Submitted by Jane Allen on the 2020 spring semester study abroad program in Rome, Italy…
As classes begin, the students at John Cabot University in Rome are balancing the excitement of sightseeing and trip-planning with the newfound challenge of a full course load. While our first week was spent attending orientation events and wandering around the city, we now find ourselves meeting up to study in the library or walk to the Anglo-American bookstore downtown. It seems like an abrupt shift from the initial elation of arriving to the Eternal City to be suddenly hit with deadlines and readings. I admit that during those first classes, I was feeling similar to how I felt first arriving to the country – excited, but at the same time, overwhelmed and scared.
For example: On my first day of Ancient Greek, it seemed like everyone knew what they were doing, while I was left confused and disheartened. I felt like dropping the course – how could I possibly catch up? But on a whim, I ran into a fellow Ancient Greek student. “How do you like the course so far?” I asked her. To my relief, she had been feeling the exact same way I did. We exchanged numbers and have been studying together, instead of struggling alone.
Later on that particularly harrowing day, I was greeted by an invitation to a “family dinner” with friends whom I had just met the prior week. Sitting, talking, and laughing with them made Rome feel a bit more like home, despite the challenge of new courses and responsibilities. My lesson to learn this week was: Home isn’t where you are, it’s who you’re with. Though I’m away from my home in Delaware, Rome is my opportunity to foster another.