Pickpocketing

As you all are probably already aware, Rome as well as the rest of Italy has been labeled as one of the worst places for pickpocketers. Although crime in Rome has relatively decreased over the years, pickpocketing still seems to be extremely prominent. While I didn't have any problems with it in the four months I was in Rome, it is still something that everyone should take precautions to avoid.

The simplest way to avoid being a victim of a pickpocketer is to always be aware of your surroundings and to never get distracted. Gypsys and children are most often the people who steal the most and they will go to any means to get you distracted while another one steals your wallet. Signs that you may be in an unsafe situation could be things like people loudly arguing on a bus or metro train. Tourists will be so distracted by the use of the beautiful language that they'll be an easy target. Be aware when people come up to you and persistantly ask you for money or question you about something else. This is usually done to catch your attention while another gypsy or child steals whatever they can get their hands on. Also, the buses and metro buses in Italy are always packed. In Italy, there is alway room for one more Italian on a bus. Because of this, people will literally be shoulder to shoulder with you, making tourists extremely uncomfortable. Pickpocketers will take advantage of your distraction of the sweaty man pressed up against you and will discretely steal your wallet or slice the bottom of your purse. While on a crowded bus, always have your hand on the front pocket your wallet is in (never put your wallet in your back pocket) and always be aware of where your purse is and guard it with your hands. Pickpocketers won't come near someone who is prepared and doesn't appear gullible.

To avoid drive-by purse snatches, women should always carry a purse that can be thrown across your body. A really good website that I found that has other good recomendations like this is posted below. It lists areas in Rome that are more prone to pickpocketing as well as other things you can do to prevent it.

http://www.corporatetravelsafety.com/safety-tips/pickpocket-scams-reported-in-rome-italy

Traveling within Italy

There are so many beautiful places to go in Italy, it's hard to pick the ones that you would like to go to. But before you decide where you would like to go, it's important to know how to get there. The quickest and easiest way to get around Italy is by train. Termini Train Station, located in east Rome, is where you'll get your train tickets for your destination. Termini is also one of the largest train stations in Europe (Wikipedia). Here, you'll get your tickets to and from your destination. Also, be aware of promotions going on when buying tickets. Termini will sometimes have a deal where you can get two tickets for the price of one if you travel to a certain destination. You can find out about these deals at the Rome Termini website. Both the full semester and 5-weeks programs will be going on a trip to Assisi and is just north of Rome. Next to Rome, Assisi was my favorite place in Italy. You'll be taking a bus there, so you don't have to worry about train tickets or anything.

For those planning on making a trip to Florence, I will advise you that it's not all it's cracked up to be. It is very touristy in Florence, more so than in Rome. My dad and I went to Florence for his birthday when he came to visit me, and there wasn't really a lot to do. I enjoyed the Uffizi gallery, but that's just because I'm an art freak. Other than that, there really wasn't anything to do, and it really wasn't that different from Rome. So if you were thinking of going to Florence, I would advise you to go somewhere different. A few of the students went to the Amalfi Coast for a few days, and they really enjoyed it. It's rocky shores and beautiful scenery make for a great getaway. I would recommend going there.

If you are looking for a short getaway from Rome, Ostia Antica is a great option. It's located on the west shore of Italy and it's only about twenty to get there by metro. The beach here is wonderful, it makes you feel like you are not in Rome anymore because it's the complete opposite of what Rome is. This beach is peaceful and relaxing and despite the fact that you may have to occasionally fight off people selling jewelry and scarves, it's a great little day trip to get away from the chaos of Rome. You can rent lounge chairs and umbrellas and camp out on the beach for the whole day. There is a $5 admission charge to get onto the beach, but it's well worth it for a day full of relaxation.
WARNING: Italians don't always feel the need to wear a swimsuit, just be prepared for some of the sights you'll be taking in.

