Notes from Abroad: Autumn in Rome

Submitted by Fis Assistant on

Every 6-8 weeks, we will be publishing "Notes from Abroad:" updates about life from our students studying or working in France and Italy.

Emma Smith has been working as the UW Rome Center intern since June 2016. After the long summer, she has settled in and found a community, travelled in and outside of Italy, and is discovering the unique details of Rome in a changing season. Read her Notes from Abroad:

"Autumn has started in Rome, the leaves and the air have changed and you can feel a certain restlessness. Rome in October is the month of nostalgia for the warm summer months, but relief for the cool crisp air settling in for the coming seasons. I would recommend to anyone to travel to Rome in October - it is absolutely perfectly beautiful and less of a 'casino' since half of the tourists have left, plus it's an excuse not to feel so guilty for filling up on pasta carbonara or cacio e pepe and reading a good book with cappuccino in mano
 
"I have recently found a group of great friends from Puglia who live together on the outskirts of Rome. They have been cooking me tons of traditional Italian food, and I have been cooking them an abundance of dishes my family cooks back home like homemade chicken noodle soup, tacos, fried rice, and homemade burgers. One thing I have been craving from home is CHEDDAR CHEESE. It does not exist here - and I want to make them some grilled cheese sandwiches and Mac n' Cheese. We are going to have a big Friendsgiving - and they are so excited to try a real American Thanksgiving since that's what they always see on TV. I hope mine can live up to their standards, but then again they won't have any since they've never tried it before! I have planned a trip to Sicily and Puglia to stay with my friends Ilaria and then Michele's family, and I am so excited to experience Christmas and New Year the Italian way. I think my favorite part of my experience here has been sharing the similarities and differences between cultures of all of the people I have met. 
 
"The last few weeks I have been able to travel on the weekends and managed to make it to Vilnius, Lithuania and Geneva, Switzerland. I love going to new countries on the weekends and getting a little taste of life and culture just one or two hours away. In Geneva we stayed on the French side of the border, but crossed into Geneva to eat and shop - the day I arrived I had been in 3 countries in one single day which was pretty sweet! I am hoping to travel next to Portugal sometime in November!"
 
Stay tuned for more Notes from Abroad!  
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