Ciao a tutti!
So for the past few weeks I have been studying for exams (like I bet a lot of you have, hope they went well!) and can I just say that if I didn’t already think so, I now know that the Italian education system is pretty bizarre. So this week I thought I would give you an insight in to this madness, and hopefully not bore you too much, and then tell you about my weekend away in the beautiful city of Turin.
In order to pass my year abroad, I am required to pass 25 credits out of 50, and to pass in Italy you need to get 60/100, unlike at home where 40/100 is a pass. But here’s where it all gets a bit more confusing: in Italy, you have more than one appello (go) at the exam, so if you fail the first time, you simply take the exam again at the next available opportunity.
It was all a bit daunting for me, and I haven’t exactly been the model student in Italy with studying/attendance/anything really so I was dreading my exams. My first exam was an oral exam on Italian cinema: I was terrified as it was without a doubt the least prepared I’ve ever felt for an exam EVER. Somehow, after sitting in the wrong room for an hour and a half (thanks to my incredibly unhelpful professor) I made it to the right room and was really nervous when my name was called. Unlike in England, in Italy they generally ask you to speak about what you know, so I picked a Russian silent film I knew the basics about, but wasn’t prepared to be shown clips of the film (that I hadn’t watched) and asked to analyse the characters and features: ALL IN ITALIAN. It was a painful 40 minutes, and I genuinely think the reason he passed me was largely due to the fact that it would have been a pain for him to see me again, and I was incredulous and so relieved when he gave me 22/30, meaning I had just passed 12 credits.
None of my other exams were quite as traumatic as that first one was, and I had a lot more time to prep for the others. Luckily for my history exam, the professor was incredibly kind and patient with me, and unlike the first exam, this only lasted about 5-10 minutes and afterwards he shook my hand and asked if 26/30 would be ok (it was definitely more than ok!).
I was relieved to find out last Thursday that I also passed my Italian language exams (there were five of them, and it was very, very long) meaning that I didn’t have to retake anything. I have now got 22 credits for the first semester, and only need 3 more technically to have passed the year, and so I feel like a bit of pressure has been taken off for the next semester.
It feels so good to have exams out of the way, and I was excited to go out on Thursday to one of the first aperitivo’s (a night filled with buffet food and cocktails organized by one of the Italian societies) of the new semester. It was a good night and it was exciting to meet new Erasmus students, apparently there are 40 coming this semester as well as lots of the original students leaving too. I know its been snowing at home in England, but we had our first glimpse of it in Bergamo that night too, which was exciting (especially for my Australian friend!).
(My housemate Hannah, Bea and I in the ‘snow’)
The next day, slightly hungover from a few super-strength mojitos, I set off to visit my course mate from Leeds who is teaching for the year in Turin. Turin is just under three hours away from me in Bergamo, and I was excited to see Nicky as I hadn’t seen her since she visited me back in October. Turin is beautiful: even on the journey there I was taken aback by the clear views of the mountains from the windows. That night we went for dinner with a few of Nicky’s friends, and I got a glimpse of the piazza’s in Turin at night, which was pretty impressive.
(Turin at night looking pretty)
The next day, Nicky and I went to the Mole Antonelliana in Turin city center. It is an incredibly tall building, and is even bigger on the inside: as well as taking the lift to the top of the building to see the views of Turin like we did, you can also go to the Museo Nazionale del Cinema (National cinema museum) which is also inside and looks really interesting. Anyway, we paid €5 to be taken to the top of the building and the view of Turin when we got there was nothing short of spectacular. I was honestly so impressed by it, I would recommend for anyone thinking of going to Turin to do it because it was beautiful.
(A view of Turin from the top of the Mole Antonelliana)
(…And again)
Also for anyone who may be interested in visiting Turin, the shops are pretty decent… So after some lunch we spent a good 5 hours exploring shopping and buying too much makeup in Sephora. That night we went out with the other teaching assistants to a club called Hennessy. I was quite intrigued by the club because of its Irish sounding name, and was surprised when we were all let in for free because we were English. The club itself was interesting, but like a club I’ve been to in Bergamo, the payment system was irritating. In Hennessy, they give you a card that you present at the bar and they stamp it every time you have a drink. You then give the card in to the front desk at the end, and they total up how much you owe for your drinks for the whole night. This system is not my friend: it basically takes advantage of very drunk people and gives you a nasty surprise at the end for how much you owe.
This aside, the club itself was pretty massive and unlike any I’ve visited in Bergamo, but I couldn’t help noticing how young everyone looked in there, which was then confirmed when I noticed some 18th birthday balloons in one of the private booths of the club… It was a decent night and I met some nice people, but the music was repetitive and got a bit boring after a while, so Nicky and I made a swift exit at about half three and went for some pizza before making it back to her’s.
(Myself and Nicky before our night out in Turin)
I really enjoyed my weekend in Turin and it was interesting to meet Nicky’s friends and see what she’s been doing for the last few months on her year abroad too. I cannot recommend enough to anyone thinking of visiting Turin to go to the Mole Antonelliana to get a better view of the city as a whole, because it was honestly so beautiful.
In the next few weeks I haven’t got too much planned but I am hoping to go to Venice for it’s annual carnival, and meet more of the new Erasmus students and get to know them all a bit better. Sadly, I will also be saying goodbye to some more of my closest friends that I met here on Erasmus, and I am dreading it. I’m not sure I can cope with another emotional goodbye like when my old flatmate left.
Anyway, fill you all in again soon, and ciao for now!
Ella x
All pictures the writer’s own.