I didn't get to do a lot of traveling outside of class trips because I didn't have a lot of money, but if you do have the funds, go somewhere fun with your friends. If you are going to travel a lot, I would advise you against wearing yourself out traveling somewhere every weekend. It's a lot of money to travel that much, and sometimes it's nice to just get lost in Rome.

The Best Part of Italy: The Food

Hands down, Italy has some of the best food in the world. Everywhere you look, the streets are full of cute little restaurants that don't even have names. The Italian culture revolves around food. In the middle of the day, from noon to about four, the entire city will shut down so that the Italians can go home and have a long lunch with their family. Here in the United States, going out to eat is a very quick and systematic procedure. You sit down, get your drinks, order your food, get your food and eat, then pay and leave. All this takes roughly a half hour to 45 minutes. In Italy, this isn't exactly how it goes. An ordinary meal in Italy, lunch or dinner, takes about 3 hours. This is because Italians believe that food is the center of family and it is what brings a family together. The usual Italian meal consists of 3 courses: Antipasti (an appetizer), a main dish, and a desert (Wikipedia). Although I have had a meal that was up to 7 courses, 3 is the usual number. It's also considered extremely rude for a waiter or waitress to bring the check before you ask for it. These tips are nice to know so you know what to expect for your first meal in Italy.

There are a lot of Italian dishes that are served at pretty much every restaurant. Some of the most popular pastas include Carbonara (my personal favorite) is a pasta dish that consists of eggs, bacon, and a parmesean cheese sauce. Arrabiata, which means "angry pasta", is a very spicy pasta dish that has a tomato sauce with chili peppers. Cacio e pepe is a pasta dish that is simply just olive oil and parmesean cheese (Wikipedia).

The pizza in Italy is very different from the States and it will take some getting used to. The crust is very thin and the toppings are sometimes strange. The most popular pizza in Italy is called pizza margharita, which is just a flavorful tomato sauce with cheese on top. The pizza romana includes tomato, mozzerella, anchovies, oragano, and oil and the pizza viennese includes tomato, mozzerella, german sausage, oragano, and oil (Wikipedia).

During my four months in Italy, I came across some really great restaurants. However, these are hard to get a location on because the restaurants don't have names so you'll have to do some exploring when you get there. Our favorite restaurant in Rome was Abbey Theatre, Via del Governo Vecchio 51 (Facebook), which is an Irish pub that serves American food. Needless to say, we pretty much lived in this restaurant.

Overall, the food in Italy is an experience. Once you figure out what you like, you'll never want to go back to American food.

Will My Phone Work?

One of the most frequently asked questions I get from people traveling to Europe is if their cell phone will work overseas. This blog will address what kind of phones work in other countries and what calling plan you'll need. However, if you’re like me and are not really attached to your phone, I will give you some alternative options for contacting the United States.

All the major cell phone carriers offer an international calling plan. These plans can get pretty expensive, that's why I chose not to use one. But if you are planning on using this plan, the cost will depend on your cell phone carrier. First of all, in order for the international plans to work, you need a smart phone. This means you either need a Droid, iPhone, Verizon Wireless' plan starts at $1.29 per minute for Italy with no monthly fee and text messages are priced $0.50 per sent message and $0.05 per received message (verizonwireless.com). AT&T’s international calling plan is about $1.39 per minute of Italy and $0.50 per sent message (att.com). This is why, unless you are pathetically addicted to your phone and you have a lot of money to waste, you should probably consider alternative options.

I constantly use Skype because my boyfriend and I have been long distance for about four years now. So when deciding how to contact home, I knew Skype would be my life-saver. I love how it’s absolutely free to video chat with anyone in the world. There are no catches and no hidden fees for video calling. However, because of the seven hour time difference between the States and Italy, it can sometimes be hard to catch the person that you are trying to video chat when they are near a computer. This is why I also purchased a calling subscription through Skype so you can call the person on their cell phone through your computer. Unlimited calls to North America through Skype costs only $7.99 a month! (skype.com). It’s a fantastic deal if you are planning to go to Italy for the semester. If you are just going for the 5-week program, you can still get a great deal through Skype. You can establish a pay-per-minute plan where you just load money onto your account when you run out of minutes. Skype offers calling to the US from Italy for just 2.3 cents per minute (skype.com). You can add money onto your account in increments of $10.00, so if you added $10.00 onto your Skype account, that would give you roughly 435 minutes to connect to the States.

