Students study abroad every year with Seattle Pacific University’s programs; fulfill your dream of studying on the beach in Spain, sipping tea while reading in London, or watching a film in Paris. We are lucky enough to go to a school that offers a chance to study far from home. It can seem like a dream, leaving the country, and taking a class you’re really interested in, in a beautiful environment. But what is studying abroad actually like? Who better to ask than someone who was really there? One student at Seattle Pacific chose to speak with me about what it was really like studying outside the country with one of SPU’s programs. She shares with us about the ups and downs, and most importantly, the food.
What is your name?
Sarah Ahrendt
What is your year and major?
“My major is Visual Communications intended and I am a sophomore, so my intended graduation year is 2018.”
So you went on study abroad this year, where did you go? I got the opportunity to study abroad in Rome, Italy and it was amazing!What did you study while you were there? “I was in Rome studying for Art History credit.”Was this your first time vising another country?“No, my parents love to travel and so I have been to a number of other countries, but this was the first time that I got to travel by myself.”What was it like being somewhere you didn’t speak the language. “It wasn’t too bad because Rome is a popular tourist destination so a lot of the shop owners and street vendors speak English or know enough English to communicate with you.”Did you do any visits to other areas while you were there?“Yes! As a class we traveled to Florence and got to spend a couple of days there. We had some scheduled activities, but also had some free time to go visit some of museums and explore the city. At the end of our trip the teachers purposely didn’t plan anything the final weekend and it was left open for us to travel and go explore different parts of Italy on our own. I got to go with a group that spent a couple of days in Venice and one day in Milan.”Did you learn anything special while you were there about the people, culture, or yourself? “I learned that I love studying abroad and I would do it again if I had the opportunity to! I also feel like I grew a lot while there. From the time I left, to the time I got back I felt different in a way that I don’t know how to explain. Being in a different country with people you don’t know that well and then getting to bond while learning about that country’s culture and history is so indescribable. We were able to live our experience instead of reading about it in a textbook.”Do you have any tips for other students studying or traveling outside of the country? “Some tips that I would give to students studying or traveling outside of the country would be …
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Connect with everyone on the trip, not just your friends or the people that you are rooming with. When you include everyone in activities and outings, everyone has more fun.
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Remember that you are in a different country and not everything may meet your “American Standard” so be flexible and gracious, but if there are problems don’t hesitate to ask your teachers (SPU Faculty) or your host faculty (in this case the UW Rome Center Faculty) because they are there to help you.
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Eat lots of food, because it tastes so good and it’s so worth it.
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And finally have fun! You are being given an amazing opportunity, so make the most of it and soak it all in.”
What was the best food you ate during the trip? “Everything there was so good! I especially liked the pizza, pasta, and the gelato! There was also this one pasta at this one restaurant that we went to together as a group and they had this creamy pasta with pear in it and it was sooo good! I know it sounds gross and not appealing at all, but it was seriously amazing.”Were there any times the trip wasn’t good? “For the most part the whole trip was so good. We did have some communication problems with the host faculty and the landlord for our apartment building, some people had missing or broken appliances and they didn’t get them fixed until way after we informed faculty of the problems. One apartment group got put into a different apartment building than the rest of us, which made it harder to connect with them since we only really saw them when everyone was together. Also, our apartments were located somewhat far away from the UW Rome Center, but we made it work.”
The neighborhood that our apartments were in was great though, and very family oriented, which was really nice. Overall I had an amazing experience and I thought everything went really well, I would definitely recommend this program to others.
What is one thing that was unexpected? Did you feel prepared for everything during the trip?
One thing that I was not expecting was to make such amazing friends while on this trip. Getting to know them in a different country and then being able to come back to the United States with shared experiences is so amazing. It was so exciting when I got to see the people who went on the trip at the start of school. Every time I saw one of them all of the memories came back and it made me really happy. I feel like all of us are able to connect with each other on a level that others don’t understand. It’s like we all know this secret and because other people weren’t there they don’t understand.
SPU prepared me so well! They went over information about how to best deal with pickpocketing and they told us to be really aware of our bags especially if there’s a busy street or a crowded bus. They also went over proper dress code for when we went into churches so that we were respecting holy places and people’s worship areas. They gave us information about the differences between water with gas and still water, how to tip at a restaurant, how to barter with street vendors, and how to order coffee to name a few. I felt really prepared, more confident, and safer because they went over all that information before we left.
Any last thoughts you want to share?
The teachers were amazing! They’re so knowledgeable in all of the topics and were great guides. I loved who I roomed with and I loved getting to know everyone on the trip better. Rome was gorgeous and there was always something going on, it’s just a great atmosphere to be living in.
I think that being able to meet and become friends with all of the awesome people on the trip that I probably would never have met otherwise was one of the most valuable parts of this learning experience.
I would recommend studying abroad to anyone if they can. I enjoyed being able to learn more about another country by being able to surround myself with their people and their culture.