for most cases of coronavirus in the world. Of course, that is where I am studying. People have been flooding me with questions like, “Is your program sending you back home?” or “What are you going to do?” There have been no talks of Rome students getting sent back home. NYU Florence campus has told its students to come back to the US immediately and not return for a month. I don’t know which situation I would prefer. Getting sent back to the states, or being quarantined here. Frankly, both would suck. Either way, I would miss out on travel and lose lots of money. Whatever I am told I need to do, I will do. Tomorrow, I am still going to head to Prague. I am excited to visit my friend and the day after I will be seeing even more in Vienna. Rome has not been shut down. Travel isn’t highly recommended right now, but sitting around and wasting my days is NOT what I intend to do. Please keep Italy in your thoughts. I will update as needed. Bye for now!

What an experience! A very expensive experience. I won’t lie to you, this was a $1,000 weekend. Half of that was for skydiving, but still! It put a dent in my wallet, but it was the best trip I’ve ever been on. I cannot imagine a better place to explore. Interlaken was peaceful but buzzing with excitement. In basically 2 days, I went skydiving, ice skating, and kayaking. I drank cider, ate fondue, and had delicious strawberries with warm chocolate melted over it. I was nervous going into the weekend. This was my first full solo trip. I did it through a company called bus2alps. We took a bus from Rome to Interlaken, which took nearly 11 hours. I am so glad I did it through them though because I met some amazing people! A group of girls from Assumption College in MA took me in and hung out with me all weekend. We grabbed dinner together and just hung out. They were so wonderful and welcoming. The girls in my hostel room were from St. Johns in NY and were also so sweet! I made new friends on the trip. I was very lucky with how that turned out. Kayaking was so amazing and I want to make it a hobby at home! Back in CT I won’t be doing it in fresh mineral water though. When we were thirsty, we literally scooped water up from the lake and drank it. It was delicious! Skydiving was the coolest thing I’ve ever done! We jumped out of the plane from 13,000 feet in the air. The view while falling was incredible, as we were right over the Swiss alps. There is no way to describe the beauty of it, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. Anyways, if y’all have the chance to go to Switzerland you NEED to go! Just bring lots of money.

So going into my semester abroad, I was so excited to take a break from the challenging course load that I take at Quinnipiac. It has not been as easy as I expected. I am taking 4 courses outside of my comfort zone. None of them are business related. I chose humanity courses that would further my knowledge about Rome. I am learning tons, but these classes are reminding me why I am a business major. My strong point has always been math. Taking 4 courses where we focus on art, music, sociology, and language, has been testing me. I find it all very interesting, I’m just not the best at it. On top of a difficult course load, I have been doing lots of traveling. My first weekend I stayed in Rome, the second weekend brought me to Budapest, last weekend brought me to Spain, and tomorrow I head to Switzerland. Traveling has always been a dream of mine, so being able to do it is so exciting. It doesn’t leave much time to relax. When I have free time, I’m usually writing papers, planning trips, or just trying to explore my new home. It also so hard to find motivation to do homework and write papers when I have this wonderful city to discover. I don’t want to spend my time doing work, but I am here to STUDY. Also, someone remind me to post here more. I love updating, but I forget. Happy Wednesday!!

Rome is incredible. Ever since I arrived last Tuesday, it’s been non-stop adventure. My apartment is very cute. We don’t really wear shoes inside since our neighbor below can hear everything, just like we can hear the family above us. My shower is very small and gets water everywhere. It gets nice and hot though which is the most important part. Although both of my suitcases were on the verge of being overweight, I feel as if I have no clothes that I like. That is an easy fix with all the markets everyday and the shopping district only being a tram ride away. The food here is so fresh and delicious and I’ve been walking at least 4 miles each day. I am only on my second day of classes so not much update there yet. All I can say is that I LOVE Rome and my first trip is this weekend! I will be going to Budapest. See ya soon!

10 days until I leave the US for Italy. I am nervous and excited. I haven’t started to pack yet, which I need to start soon. It is going to be difficult packing my life into 2 suitcases, but I don’t really have a choice. Saying goodbye is going to be even harder though. Leaving my family and friends here is breaking my heart. I wish that everyone I love could experience these next 4 months with me. Rome is going to be amazing, but I’m just not ready to say goodbye.

I’ll check in soon 🙂

Hi there! My name is Emily and I will be studying in Rome, Italy for the spring 2020 semester. Currently I am in my second year at Quinnipiac University. My goal for this blog is to keep people updated and informed as to what I’m doing. I also hope this blog can help others see if studying abroad is right for them. Stay tuned for more!

Emily