The University of Mary also purchased some European cell phones for you to use during your time in Italy. The phones are pre-paid, so you have to load money onto them to get minutes. You will mostly use this phone for calling your classmates in Italy. There will be 5 minutes loaded onto your phone when you first get it, but depending on how often you use it, you may have to load more on. The gelateria down the hill from Al Casaletto sells these phone cards. you can go there and they will load the minutes onto your phone for you, or you can go to Vodafone. Vodafone is like Italy’s Verizon Wireless. This is the carrier these phones are under, and there is a location conveniently located near the campus. I usually loaded my phone here because the workers spoke a little bit of English. You can also use this phone to contact the United States. It’s more expensive than Skype ($0.15 per minute), but it’s really convenient when you’re traveling and you don’t want to bring your computer. When you receive this phone, you will also receive an EDIcard. This is just like a phone card, but in order to reach the United States, you have to connect through the number on the card. This card gives you about 300 minutes for free; all you have to pay for is $5.00 for the card and the minutes you load onto your Vodafone account.

This may be a little confusing at first, but they’ll explain everything and help you when you get there. Just know there are other options besides spending an arm and a leg on your cell phone’s international plan.

Romans: A Breed of Their Own

Now if you happen to have an Italian background, you know all about Italians and their distinct personalities. I, however, knew nothing of Italians before I arrived in Rome. My first experience being in a room full of Italians was frightening to say the least. It was the day after we flew into Rome, and it was our first adventure into the city. With Fr. Shea as our tour guide, he showed us everything in the city in one day. After he was finished with his tour, he took all twenty of us to the most famous gelateria in Rome. Because it is the most visited gelateria, it was packed. As we all stood in our neat, single-filed line, Italians were swarming us trying to get to the counter to order their gelato. Now where I come from, I call that budging, but to Italians, it's an everyday thing. Fed up with the "Americana," the Italians started pushing us all toward the counter and saying God only knows what to us. As I finally made it up to the counter, I handed the man behind the counter my ticket number. I apparently took too long in deciding what flavors I wanted and he finally just shoved an all strawberry cone at me. As we were all standing in horror trying to forget about what a terrifying experience that was, the shop keeper yells after us "Fuori!" "Fuori!", which roughly translated means "get out."

Needless to say, my first experience with Italians was not very positive. As you can about imagine, I wanted to go home so badly after that encounter. Hopefully, my experiences with Italians will prepare you for these people. When it comes to Italians who live in Rome, they don't really consider themselves Italian. For an Italian who was born and lives in Roma, they prefer to be called Romans. People who are from Rome are a very proud people. They know the history of Rome and they are proud of it. They live in a city that has had its glory days as well as its dark days.

Italians really aren't scary, they are just extremely straight forward. If they don't like something that you are doing, trust me, they will let you know. If you are sitting on the bus and an old lady gets on and you don't let her sit down, she will let you know that what you are doing is wrong. It's not like America, where everyone is very reserved and if something bothers someone, they will rarely bring it up. Italians have no problem with conflict. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just what makes them so unique.

Another thing that makes Italians different is the fact that family is always their first priority. Italians are so dedicated to their family. It is not unusual in Italy for someone to be late for work and have the excuse that they were taking care of their mom. If an American arrived at work late and they had that same excuse, they would probably be fired on the spot. The Italian life revolves around family. It is also not uncommon for a man to still be living at home in his mid-thirties. This isn't because he can't afford to move out, it's because his number one priority is taking care of his family. This is why Italians are so different from Americans. It seems like more and more everyday, American's are beginning to not really pay attention to good old family values, Whether it's through divorce or other family problems, it seems like the American family is losing its most important family values. Italians hold dear to these values. This was an eye-opening experience for me when I was in Italy. I come from kind of a broken home, so it was nice for me to see such strong family values do still exist, Americans just have to pick up on them again.

