12 tips for a semester in Rome

A guide book shoud be very helpful.
Why 12 tips?

Our son spent a semester in Madrid. His "Study Abroad office" on his campus proved a whole packet of tips. What proved to be the best tip was to take min clothing. The students will want to dress and look like their peers by buying locally. Our son went with about a week's worth of clothes and we brought most of those clothes home when we visited over Spring break. Second, buy local cell phone. Third, have a plan for using spare time -- don't sit around. Fourth, if the school offers an internship program -- do it. I will think of others.

I talk with many college kids here... They've told me things they wished they had brought or done... Let's see:

• Bring a wireless laptop with a buil-in webcam (They do not have a "service" but head for the free-spots all over town or at school; or worse case scenario head for an internet cafe!)

• Set up an email address you can access it from any computer (pretty basic now)

• Learn to use SKYPE (well, this as mostly for their parents benefit so they could see them! They told me they all had to teach their folks how to do this!)

• As Frank says, pack light. Any personal "selected" items such as a specific cologne, perfume, toiletry, etc. you MAY NOT find here so bring some!

• Their own pillow! This seemed to be a big issue! Most carried theirs on the plane - okay guys might fight this one but I hear it a lot!

• Convert CD's to your IPOD and store all your music/video there - Less to carry. DVD's from the States do not work in European DVD players (NTSC vs. PAL here)

• Bring a hard copy of all addresses, contact info, etc. Many have told me they crashed their computers and were left with NO INFO!

• Bring some photos, momentos, etc. from home. It helps to fight the homesick feeling.

• Make sure all your "appliances" (phone, camera, computer) etc. are 240V compatible, otherwise bring a votage converter (expect to pay at least $25-35 for a good one). Also, if your items will not need a convereter, get three or four US-Italian "plug" adapters. They are hard to find here (as are the 3-way grounded to 2-conversion plugs). Any American electrical compatibility issues need to be addressed BEFORE you come!

• If you're an eBay fan, buy before you leave. Most ebay vendors DO NOT ship to Italy! (Goes for almost anything you might buy online in the States)

These are just some of the things I've heard talking to soe of the college kids here... Many seem to be into the electronic stuff! Good luck...

Ciao,
Ron

) get out on your own. you will never meet new people, especially Italians if you spend all your time with your fellow American classmates.

2) Go out on your own if you really want to learn to speak Italian, for the same reason as stated above.

3) Nothing says American/English college student like being rowdily drunk.

4) If you are on the train and the seat in front of you is empty, don't put stretch your feet on that seat. The conductor will ream you out.

5)Italians find our willingness to walk around the house in bare feet or socks strange and unhygienic. Bring slippers or flip flops, also because the floor will most likely be tile or marble--very cold in winter.

6)Silk long johns are great against the damp. Houses aren't heated like they are in the US, so you have to layer up a lot of the time to be indoors, especially in the older buildings in the center.

7) Try going to the same bar every day for a coffee or a tramezzino, after a while you will enthusiastically greeted like an old friend every time you go.

8)Try and see a football game at Stadio Olimpico--Lazio is having a great year, while Roma is having a terrible year. (Forza Roma!) A truly Italian experience and unlike anything we have in the US.

9) A female student will have lots of possibilities to meet Italian guys. An American man isn't going to meet any Italian women unless he really puts himself out there.

10) the number 64 bus is the sketchiest line in Rome, but covers most of the center. Rome is smaller than it looks, so walk.

11) Stay out all night (Rome has a great night life) and then have a fresh cornetto at 5am

12) Never order a cappuccino following dinner.

13) Remember every day how lucky you are to be there enjoying Rome.

Clare: I have seen many rowdy drunks in Europe and they weren't Americans/English. Please don't point fingers especially if you've never been to Berlin, Munich, Amsterdam etc.........and yes, I have seen it in Rome as well!!!!

