Meet Jeanette Gomez, a junior English major who spent her Winter Term abroad in Italy. She took ENG366: The Italian Experience with Professor Scambray with 15 other students from January 4-31.
“I spent the first two weeks turning in assignments before actually going to Italy and seeing the sites we discussed in our coursework,” she explained. “I was definitely more excited for the Italy part.”
Jeanette and her group stayed in Rome and Florence for two weeks, visiting famous sites their professor required. Most of the places on the list were cathedrals and museums where they had to look at specific pieces of art or learn certain histories of the buildings.
A typical day for Jeanette looked like this:
7 a.m. – Get ready for the day and eat breakfast
8 a.m. – Sign-in with professor and inform him of the places I plan on visiting that day
1 p.m. – Finish visiting the required sites and the rest of the day I have to myself!
After meeting the requirements, Jeanette typically spent the rest of her day visiting places she wanted to see. Although her class permanently stayed in the cities of Rome and Florence, Jeanette got to visit Venice, Milan and Pisa through trains and buses.
“It’s all about scheduling your required visits and getting the timing right,” she advised. “Each place has certain hours they are open, and if you get to hit each required site after another, you have more time to yourself.”
Jeanette’s favorite place to visit was the Trevi Fountain.
“It was so gorgeous seeing it in person, and it was soothing to hear the water in the middle of such a noisy crowd. I really felt that I belonged there, blending in with the locals instead of being just another tourist.”
She also loved the Vatican City: a smaller city within Rome that had a very different aura within its borders.
“I was in wonder the whole time I was in there, especially after seeing the Sistine Chapel! I loved how the people didn’t preserve the buildings because the aging of the walls made everything seem much more real.
Her most memorable experience, however, was climbing the Tower of Pisa.
“Sometimes, they don’t let anyone climb the tower because it would be structurally unstable. I was so happy I came at a time when they let people go! I remember feeling the leaning of the tower as I climbed up the stairs, and the view at the top was kind of crooked as well.”
Just as she was about to go back home, Jeanette’s flight was cancelled, so her class was forced to spend the night in Paris. It wasn’t all bad—she got to watch the fireworks from Disneyland! Sadly, she couldn’t actually go to the theme park, because everything in Paris closed at 8 p.m.
For those who were thinking of taking a travel course for Winter term, here’s Jeanette’s advice for you:
- Make sure you bring appropriate clothes! It’s very windy and having a windbreaker and a scarf is a must.
- Watch out for scammers! People love to con tourists, and no matter how much you try not to act like a tourist…they will always find you.
- Never ever let your purse/backpack out of your sight!!!
- Take the buses if you can’t walk for a long distance (I had a knee problem, so I had to take the buses often…and accidentally took the wrong one).
Good luck with your trips and make those memories, Leos!