Baklava in Istanbul, chocolates and beer in Brussels, and the final exams

Ciao again!

Hagia Sofia, Sultanahmet

It has been a long time since I last created a post for this blog, but that is due to some problems with my accommodation here in Rome which disrupted my motivation to write anything, also the study of the exams has really been a real pain in my ass for the couple of last weeks.

Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet

But to start with the travels and happenings I have experienced here, on the last weekend of November I allowed myself to visit Istanbul (the flights from Rome were far cheaper than those from Helsinki) and for the first time experience a completely different culture compared to the Western one - in the end, it was almost the complete opposite. Everything seemed to be in order, the public transportation worked perfectly and the streets were tidy and clean as ever. There was even a large shopping mall (Cevahir) which had one floor dedicated to the American fast-food chains. But most of all, I enjoyed the somewhat exotic atmosphere of the city; the Grand Bazaar, the smell of shisha, Turkish people referring to me as "friend" when I left from their presence (and they were not sarcastic). Overall, Istanbul was a fine city, where only once I felt unsafe at a time when I drifted to an area with only weapon stores everywhere. Another city (and country) I want to experience yet another time.

There was also something special done in Rome despite all this travelling. I went to my first ever Champions league match between AS Roma and Manchester City - in a way it was spectacular experience but in a way, it was a disappointment. The atmosphere before the first City goal was amazing but after that, the Italian fans just quit and let the City fans to roar and yell as much as they liked. Italians really have to learn not to give up, also in football...

Bruges

Second last weekend of my stay involved (yet again) travelling. I was convinced by my roommate to visit Belgium in the middle of the exam period, and of course I agreed to tag along. It was a nice finale for my travellings during my exchange, nice beer, even nicer chocolate and the atmosphere of a little more organized country than Italy, and there was also the a little familiar coldness of December I have gotten more used to. So in Belgium we had the time to visit idyllic Bruges and the "capital of Europe", Brussels.

Grand place/Grote markt, Brussels

So my travelling during my exchange has ended I must say that I haven't regretted any location I visited. While writing this it has been nearly two hours since I finished my last oral exam (which is also the last exam here), so I am happy and now starting to wait for the final gatherings of our group before my departure back to Finland on 22.12....

I will write the last post from the cold North after the relieving warm of sauna...

Ci vediamo!

Sicilia - the island of volcanoes, good food and a wonderful friendly environment for travellers

Ciao ragazzi!

Last week's program was all about hosting a friend's friend at my apartment and in the mean time having a perfect experience of going and visiting art exhibitions and Italian play's with someone who can really identify the details and meanings more thoroughly (the friend's friend was a movie director student).

Catania with Mt. Etna on the background

But the most exciting thing that I went through last week was the weekend trip to Sicily with one Korean girl and a Finnish guy. We flew to Catania, in the East coast of Sicily, and met my Finnish friend there who is conducting his exchange there - this of course resulted to a heavy drinking night on Friday, but it really was worth it. On Saturday (with a bit of hangover) we took the bus North to Siracusa, an old Greeck city with a rich history, and smell of fish...

Siracusa provided us with a nice cultural experience of an Italian coastal city with its idyllic port and ancient ruins overlooking the sea.

Siracusa

After some nightly round in Catania on Saturday, again, we travelled to Taormina on Sunday to witness some of the most spectacular views that can be seen in Italy. I have to admit that it might host the most beautiful locations for a theatre in the world, an ancient Greeck theatre on top of a very high hill, from where you can see Sicily's greatest sites - Etna, the sea and the beautiful landscape of Taormina. Words really can't properly describe the awesomeness of the area. For that, you can enjoy the pictures posted here.

So Sicily was a complete success, and I really have to recommend to everyone. The mysterious island of Mafia and kind Italian people should be more popular among travellers who wish to experience the proper Italy.

As I write this I am again accepting the reality of studying abroad, that said lectures and upcoming exams...

Until next time!

Siracusa

Taormina

Taormina with a Greek theatre

Taormina

Mid-term stress conquered and finding peace at Assisi

Ciao ragazzi!

I know I haven't written anything in a while, but that is due to a huge amount of studying (and partying). During the last two weeks I had a couple of mid-term exams which usually contain almost 50% of the overall grade of the particular course. So I had a huge motivation to study for those.

In the end I don't have too much to tell you about the last two weeks due to intense studying but I must admit that the way of Italian lifestyle is already getting a grip on me. Sometimes I have started to take less stress on studying and arriving on time to classes. I also must admit that I have begun to speak better Italian...

For drinking and partying, I have managed to enjoy inter-cultural liquids almost too much. Korean Soju, Finnish Koskenkorva, Italian sparkling wine, and especially Dutch beer have been a very important factor the last couple of weeks.