Claire's post is right on - especially the part about the rowdy drunkeness. My daughter LOVED the naturalness of drinking wine with dinner in France or having friends over and everyone bringing wine and sitting around, drinking, talking. VERY different from the "pre-gaming" that is done on college campuses in the US with the only point being to get drunk before you go to the no-alcohol served events. Not that they didn't get drunk sometimes, but it IS a different culture and she couldn't wait to turn 21 when she got back to the states. Well worth discussing this with your college student (assuming he/she is under 21).

So - in addition to trying to meet Italians also try to meet the other "internationals" - the non-Italian, but non-English speaking students. They will be struggling in Italian the same as you but you will both get lots of practice with Italian as your common language. My daughter's best friend in France was from Poland and this led to her 2-week spring break trip traveling around this country.

Enjoy all the differences and have a wonderful time. It was an incredible experience for my daughter.

Claire your tips are spot-on! Great advice for students in Rome.

Bart stress to your students that they should take advantage of their time in Italy. It is very easy to put off seeing telling yourself you will do it later and the next thing you know the semester is ending.

Roma C'e is a weekly publication listing events and concerts in Rome. It's only 1 euro and the pages at the back are in English.

Mark, I am merely speaking from my own experience. When I studied abroad in Rome most of the people who were drank excessively were American or English. NOT Italian. Maybe it was the places I went to. I'm not being holier than thou, in the begining I drank a lot too when I went out, but then I learned that if I wanted to hang out with Italians (and be able to stay up and awake all night) I was going to have to cut waaay down on the alcohol. I know things have changed in the lately, binge drinking is becoming a problem here too. But please don't talk about pointing fingers, this is merely what I experienced and observed. I've never heard of Italians doing "Power hours" or "Newman's Day", things that were plentiful where I went to school. Most Italians drink to be social and have fun, not to be out of their minds.

Ah Frank, New Year's is the exception to the rule. I passed New Years 2000 in the center of Rome. I was the only sober person there, because I erroneously assumed that the Italians wouldn't be drinking much. It was a mad house! Ok, fine. Rule number 14) Most Italians don't drink to get drunk---except on New Year's.

Your school program probably has some people who have recently been. You can contact them for very specific tips on your program (how to get the shower/heater/washing machine to work right).

Most importantly, take advantage of the opportunity. Time is the most valuable thing you have when you are traveling, don't waste it.

I am not sure about that, Claire. We spent New Year's eve in Nice one year. We were more than amazed at the drunken behavior of most of the celebrates on the beaches. We were told by our French host that they were mostly Italians who flood that area for New Years.

From my observations, I think that Claire's comment is accurate for Rome. Overall, I have noticed in Europe that alcohol plays an integral, but not exclusive role in life. Yes, wine with dinner, an apertif, maybe a mid-day break...but rarely a bender common to most US college towns. I also observe though that nearly any "Holiday" spot I have been to (Greek Islands, Majorca, etc.) or even a "tourist" destination, it does tend to be the visitors living it up rather than the locals, whether those visitors are American, French, German, even Italian as noted in Nice. So, in Rome, yes, it does tend to be the foreign students per the subject at hand (especially those under 21's with a new found freedom of drink) that stand out more than the locals

I'm currently doing a semester abroad, currently in Florence (but did my last two months in Rome). Drinking is a real issue for these young students. They hang out in Campo di Fiore NIGHTLY and vomit on the streets. The majority is American. I'm not talking about wine with dinner, but 2 Euro shot bars. The young Italian men know this, and they are out in MASS trying to hook up with the drunk female students. I'm not saying that the students should not drink, but too many of them made it a priority and they missed some beaufiful areas of Rome because they were hung over.

I loved Ron's list - especially about a laptop with a videocam and learning to use SKYPE.

Best advise I can give for your student: ENJOY !! There is so much to Rome. Eat, See, and WALK. Learn the streets, the busses, and the language.

Just curious, Dena...but how do you know that most of the students who are vomitting are American? Do you know them personally or did you ask them if they were American?

