Some Advice

If I have convinced you yet that you should come to Alma – great, now let me give you some advice so you don’t make the same mistakes I did.  First, finding a place to live here is not so easy.  The school will help you find something but it’s a good idea to have something booked in advance so that while you are looking for a permanent apartment at least you don’t become homeless in the process.   I had booked a bed and breakfast, but for less than a week.  I didn’t realize it would be so tough to find a good place and when it was time for me to check out I hadn’t found an apartment yet… and it just so happened to be one of those weekends in Bologna where there was some kind of fair going on and I could not find a hotel under like 250 euro a night.  There were a few people in the same position as me and I ended up splitting a hotel room for 3 days with another girl from school.  Meanwhile, the only decent apartment I had found would require me to live under the same roof as a guy, which didn’t go over so well with my boyfriend at home.  O which sidetracks me to my piece of advice #2 – having a long distance relationship across the ocean for a year sucks.  Big time.  I won’t go in too much detail but ideally, you will be single when you get here or ready for some tough times.  Anyway back to the housing process – the thing is Bologna is filled with college students renting out rooms.  If you want a studio you have to pay a minimum of 500 euro a month and that is for a tiny tiny place, unless you go outside the city center.  I highly suggest trying to stay within the center, and going in on a place with a roommate.  After I left the hotel, luckily some of my friends I had just met from school let me crash on their couch for a few weeks until I found a place.  Lucky me or I would have been sleeping here -  

Eventually I found a place online that was actually listed on a vacation property website.  It is a really cute loft in a great location and I was able to get the price down enough so that it was doable to split between 2 people and now I live here with another girl from school and it’s been great.  It will also be available to rent for next year so contact me if interested…

Me in my kitchen -

Piece of advice #3 – If you don’t already know Italian, try to learn as much as possible before you get here.  You will be given Italian classes from the school but these are temporary, and learning another language is not as easy as I thought.  I would suggest spending as much time with your new Italian friends once you get here and try not to just buddy up with the other Americans.  Unfortunately that’s usually what happens but if you can manage to learn Italian it will be much easier to market yourself when it comes time to get a job. 

Advice #4 – The best and worst decision I made in coming here was deciding to put my motorcycle on a plane with me.  Best because it has been awesome having it here, worst because it was extremely expensive and Italian customs basically made me pay for a new one to pick it up from the airport.  So I guess I would recommend not shipping anything at all to Italy and instead buying something used once you get here.  You don’t need transportation – there is a bus that brings you to school every day from the center of town and its actually cheaper to travel by train anyway when you want to take trips, but for me I can’t be without my moto and I’m looking forward to many more weekend road trips with other bikers I’ve met here.
Fueling up before a ride in the mountains -

Final piece of advice – You are coming to Italy – make the most of it, don’t stress about it, and live it up.  This year has gone by so fast that now I’m wishing it was a 2 year program.  Make friends with everyone, don’t be afraid to try new things, and eat gelato every day – that’s my motto.