First Week

Please click on the pictures to enlarge them!



the back of La Salle, my dorm.

my finance classroom.


a few of us coming back from the hotel bar.


my toilet and bidet!!


the main building on campus.
the cafeteria is in the basement.

So I have a few minutes to write about the actual campus life and my classes. The campus is actually named "Istituti Paritari Filippin" and is a Catholic boarding school. They allow CIMBA to share the facilities so there are American students here and also all ages of Italian students (grade school - high school). It is very interesting to see Italian children and youth interact... and they seem to be just as interested in us. The fashions of young children and 20+ year olds is very fashionable, but the teenagers seem to be going for a more grunge/punk look. The youth is very dirty and I think it's interesting that their fashion culture sort of shows the "teen angst" they feel they are going through.

The meals on campus are mediocre and pretty repititious, but I don't mind because it's saving me a load of money. Breakfast consists of pastries, cereal with warm milk, yogurt, and toast. The drinks are water, juices, hot milk, hot chocolate, and hot coffee. Lunch and dinner are basically the same, with a choice of pasta (different type each day) either plain, with marinara, or sometimes with alfredo. Then there is a meat entree (so far i've tried the ham, salami, pork, and sausage... all good) accompanied by 2 vegitables. Rolls and fruit, usually apples or oranges, are also provided. They sometimes offer pudding or yogurt for a desert. Huge bottles of water are located at the ends of every table, and we just pass it around and refill our glasses as we eat. There is also olive oil, vinegar, and something else that i can't figure out, offered with our meal.

There are three different dorms available to the American students. I live in La Salle, which I believe is named after San Giovanni Battista de La Salle. It is four stories and I live on the top floor, which makes for a great view and one hell of a climb. I don't have a rommate, but most of us don't. From what I can tell, my room is one of the larger rooms with the best view. I really lucked out. My bathroom is what has taken the most time getting used to. The shower is very shallow which causes the water to go all over the floor. The water pressure isn't consistant and neither is the temperature, but I don't mind because I'm so hot during the day that any water feels great. I have a bidet! I use it to wash... my feet :) it's perfect for that haha.


My professors are phenominal. Joan Gabel instructs business law. She is a former business defense attorney and currently a professor at Florida State. She has been coming here to teach for over 10 years now, and loves answering tourist questions. I love the class, too. We have four tests (one each Friday so that the final is not cumulative) and one group paper. I took my first test today and it was a challenge but I feel really confident in my answers. My group consists of me, two girls from Purdue, a guy from Kansas University, and I'm not sure where the other is from. Our paper should be fairly simple, we're writing pro-immigration reform in the U.S. My Financial MAnagement instructor isMatthew Billett, a graduate finance professor at the University of Iowa. There are two finance sections offered, and from what I can tell, I lucked out with Matt because he is just SO motivating. I never thought I would be this interested in finance. It's great.

I am finding it difficult to stay in and study when I'm here, but I am doing it somehow. I feel like I am wasting my time in Italy when I'm studying, but then I remind myself that school is the real reason I'm even here in the first place. I can't wait for classes to be done so I can really enjoy Venice, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey with my parents.

This weekend I am going with about 50 people on a bus to Cinque Terre, a group of five cities on the northwest coast. I have a group of 4 from Tech that I am staying with throughout the weekend. We plan to visit Pisa and then hike through the 5 cities all weekend, visiting the cities and beaches. It will be a great time. Next week I will have time to upload all my pictures to some photo albums so you can see all of them and not just the few I put on here.

Please leave comments and ask questions on here! I feel like no one is reading, and I'd love to answer any questions. To leave one, just write your name and leave the URL blank, then write your message.

Ciao!!!