Wow, this post has deviated from the needs of a college student... to the "NEEDS" of a college student. I have to agree that most of the kids that are "drinking themselves sick" are probably Americans. And no Tim, I DO NOT know them! Most of the time you know this not from them, but from their friends who are either comiserating - or chiding them for their inability to handle the alcohol!

As Claire has said, it is a different culture here and the attitude towards drinking is far different. When friends come over they ask me, "What is they legal drinking age here?" I reply, "Well, Birth!" Actually, they just raised the legal age to 18, up from 16, this year. But no one checks - ever. When purchasing cigarettes, you probably get more ID checks than alcohol in Italy.

Yet the Italians in NO WAY tolerate public drunkenness. It's considered rude, boorish, & just inappropriate. Sure, there are the hooligans (like the Roma-Lazio game last week) that are loud & perhaps "tied on a few" - and of course there is the New Year's Eve "ONE-DAY FREEBIE"... but these are the exceptions in this country. DUI's are also NOT TOLERATED. Their attitude is simple. One & Done! You DUI here and you're through driving. So drinking is "more" responsible than the States. (The legal system has not generated the DUI lawyer concept as in the States - it's just starting)

US students come here & there is a new freedom available - and with that requires responsibility. Some handle it well & some do not. I've helped many an American kid find their apt or hotel late at night... so I would say "kids will be kids" and they will try new things - just make sure they are with folks that will help them & not leave them! Hard to "manage" from the US...

So Bart - education is the first line of defense and that's the great opportunity this site provides. The rest is up to your college student. I'd certainly make one of my 12 tips a "eye-opening" and frank conversation! Good luck!

Ciao,
Ron

Well said Ron. As alluded to before, any tips for US students should include the advice that you are a guest in another's country, specifically in Italy Public drunkeness is not tolerated, so please do not abuse your new found freedom (most will be under 21) to make a fool of yourself, and by extension, me as an American.

Tim, to answer your question: I AM an american student, studying in Rome. I WAS in Campo Fiore with my roomates, fellow students, and others which I have met during my time there. From my personal observations, stories from my classmates, MOST of the students are American. This doesn't mean that the Italian students to do not drink, they are just not out EVERY night doing it.

Find a bar/café nearby the residence or building where classes are held and become a "regular" - let the waiters/owners adopt you (they will), help you with your Italian (they'll love it).

(the above is actually advice my son gave ME, after he'd spend a year in Rome, and I was off for a summer in Siena - I followed it, and it worked).

Excessive drinking is well known among the schools as a major problem for American youth going overseas. There have been American students who literally drank themselves to death (alcohol poisoning) and caused real problems for their school. Most of the overseas programs (every year) have real problems with students drinking to excess. Don't!!!

During our fieldschool, we told the students that they were adults and they should treat alcohol as adults. Then we had to "have a meeting" with them- twice. We nearly kicked a boy out for the problems he caused (he would have had to find his own way home). Getting drunk can cause that much trouble!

The tips about Italians and drinking are spot-on. Some areas, such as where we were in Sicily, are even stricter- you do NOT get drunk. PERIOD! Like we said- drink like an adult.

My other tips:

try to learn and speak a little Italian- the people appreciate it!

Joking about the mafia is not amusing. Neither is talking about any family connections to it.

Try new foods and drinks- you'll miss much if you don't.

Carry water and DRINK. Dehydration isn't fun and it HAPPENS!

Try to learn a bit about the local culture, and respect it.

There may be some things you cannot find locally that you're used to- as an example, we couldn't find ziplog bags (for artifacts) ANYWHERE near where we were (none within 70km).

Make sure you get enough rest.

There are lots of great things to see- and the public transportation system is GREAT! Get out and have fun!

Cappuccino is for breakfast only.

Fresh almonds and cheese are a real TREAT!

Get off the beaten path. You never know what you'll find!

Travel in small groups- it's more fun, and in a few areas it's safer.

If you deliberately have an attitude of "America is just another nation, not the greatest thing in the world", people will appreciate it.

And last- take as much videos and pictures as you can- you'll appreciate them later!