Introduction

In nineteen days (the evening of September 4) I board Alitalia flight 615 that takes off from Logan Airport in Boston and lands at Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome, Italy eight hours later.  I will live and study in Rome for the next three and a half months!

The program I am participating in overseas is called ICCS - Rome: The Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies at Rome. It runs on a semester basis, and is far more demanding then a typical abroad program. But as all of you know I am pretty academically intense... so it should be a great fit for me. It offers courses that cater to both of my majors, Classics and the History of Art. With the endless encouragement of the wonderful Classics Department at Cornell, especially my faculty advisor Professor Mankin and the Director of Classical Undergraduate Studies Professor Fontaine (who is an alumnus of the program himself), I applied last December and was accepted in March!

I have taken out below two paragraphs from the ICCS Website which sum up the program.

Firstly, a description of the program's intent:

"The Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome (ICCS) was established in 1965 by representatives of ten American colleges and universities; the number of member institutions has now grown to over 100. It provides undergraduate students with an opportunity in Rome to study ancient history, archaeology, Greek and Latin literature, Italian language, and ancient art."

Secondly, a description of the “Centro” (the center), the place where I will both live and study with thirty-nine other classics majors in the heart of Rome. 

"Located in a four-story building on one of the main streets of the Janiculum, the Center is ten minutes by bus from the Piazza Venezia and downtown Rome. It is close to the American Academy in Rome with which it maintains cordial relations. The building is owned by the Suore Infermiere dell'Addolorata, and contains bedrooms (mostly doubles) for 36 students, classrooms, a library, offices, dining rooms, and a kitchen. Outside is a small and pleasant garden. The neighborhood is residential with apartment buildings, small shops, cafes, and services."

A small team of professors from colleges/universities throughout the US comes to the Centro to teach each semester. All students take the course "Ancient City"  that runs Monday-Thursday. The class is the equivalent of two regular college courses. It is comprised of both lectures that take place at the center and at historical sites in Rome and in surrounding towns. Each student choses either Latin or Greek (at the advanced or intermediate level) for the language requirement, and one more course: the other alternative language, introduction to Italian, or Baroque Art History. I have selected Advanced Greek and Baroque Art History along with Ancient City. I am the only Cornell student in the program this semester and will be joined by thirty-nine other undergradate students from a selection of other colleges throughout the US. It should be fun to live, study and share my experiences with so many other students with similar academic interests.

We take two weeklong trips as a group during the semester, one to the island of Sicily and the other to Campagnia (a region in Southern Italy). We also have one week of vacation time during which I plan on traveling in Tuscany.

So there it is - the plan for next semester. I will not walk through the arts quad at Cornell, smile at customers as I complete my daily shift serving coffee at Olin Library, attend Sigma Delta Tau chapter meetings, eat brunches at the Carriage House and sushi 'linners' with my blondetourage, walk on College Ave in heels on Friday and Saturday nights, or frequent the Wegmans candy section until my return next snowy January. I will miss all of these things beyond belief, but I am so excited for what lies ahead.

With the equivalent of one year of Italian under my belt, numerous collegiate level Art History Courses, and years and years of Classical studies, I am excited and ready to make the most out of ICCS. I will update this blog on a regular basis with a few pictures and paragraphs about my experiences both in the classroom and out and about in Rome (this does include the funny things that are bound to happen because of my usual occasional lapses of common sense). 

I hope you enjoy the remaining days of your summer and I expect to be in Ithaca for a few days to help my fellow supervisors and our managers get things rolling at Libe Cafe and spend time with my close friends before I depart. Arrivaderci per ora!