Semester recap: Rome edition

This morning I finished the first half of my exams and walked away feeling pretty lucky. The important classes are finished, and the tests seem to have gone well. (Of course, we’ll see in 3 to 6 weeks when I get my final grades back.) As of today, I have eight days before I head …

Let’s talk about your profs abroad

Let me summarize this article for you real quick: some professors are awesome and others… Not so much. It’s a fact of life and it’s a given in college. You’ll gel with some, and might lose sleep over others. It’s not rocket science, and it’s not a slight to any of my professors that I’ve …

Exploring London with Flying Dutchmen

My spring break here in Rome was held over Easter weekend, for obvious reasons. Since Rome is a place of pilgrimage for Catholics, it can get pretty crazy over Easter. So, I decided to meet up with my friends Annika, Jack (both studying in London with IES and CIEE respectively), and Grace (studying with IES …

Finding hope in a hard week

I’m just going to say it plainly: last week was hard. I cried, I stressed, I struggled. There were a lot of factors going into this (I pulled a muscle in my back which freaked me out, I said goodbye to my family on Monday, and school was giving me a run for my money). …

Serendipity in a brand-new Italy

Last week, my mom and grandma visited me. We spent our weekdays in Rome and our weekend in Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. I never get this way when I’m gone for a semester at Hope, but wow… There is something emotional about getting to see (and also say goodbye to) your family when you …

Rome Life: Day 60

This week begins the second week of the second half of the semester. Over the hump! Last night one of my housemates and I found ourselves stuck at our tiny kitchen table swapping our harrowing stories of our journeys to Rome. We talked about the tears that inevitably came, of the plane mishaps and unexpected …

Welcome to Venice

An early morning on Saturday last weekend consisted of empty buses and train station cappuccinos. My LA native housemate Vahna and I had a 9:30 train to catch, and we were determined to do so in a calm and collected manner. (Like women of class, okay? No more running through Roma Termini for us! Those …

Quick chat about money

(Please go to YouTube and watch the “Money, Money, Money” scene from the hit 2008 film “Mamma Mia!” and then return to this tab and read the article. Trust me, it’ll get you in the right headspace.) The most common thing I hear between abroad friends and Hope friends that are abroad is: “I’m worried …

A taste of hope

One of the joys of being in the tiny Hope College community is when you go abroad, chances are you’re going to know someone else who’s abroad. Which, of course, implies the inevitable crossover episode when you get to meet up internationally. It’s on this, my sixth season, episodes 30 through 33, where we finally …

Five of the lessons I’ve learned so far (Rome Edition)

1. The winter coat is more important than the actual outfit. I’m serious about this one, and I think about it almost every day. No, I’m not proud of my very evident trashy coats here. Peacoats are everywhere––Flannel ones, bright red ones, classic black or tan ones. They line the streets. Any old pair of …