People who are planning to go to Italy always ask me, "Are Italians hostile towards Americans?" Overall, the answer is no. There are always going to be those select few people that you will run into and they will absolutely hate you just because you are from America. Italians don't hate Americans, however, they really don't like Americans who have the attitude that everything is about them (which overall as a country, we do). When in Italy, if you respect Italians and their way of life, they will do the same for you.

Al Casaletto

When you get to Rome, the place that you will be staying is basically a hotel ran by Italian nuns. The place is called Al Casaletto, and trust me, it is an experience to stay here. When we first pulled up to Al Casaletto and laid eyes on where we were going to be staying, I knew it was going to be an interesting four months. We got off the bus and were immediately serenated to by about ten Italain nuns, one playing guitar and one holding an Italian flag. This was the moment where my culture shock began. The fact that I was not in America anymore, let alone on the same continent, hit me like a brick wall. We walked into Al Casaletto and got our keys and room numbers as well as our roommates. My roommate and I walked to our room, still shaken up as to what just happened, and were expecting a descent hotel room like the ones you would see in America. Remember that humbling experience I was telling you about in my first blog post, well, this was apart of that. All that's in the rooms are two beds, two night stands, two desks and one closet. There is a bathroom with a shower in it, no bathtub. If you own a bathtub in Italy and it is operable, you are considered extremely lucky. I was astonished when I found out that there was no Wi-Fi in the rooms; I'm sure I almost started crying. Al Casaletto was the beginning of my very humbling and eye-opening experience in Roma.

Al Casaletto in general is a pretty large place. They have a laundry room with two washers, a hand washing station, and a few drying rack (Italians don't use dryers, you need to hang your clothes to dry.) Being the coffee addict that I am, the best part of Al Casaletto was knowing that there is coffee available in the morning, something I was really stressing out about before I left the States. They have a breakfast area, which includes Italy's famous hard crusted rolls and some jelly. Trust me, by the end of your stay there, you will be addicted to these precious little rolls of joy. You can then have your choice of "cafe," which is basically a really strong shot of espresso, "cappucino," a cappichino, "cioccolato," hot chocolate, or "cafe americana," which is stronger than American coffee but has less caffiene than ours.

When U-Mary made the agreement with Al Casaletto that allows us to stay there, the nuns let the university convert their old gardening storage section of the hotel into a classroom and an area for the students to relax. The lounge will become your sanctuary. It has plenty of chairs and a couch to hang out, and the best part, they installed Wi-Fi. This is where you'll be able to get on the internet and communicate with your family through Skype. The lounge also has a fridge so you can store anything that you get at Pim (the grocery store located down the hill from Al Casaletto.)

Unfortunatly, when U-Mary decided that this was the place to host their Rome campus, the nuns failed to tell them that Al Casaletto is conveniently located next to a farm. This farm just so happens to have appoximately nine roosters (I counted one day as they were walking underneat my window.) As you can about imagine, I got used to being woken up at five in the morning by roosters. You'll get used to it. Another thing this farm has going for them is the fact that they breed dogs. This sometimes makes for a noisy night if the dogs start barking. Again, you'll get used to it. However, of the sounds that I really don't like to hear at night, I also discovered some that I loved. Probably around three times a week while I was laying in bed, I would here singing and music in the streets. Italians love to party, I mean the sophisticated kind of partying. I would here music and people laughing and dancing, but I could never actually see them from my window. Most of the time along with the street festivals come fireworks. This gives you a front row seat to a sky full of red, white, and green fireworks. Once you see this event for the first time, the roosters and the dogs won't seem so bad.

