So this is culture shock?

I’ve been in Rome for over 2 weeks now and am finally getting a feel for being back in the swing of classes, but even with the gradual establishment of a sense of regularity this experience continues to throw out some curve balls especially in aspects of my life that I've always seen as so stabilizing. Before I left, DU study abroad orientation warned us that there would be phases of adjustment to life abroad. The phases were something like this...

1. Excitement - i.e. you're SO excited to have finally arrived that you hardly have time to think about anything but the beginning of this new chapter in your life
2. Culture Shock - after settling in, the initial excitement begins to fade and you become easily overwhelmed by the many, many unfamiliar aspects of your new life
3. Establishment of a Comfortable and Regular Lifestyle - culture shock wears off, you settle into your new European rhythm...there's more stages that I can't remember but it goes something like that....

Anyway, despite my denial that it would ever happen to me seeing as I've handled changes like leaving for college in Colorado, etc. pretty well, I've decided the culture shock has finally come and is (I think?) starting to fade...between my new living arrangement, school, soccer, and constantly traveling on the weekends - I'm immersing myself more and more into Italian culture than I'd ever anticipated, and while it can be overwhelming at times - I'm learning to love every minute of this roller coaster!

Besides being in another country, experiencing another culture, etc. this semester should be quite the adjustment for me. Why you ask? Well first of all it’s a 14-week semester, not a 10-week quarter like DU uses. I’ll have to get used to the classes that I’m taking far more than at DU where if you don’t like a class it’s over quicker than you can comprehend. That adjustment should be an interesting one seeing as I (a DU biology major) am not taking ANY science classes this semester, not even anything that resembles science. That was made possible by the fact that: 1. I came into DU with enough AP credits that I’m ahead of my class to begin with, 2. It’s difficult to find a study abroad program with a good science program (unless you go to Australia, which is too Americanized for me to “culture” myself there), and 3. This schedule came out of my attempts to take advantage of Rome as my classroom and make myself a little bit more well-rounded in the process. So after a little adjustment, here’s what my schedule looks like for the semester:

Monday: Art of Rome (on-site) 9-12, Intro to Italian Language and Culture 3:40-5
Tuesday: Italian Sketchbook (on-site) 9-1
Wednesday: War and Peace in Rome (partially on-site) 9-12, Intro to Italian Language and Culture 3:40-5

And while Monday-Wednesday may look incomplete, I’m please to announce that that’s my schedule! Not bad, eh? I’ve been REALLY pleased with my on-site classes too. It’s such an amazing experience to be able to sit on the steps of the Colosseum while my professor lectures, or to sit on a bench overlooking the Arch of Constantine and the Roman Forum drawing and sipping coffee for 3 hours - - who knew some people called this school?! Needless to say, it’s been a drastic change from my usual organic chemistry labs and biology lectures. I think the change has been an easy one due to the lower workload and the fact that I get to sit outside right in front of the ruins that I’ve only ever seen in textbooks and learn about them, but I’m surprised to say it’s also been a little bit difficult. While I love not being overwhelmed with science classes, this is also way out of my element. I mean I’m in drawing?! There’s no objective way to grade that, thus us science-type personalities may become easily distraught, haha. So while it’s been a good change and one that is sure to make me a well-rounded academic, my artsy class load has definitely thrown me a curve ball and has added another “culture-shock” type element to deal with and adjust to.

At the beginning of the first school week I signed up for a few activities and can now say that I’m becoming very involved in my school. I’m officially playing soccer for the AUR She-Wolves in addition to being in the “culture club” which does excursions around Italy, yoga, and attending weekly Italian cooking classes - - sooo I’d say I’m keeping busy!

Soccer is a pretty unique experience, which is weird for me to even think much less say since I’ve played it for SO long and have always found it to be a stably scheduled part of my life no matter when or where life has taken me. Italians call soccer calico, but what my team plays isn’t actually normal soccer, it’s called calcetto – or a small field, 5-on-5 game that has some weird rules that our coach who only speaks Italian is trying to teach us in preparation for strict Italian-only-speaking referees. Having an Italian-speaking coach has definitely been eye opening; in fact…I honestly think I’ve learned more Italian at soccer practice than in my Italian class. Between the Italian coach, the new rules, and new teammates – soccer has taken some adjustment but I really think it’s enhancing my cultural immersion and has allowed me to meet a lot of new people, including a lot of the resident (4-year) students at AUR.

That’s about all I can stay awake to coherently write for now…I just got home a couple of hours ago from a 3 day hike through the Cinque Terre (5 hill towns on the Mediterranean that are about a 4 hour train ride north of Rome), so I’m a little wiped out. But there’s tons more to come, so stay tuned ☺

Love you all!
~Diana