Italy, the land where your hard work in the semester is tested at the end of the semester for a whopping 30 points. Finals were just as rigorous as the NU standard, which made for a nice taste of home-before-home. However, this way of testing forces a student to truly learn the subject from beginning to end, being able to answer overarching essay questions about the entirety of the course instead of being partially-tested on miniature concepts throughout the semester that seem to hold for little-to-no time after each test. Frankly, I liked the format a lot. I also discovered that fresh-ground espressos from vending machines were just as amazing.
As First Advent passed (whilst I was in the beautiful city of Budapest) and the lights across Europe came on, Bocconi was getting jittery for the holidays. European holiday spirit is truly like no other. Christmas markets are all the rave and as each dinner became a “last dinner” for the students, it became a bittersweet last few weeks. The minute finals ended, we headed to Rome for our big vacation: 13 people, 2 apartments and a villa. However, I did start the vacation a tad earlier by taking a trip to Naples, Sorrento and Positano where I had a view of Mt. Vesuvius from my bedroom window, which wasn’t exactly too shabby. In Rome, since I had already done the tourist-y stops during my previous adventure in Europe, I took the liberty of spending time reading by historic monuments. You see, in America, sites are typically sequestered either metaphorically by a ticket purchase or physically like a national park. Either way, it’s a trip. In Rome, however, you can sit amongst (or even on) ruins that have been there for centuries; a walk to work could possibly mean a walk past the coliseum. Though, I always leave Rome feeling as if I still did not do enough; and from what I’ve heard, you can spend a lifetime in Rome without having seen everything there is to see.
Now, I have three days left before heading home to good ‘ole California. Last-minute shopping, pizza and wine have been scheduled in until the very last minute. Excited? Yes. Nervous, sure. Already missing Italy?
Indubitably.
