When I first arrived in Rome I had no idea what to expect from this experience abroad.  The Rome SAI program made the stress of traveling to a different country for the very first time a breeze!  I felt very welcome when I arrived off the plane and I knew that all my worries would be put to ease.  The program did an amazing job rooming me with ladies that I got along with extremely well.  I even ended up becoming very close to these girls and I would consider them lifelong friends.   I am overjoyed with how well my rooming situation while in Rome turned out.

The welcoming events that SAI provided were very helpful in making me more comfortable with be far away from home.  I always felt extremely welcome to ask any questions to the SAI Rome individuals.  During my time abroad I asked many questions and I could always count on the questions getting answered completely and fully.  There was never a moment where I felt that I could not go to the SAI program for any form of help that I needed.

The SAI Rome program offered many trips to the students which was one of my favorite parts of the program.  The program was able to take the students to places that they would most likely would have not done on their own.  The welcome dinner with SAI was fantastic!  We went to a place that we would not have been able to go to by ourselves because of transportation difficulties.  We got to experience a real full Italian meal which was very nice as a way to start adapting to the Italian culture.  SAI was interested in teaching us about  how true Italians live which was something that was very important to me for my study abroad experience.  They were able to teach me and show me things that I would not have noticed on my own.  The trip to Umbria was one of my favorite activities that SAI provided.  We stayed in a rustic farm house where there was no internet and it was the most fun I had my entire trip.  I went with my roommates and we ended up having a great bonding experience because there was no internet to distract us from enjoying each other’s company.  The SAI Rome program helped me experience amazing opportunities that I would not have experienced if I had done this journey on my own.  I will never forget my time in Rome, Italy thanks to the amazing people who gave me the chance to live and study there for a semester.