The fall leaves lining the Tiber River.

It is crazy to believe that this semester is already over. It feels like just yesterday walking into our “foreign-feeling” apartment and wandering the unknown streets of Trastevere. Now, we call this place our home; we are comfortable navigating, living and interacting in this unique Roman community. In some aspects, it is bittersweet leaving, but also exciting to go back home and spread knowledge and experiences with my friends and family. I will miss the on-site staff, Nico and Cami, the places I’ve traveled, my professors, and most importantly, the friends I have made along the way. We have been through ups and downs here, starting from day 1.

We had no electricity for the first 3 days, which meant that anything in the refrigerator went bad, cold showers, and total darkness. This felt like it set the tone for the following 2 weeks, fighting off the last of the jetlag and trying to adapt to the bustling new culture and university style while having no motivation to leave our apartment. Overtime, we started getting into a routine, which certainly helped. About a month in, we still had not traveled anywhere outside of Italy, which was slightly off-putting, since we wanted to travel quite a bit. I often refer to this as a travel-planning block. I could not get the motivation to sit down and plan out the logistics of a trip, and I only knew general places I wanted to go. This was hard, especially after seeing where other students had visited and the groups they had gone with. Finally, we were able to join a group that was going to Austria, and let me tell you, I am so glad I was able to join them. It was here where I started hanging out with other SAI students. This ultimately led to 5 or 6 other trips with some individuals of the group over the course of the semester. However, I will say, as someone with limited funds, it was hard to choose exactly when and where I wanted to go.

The sunset over Rome, a view from the Altare della Patria (also known as the “Wedding Cake”)

This is why I took pride in trying to go on all of the SAI viva experiences. I managed to go to every activity except for two; the gelato tour (I was really bummed I missed it), and the street art tour (it ended up being cancelled). It was here I was able to meet other students that I didn’t go on trips with. Going to these experiences really opened my eyes as to what I could around Rome, and it influenced later domestic travel.

As for the university experience, it was definitely different from what I was used to. First off, I think it is important to note that I was going to John Cabot University, a private university in Trastevere. There were security guards outside every entrance/exit to each of the buildings, making sure only students and faculty scanned their ID’s and entered. Additionally, the course work was different. It was more reading based, with a focus on group projects. There wasn’t really homework, it was more of an independent learning style – like rewriting notes, or reading articles. I can’t say if I enjoyed it or not, especially the group project part, since most of the time, only 2 of the group members would do adequate work while the others slacked off – which was very frustrating. On the other hand, my professors were very accommodating and friendly, and they knew the topic they were teaching. Overall, it was a refreshing change of pace compared to my university back in the states, however, I think I prefer the teaching methods in the States, as I prefer more hands-on work and deadlines (because I will not complete something in a timely manner without a due date). Another big change that I was not used to, was the fact that most of the semester, you don’t know your grades. This is normal in the Italian schooling system, and you won’t know if you are passing the class until the end of the semester, right before finals week. This was anxiety inducing, but I wasn’t terribly worried most of the time.

A swan posing with the sunset over Ladispoli Beach (on the outskirts of Rome) one evening.

Honestly, I am going to miss this wonderful experience, but I am eager to go back home and embrace my family and friends (and dogs). It has been hard for me to fall asleep the past two weeks – not only from worrying about exams, but also from the readiness and yearning to go home. I know I will be overjoyed the first few moments home, but I know that the feeling will pass quickly, making it harder to re-adapt to the culture I have missed out on for the past four and a half months. I know that I will be back, whether it is to Italy or any other country in Europe – so it is not a “goodbye”, but rather a “see you later.”

Written by: Alyssa, Fall 2024 Rome student from Tennessee Tech University