Study Abroad Experiences

        

“A Day in the life of a Sociology Student” will showcase Sociology majors who are doing great things, like interning, studying abroad and more!
Hopefully the stories of these students will let you know what kind of opportunities are available, and what your fellow students are accomplishing.

UMass Sociology student (and Peer Advisor) Nicole Rosenberg is currently studying in Roma, Italy.

The following is a letter that Nicole wrote to explain what her life in Rome is like!

     Hey soc majors this is Nicole,one of your peer advisors writing all the way from Rome, Italy! If you have never considered going abroad before hopefully this post will get you to start thinking about it. I absolutely love being abroad. Everything about Italy is amazing, the food, the people, the culture, and the clothing all blend together to create a unique experience as a study abroad student.  The food itself is unlike anything you can find in America. The homemade pizza, pasta, gelato, and pastries are delicious and you never get sick of them because there is always something new to try. A very common way that Italians eat a meal is in four courses. They start with an antipasto or appetizer, then a pasta dish, a meat dish, and finally they finish with dessert and course a glass of wine or two!  It is a ton of food, but every dish is always amazing. I have not had a bad meal yet.

     School has also been a very positive experience for me here. I attend an American university so all of my classes are taught in English. I am taking five classes, two of them being sociology classes and I can personally say they are nothing that I would ever be able to take at UMass. One of my sociology classes is all about the Italian South. We cover topics ranging from the mafia to Italian Unification to stereotypes portrayed in the south.  My other sociology class is an on-site class. We get to travel around Rome and discuss many issues in the city today. I have been to low-income housing projects, the working class district of Rome, and we are even going to travel to a gypsy camp. These classes have completely changed my views sociologically because I get to analyze another culture from a different point of view. I also get to travel a lot on weekends. So far I’ve been to Milan, Florence and Tuscany. In the next two months I plan to go to Paris, Greece, Venice, Barcelona, Calabria, Pompeii, and Capri. Traveling is also eye-opening because you get to see different parts of Europe and Italy and compare them to Rome and America. Overall I have been having an amazing time here and I’ve been trying to learn more Italian. It is easy to pick up the language when you are completely immersed in the culture. Coming abroad was one of the best decisions I made and hopefully this will inspire you guys to go the IPO office as soon as possible!

See you in the fall, Nicole

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