At the same time, I have begun to feel the approaching return back to Finland more intriguing (despite the fact that snow and darkness have once again covered the country). But before that I will still visit the hopefully warm Sicily (next week) and the Second (maybe better?) Rome, which was once called Constantinopole, and nowadays know as Istanbul.

My most enlightening days during this exchange happened last Friday, when I decide to travel alone to Assisi - also know as the "City of Peace". Assisi is home to an old monastery of Franciscan monks (some people may identify the similarity of the names with the famous weisbier). The town is very beautiful with its quiet and delicate streets and churches. You can also get a nice exercise by climbing up the hill to the center. It was also my first trip ever alone, and actually I kind of enjoyed it. For the first time I really could have my own schedule for everything I wanted to do. But of course drinking a beer or having a gelato is always better with company...

All that said, next weekend I am off to Sicilia, and so I will have my next text written about that (providing the supposed heat wont exhaust me first).

By for now! And enjoy some spectacular views of Citta del pace...

Chianti, Tuscany and vacation

Ciao again!

Last week was very intense, with travelling and seeing sights! I received some guests from Finland for 10 days so I had almost the whole week off from studying. During the week I acted as a guide and visited some important sights in Rome, known a little less-known for me. Those coming to Rome for holiday I would gladly recommend the hill of Gianicolo which has an astonishing view of the whole wide city area. Suprisingly enough I came across a villa on Gianicolo owned by the Finnish state in order to teach Roman history and culture to those who are interested - more suprising was the sight of Finnish signs on the wall of the villa which lead to the recognizition of the place.

Apart from Rome I visited the beautiful cities of Firenze and Bologna. Firenze was a little disappointing, not because of the environment but the huge masses of tourists strolling around the city. Bologna was a little more friendlier with its more modern-like atmosphere and a small city center.

And of course, there was the wine of Tuscany...

Last week was mostly spent in restaurants and in the city but I am confident that the next three weeks will be mostly studying and reading for the mid-term exams. Hard studying ahead...

See you soon with the next update!

PS.

Here are some pictures from my last week's journeys. Enjoy!

October heat and experiencing Lazio's countryside

Greetings from a warm Roman October!

So its nearly the half way of October. For me it means that after two weeks I will be at the half way of my exchange. Last week I was mainly trying to relax and cure myself from the long and gritty flu and cough I have had already for almost three weeks. I have to admit that the antibiotics medication has finally paid off and I feel very well now. Apart from a heavy load of studying and spending my time at the university, I have managed to organize a trip to Tivoli where we visited two UNESCO World Heritage sites, Villa Adriana and Villa d’Este. The town itself was very idyllic and traditional Italian small town on a hill – with full of tourists by the way. Villa d’Este was situated in the center of the town and it was very impressive, particularly its garden with numerous fountains and statues, if you are visiting Rome I warmly recommend this site for everyone.

Villa Adriana situated a little further from Tivoli on the way towards Rome. The name of the Villa derives from Roman emperor Hadrian who lived in the second century AD. The villa at that time was the emperor’s countryside residence with huge baths and wide ponds surrounded by numerous statues. It composed mostly of ruins and ponds but the magnitude of the ruins clearly showed that it had been a huge complex almost 2000 years ago. Travel to Tivoli and to the surroundings required a little bit of patience and planning but eventually we managed to see astonishing views and marvellous sights. 

For the first time I also managed to see Saint Peter's cathedral lighted up in the dark October evening, and I was pretty dazzled by that appearance. During all this sightseeing I managed to do little studying as well and even a presentation about the German legal system. 

 

All that said, next weekend I am off to Firenze (I prefer to call it that apart from Florence), so some update about that trip next week!

Ci vediamo!

 

Wine, wine and more wine

Ciao tutti!

Last week was full of activities Roman style - well mostly. On Wednesday me and couple other Erasmus students got very wet during a very hard tropical storm when we were trying to have a peaceful meal at a pizzeria and some beers and whiskies at a very cosy Scottich pub - again. Well all of us became soaking wet but we really had a good time while other Erasmus students were partying on a boat on the river Tiber and getting wet all the time. On that day we also witnessed the very usual strikes conducted by the public transportation...

On Friday we had a very tasty and cheap carbonara dinner in the area called San Lorenzo - little South of Termini. It was a very lively place full of Italian youth "ragazzi". There we just accidently stumbled upon the ESN staff and had a great time with them. Then on Saturday I joined a tour organized by the ESN. The tour concentrated on the lovely hill of Campidoglio (Capitolium) and the Jewish quarter.

On Sunday there was the long waited Marino Wine festival with an actual fountain that had wine instead of water. We all got 750cl of red wine - which wasn't so good actually - but anyway the atmosphere was full of cultural feeling and Italian food and drink.

