I have been studying in the small Italian town of Tuscania, which is about an hour and a half from Rome by train, for three months now. I will stay for a few more weeks.
When choosing where to study abroad in Italy, most students flock to major cities like Florence and Rome. However, I believe my experience has been highly impactful because I chose a small town of 8,000, which has been named the “Hidden Gem” of the Lazio region due to the near-pristine condition of ancient walls that conceal the old town, its Romanesque architecture, and a rich history of more than two thousand years.
From Monday through Friday, my school routine consists of one or two two-and-a-half-hour classes a day. I take a variety of classes here, including Greek and Roman Mythology, Cooking in Context, Medieval Civilization and Culture, Western Philosophy, and Travel Writing. All are taught in English by Italian professors; only one of these classes pertains to my major, English Literature, because I wanted to challenge myself with a different subject matter while abroad.
When I’m not in class, I spend my weekdays getting coffee at shops where everyone knows one another by first name, and grabbing dinner in restaurants that know my order of Cacio e Pepe, a cheese and pepper pasta dish, by heart. At my favorite restaurant, Terziere di Poggio Fiorentino, they don’t even ask what I want to double-check that it hasn’t changed. They just come up smiling and pointing, saying, “Cacio e Pepe!”
I speak little to no Italian, but residing in a small town like Tuscania, I have picked up a hearty “Buongiorno” and “Buona Notte,” among other common phrases. As well as how to order at restaurants and navigate checkout at the grocery store. The locals appreciate my efforts but still politely correct my mistakes.
Travel has been a defining part of my experience. I have been fortunate to study with an amazing group of fellow American students here, and we have traveled all over Italy together: from the well-known places – Rome, Pompeii, Venice, Florence – to more out-of-the-way destinations like Ortisei, Sperlonga, and La Spezia. We traveled to nearby places like Viterbo by bus, but for anything more than about 30 minutes away, we hopped on trains.
Traveling every weekend while studying abroad is not as glamorous as you think. I mostly stayed in cheap hostels and Airbnb rentals that list for anywhere from 20 euros (about $25) a night to 150 euros ($175) for three nights. The real expense is usually in the trains, especially when you are trying to get five or more hours away. I have already spent 200 euros ($230) on transportation alone. There are cheap train options, but they either require numerous quick changes to other trains at random stations or run overnight. Spurging on good train times is almost always worth it. Nothing’s worse than being up for twenty-four hours because you can’t manage to sleep on trains.
Each place has been spectacular. Whether it’s the food, views, or people, everywhere I’ve seen feels like a dream, like the reality I am living couldn’t possibly be real. After every trip, I question how the next one will top it. I have done and seen things that most people spend a lifetime only dreaming of – from swimming in the sea in La Spezia and taking in breathtaking views of the sea and towns that reside on hillsides while hiking through coastal cities such as Manarola and Vernazza, to walking among the Colosseum.
Some of the best memories from the trips I have been on have come from times when I thought nothing was going my way. I had never used public transportation before, so relying on it to get everywhere has been a learning process. There have been many times when my friends and I have either missed our trains or gotten on the completely wrong ones before we knew there was an app, Trenitalia, where we can book our tickets in advance and double-check what platform we have to be on.
We have also failed at buses quite a few times because we couldn’t figure out at which stop we were supposed to be. I don’t think I have ever laughed harder than when we were sprinting to catch the last train to Tarquinia, which was leaving at that very minute. Getting stranded in Rome is not ideal, but at the same time, it’s Rome — not a bad place to miss a train!
The specific program I’m in, Lorenzo de’ Medici Tuscania, caught my attention right away from the list of ones my advisor showed me. The original program I selected was a “Two Italies” program where half of the time was spent at the LdM Florence campus and half in Tuscania. Very early on, the Florence portion was canceled, and I thought my study abroad dreams were ruined! About twenty minutes after the cancellation email was sent, I got another one stating that I can spend the whole time in Tuscania.
I am very pleased that this worked out that way because LdM Tuscania is run by some of the most genuine and kind people I have ever met. Every week, they organize numerous clubs for international students, each centered on art, movies, books, or chess. There are even “meeting locals” – based clubs at local bars, where we spend time with our advisors and their friends, learning about their lives in Tuscania. The club is meant to immerse students in the town’s culture and to help us gain a better understanding of what life is really like in Tuscania and Italy as a whole. Students here refer to our advisors as “life advisors” rather than “academic advisors.” They are here to assist with any issues that may arise, such as medical needs, travel arrangements, or even just restaurant recommendations.
There is nothing scarier than temporarily moving to a new country on your own, but there is also nothing more rewarding than being able to look at yourself and say, “I did it.” I encourage everyone to study abroad, even if it is just for a short-term program. It teaches you more than you would ever expect about yourself and also about the world around you. Going to a new country alone has given me the time and space to figure out what I really want in life. Also, being taught by professors who had a completely different education has opened my mind to career possibilities that I never considered before, like spending a few years as a travel writer.
You will be pushed completely out of your comfort zone and thrown into an environment where the friends you make may not even speak the same language as you, and you have to communicate through Google Translate. It forces you to be the most outgoing version of yourself, while also allowing you to be fully and unapologetically yourself. It’s a fresh start that gives you the freedom to do things you might be too scared to do at home—even small things, like wearing an outfit you might hesitate to wear to class. At home, I usually stick to sweats or jeans and a sweatshirt for class, but here I feel more comfortable dressing up in clothes I would only wear to dinner back home. It is the perfect opportunity to reinvent yourself. During my time here, I have fallen in love with Italy, but more importantly, with myself. This is what going abroad is truly about.
