The First Post- Program Explained

Dear Readers,

Hi, for those of you who don't know me, I'm Maria. I am currently a junior at the University of Notre Dame, studying French, Italian, and English literature.

Welcome to my blog! Now that I have successfully persuaded you to come to the website, I promise to try to keep you coming back.

I thought it'd be a good idea to explain under what conditions I will be in Italy. I am studying abroad for the academic year (August 09 -June 10) at the Universita' di Bologna in Bologna, Italy through Indiana University's Bologna Consortial Studies Program (BCSP). I know that was a lot of meaningless names, and I'll try not to let it happen again. But it might. I leave exactly one week from today, and will arrive in Bologna next Monday. I'm sure you've all heard of those study abroad programs where all the Americans live together and their meals are provided for them, and they go on field trips together, the program holds their hand and tucks them into bed at night. Well, comparatively, this program throws you out of the plane mid-air, yelling, "Have a good year!" Of course, this is an exaggeration and the BCSP folks will be there to help me, but the goal is total immersion into Italian culture. This includes finding an apartment, choosing and taking (and passing!) classes (all of which will be in Italian), shopping for and cooking food, making friends (well, I hope so!), and, for me at least, finding a place in the Catholic community there.

Universita' di Bologna (UniBo) classes don't begin until the end of September or beginning of October. The first month we are there will be the pre-session, which will include classes on Italian grammar, culture, and history, trips to surrounding areas, and adjusting to Italian life. BCSP will house us in a hotel for the first ten days we're there, and by that point we need to have found another place to live. With Italians. No English speakers. Intimidating? Yes. Impossible? No.

Wish me luck!