This all may sound very unpleasant right now, but it's all apart of the experience. I wouldn't have had nearly as great of an experience in Rome if I was living in a five star hotel. Al Casaletto is something you have to experience in order for you to fully understand what Italy is like, and trust me, once you get back to the states, you'll miss those hard crusted rolls and the sight of those sweet Italian nuns everyday, just like I do.

(For more ideas about what Al Casaletto looks like, the U-Mary official website has pictures.)

Rule #1 DO NOT overpack!

PACKING!

About a week after I got to Rome, I remember looking down at my suitcase, completely frusterated with myself because I had packed like I was going to live in Italy for a few years instead of just four months. This brings me to Rule #1: DO NOT over-pack. About a month before I started packing for Rome, I went to some travel websites to find out what all I should take. Every single website I went to told me to not over-pack. Of course, I ignored them thinking that they were only talking about a one to two week trip. Turns out, I was completely wrong. Hence why I have decided to dedicate this post to a topic that is sometimes boring but completely necessary to discuss if you are going to Italy for an extended period of time: packing.

(These packing tips apply to both guys and girls)

First off, luggage. Both guys and girls should use a backpack as their carry-on or put it in your suitcase; you'll use the backpack traveling on weekend trips to different places in Europe instead of lugging your suitcase around. Walking the steap streets of Assisi is much easier with a backpack, trust me. In addition to the backpack, taking a good sized suitcase and another small carry-on (like I did, pictured above) will do just fine. Make sure you have relatively descent luggage. Rome's airport is absolutely brutal on luggage (they broke the back wheels off of both my suitcases.)

Second, what to pack. I know you've probably heard it a thousand times by now, but it's true. Guys and girls should pack like they are spending about three weeks somewhere without doing any laundry. This was a piece of information that I didn't follow and completely regretted in when I got there. There are washers at the place you will be staying and they are open to you at anytime of the day, you will have plenty of time to do laundry. Don't be worried that you're going to run out of clothes, I promise, you won't.

If you are going to Rome for the semester in the fall seasons, you will need to pack for two seasons. When you first arrive in Rome in September, it will be very hot and humid. The month of August is not a favorite among Italians because it is the hottest and most humid month of their year. Pretty much the whole city shuts down and goes on vacation in August (including the Pope) to get away from the heat. Unfortunatly, you will be arriving in Rome during this unpleasant heat spell. For this season, you should pack clothes like the clothes you wore on the hottest day you've experienced. However, this can be kind of tricky to manage. Here in the United States, it's not uncommon for a girl to be running around in shorts and a tank top. In Italy, there are some people who dress like this, but not many. Rome is a mostly Catholic city, so you can about imagine their views on this. You need to keep in mind that Rome is a holy city. There are churches everywhere, in fact, there are over 300 churches in the city alone. You will be required to go into many of these churches for class and in order to obtain entrance to the churches, your knees and shoulders must be covered. Of course, this is a huge burden for when you are trying to stay cool in the heat. Guys are pretty much set because they usually wear a T-shirt and shorts anyway (just be sure they hit below the knee), but for girls it's a little harder. I found it worked best to wear light-weight, breathable capris, a tank top, and carry a large scarf or a shawl around in my purse for my shoulders. Worked every time.

The other season you'll need to pack for is Rome's early winter, which starts in mid to late November. Although Rome rarely gets snow, it will start getting a little chilly toward the end of your visit. For this season, you'll need to pack things to wear like it's fall in Bismarck. In December, the low is around 14 degrees celcius (the fahrenheit scale is not used in Europe), which is about 40 degrees fahrenheit. Jeans. long sleeve shirts, and a light jacket are a must.

For those of you who are going to Rome in the spring, it will be a little easier on you because 1- you don't have to endure the heat and 2- because you only have to pack for one season. The spring season in Rome averages around 17 degrees celcius (about 64 degrees fahrenheit) and will be a relativly good time in terms of weather.   
For more information about the weather in Italy, you can go to this link where I found my information for this blog:   http://www.rome.world-guides.com/weather.html

The last thing I need to discuss are the random things that you'll need to pack for a visit to a European country like Italy. These things include:

• A European adapter/converter- Europe doesn't have the same outlets as America. The adapter is placed on the end of the American plug and allows you to plug things like your computer charger into the European socket. The converter is needed for things that don't already have a converter, like a straightener. Since the voltage in Europe is so much higher than the US, a converter is needed so that you don't blow anything up.
• Euros- Go to a bank (I went to the Bank of North Dakota) and order about one-two hundred euros in advance. You can do this at airports, but you really won't have much time (there is always a huge line) and they charge a huge percentage to exchange currency. It is much cheaper and easier to order them ahead of time. You'll still have to pay some exchange fee, but it will be much less than if you were to do it at the airport or in Rome. This way, you'll have some euros just in case of an emergency.
• Get a credit card- Trust me on this one. I hate credit cards because I hate spending money that I don't have, but for emergency purposes I got one through my bank before I went to Rome, and trust me, I'm sooo glad I did. In addition to a debit card, it's a good idea. Two weeks before I left Rome for home, my debit card stopped working for some reason and it wouldn't let me use it for purchases or pull out cash at an ATM. My credit card saved my butt. Just be sure to put down the billing address so the bill is sent your parents or a trusted friend and leave them money to pay the bill with just in case you end up using it like I did. Another thing, be sure to call your bank before you leave and let them know that you're going to Europe and how long you'll be there. In past trips, there was a guy that didn't do this and his bank canceled both of his cards because they thought someone stole his card numbers. Dont forget!

Follow these pointers and you'll be set for the eternal city in no time. :)

Why Italy?

Hello, my name is Madison Runge. I am a sophmore studying mass communications at the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. As a blog topic, I have chosen to expain to University of Mary students who have chosen to study abroad in Rome what the Italian culture is like in hope of preparing anyone who chooses to venture to Italy. I will explain what Italian culture is like for an American, why Italians do what they do, and what you can learn from the Italian way of life.

At the University of Mary, there is a new study abroad program that took root a few years ago. This program mainly takes place in Rome, Italy, as well as side trips along the way to places like Assisi, Norcia, Subiaco, MonteCassino and so on. About a year ago this time, I was debating whether or not I wanted to take part in this program. After careful consideration and A LOT of support from family and friends, I made my decision to live in Rome, Italy and study for four months. This was a drastic decision for me, as I had never been away from Bismarck for more than a week and a half. But for personal reasons, I knew I needed a break from my life in North Dakota to focus on myself and what I want out of life. So, I packed up my suitcases and headed off to Italy, without looking back.

The transition from the United States to Italy was probably one of the scariest things I've ever experienced in my life. I was no where near prepared for what to expect from Italy, and the very first day in this strange country, reality stood up and slapped me in the face, HARD. I had no idea what Italy was like before hand, what to expect, or what to do when I got there. Because of this, the first few days in Italy were some of the most anxiety filled days of my life. This is the very reason I have decided to write my blog to U-Mary students looking to study abroad in Italy, whether it be for five weeks or four months, because I want to prepare you for one of the most eye-opening experiences of your life. I want to prepare you, the way I wasn't, so you don't have to go through the first-time anxiety like I did.

Needless to say, Italy was an experience- correction, a very humbling experience- and by far the best experience of my life. I learned a lot about myself, the students I was with, and the Italian way of doing things. I dove head-first into a country I knew absolutly nothing about and came out knowing a lot of things about Italy and its culture. That's why I feel that I am credited to talk and discuss Italy, because I lived it, I was there and survived. I didn't know the language, the bus systems, or the maps. All I knew was that for four months, I would be engulfed in one of the most beautiful cities in the world: Roma.