At the moment I am taking antibiotics in order to get rid of the cold completely which means that I can concentrate more on my studies, so no partying for me for one week. I really think that a small break will be nice.

For Finnish readers, the temperature here at the moment is 25 degrees - a little sarcastic greetings to the far North!

Ci vediamo!

Beach and studies - little vacation in the middle of exchange

Ciao again!

It has been quite some time since I last posted something but now the post will be a little bit more thorough. After one whole week the flu is finally getting away. The weather is still nice and warm during the daytime but in the evenings and mornings it is beginning to be quite cold. Last weekend was spent partying and after that laying on the beach in a very nice resort called Sperlonga, some 90 km South of Rome. The beach was really the culmination of my week because as a open space-loving person it was very good to get out of the fuss and chaos of Rome for a while.

For studying I am getting the routine already. I have bought all the books already and started to consider different presentation possibilities in some courses.

I have also spent some time planning my future travels, particurarly a trip to Istanbul on November. There is also a trip to Sicily in the vicinity on November as well so the next couple of months are going to be very hectic for me.

One thing that I am still little irritated about is the fact that we still don't have any working wifi in our apartment. Because here I really have learnt that the student life is very much based on the possibility to access the internet for study materials and enrolment of courses. At least there is a possibility to take care of every issue at the university.

The stereotypical Erasmus- life has become very clear to me. It really includes partying a lot and neglecting your studies in order to have a good time. For me I really want to enjoy the possibility to study in a different university and completely different topics than what we have at the University of Jyväskylä.

All that said, here are some photos of my journey to the beach and kingdom of relaxation!
At least in Finland it has snowed a little, I have heard so don't get too jealous!

Ci vediamo!

Roman flu and sounds from Vivaldi

I have begun to cope to the routines of studying and living in Rome. The weather still tends to be pretty hot but the forecast says that Autumn is soon falling upon Rome as well. One of the most interesting events I had was an evening in a Scottish pub on the day of the Referendum of Scotland. The atmosphere was very welcoming and we even managed to get a Scottish traveller to join our entourage for the evening – spontaneus cross-cultural get-together at best.

I don’t know if people usually wonder what kind of food exchange students make during their time abroad but for me, I have to say pasta. Every day I have tried to make different kind of pasta for dinner for I have to say, the variety of pasta at the Italian grocery stores is something so un heard of. The fact is that the Italians themselves eat pasta almost every day, but who can blame them.

Last Saturday, one of my dreams came true when I went to a concert where they played music of Vivaldi. It was very nice to spend an hour in an Anglican chruch and listen to this small orchestra playing extremely great violin music. 

After that, on Sunday I got a flu like most of the other students at LUISS. At the moment I am trying to get through with it but the thought of being sick on exchange is just so frustrating.

I hope I will get better before big ESN party which will be held in a villa next Friday. 

Sunny and stuffy greetings from the Eternal City!

PS. below some very bad quality photos of a statue in the middle of Piazza Barberini and a small picture from the concert.

 

Courses and coping to the fact that you have to buy most study books yourself

Blogging again...

Hello everybody! So my courses have started at last. I have a couple very interesting sessions concerning international relations and security. In a way, the syllabi here seem to concern much more practical matters than what we have in the University of Jyväskylä. The lecturers seem to be very "high-ranking" persons in the field of political action. For example, in my Security Studies- course the main lecturer is a former NATO- admiral and a former minister in the Italian parliament.

The ways of evaluating a student's progression in the course are way different than what we have in Finland. We have to participate in oral exams and sometimes do mid-term exams as well as simulations and cooperative workings. The courses last for the whole semester so the schedule is the same every week.

The activities that were held by the local ESN organization included a movie night last Monday, featuring A Roman Vacation in Rome (surprisingly), starring an Italian speaking Audrey Hepburn with subtitles. On Tuesday we had a lovely dinner in Alban hills just outside of Rome, and there was wine, a lot of wine...

My mind has now set to looking forward for the upcoming lectures and trips I am going to participate in the weeks to come. From now on, after the dust has settled following the ESN's welcoming week, I try to write here a little more regurarly.

Until next time!

PS.

Below a couple of highlights from the town of Ariccia and the district of Trasrevere (with a flavour of local ice cream called gelato).

Awaiting for the school to start and upcoming trips

Ciao tutti!

So the Italian language crash course has ended at last. The only thing yet to be completed is the exam on the coming Monday. The second week has been very tough because of the intensive schedule we had with the language course. We have at last received a wifi connection to our apartment but the landlord isn’t willing to participate in the costs. I have to say that internet connection is way more expensive compared to Finnish prices. At the same time we have had a couple of parties with the Erasmus folk but despite this I am more looking forward to the Rome tour on Saturday and the trip to Bomarzo Monsters park (whatever that is) on Sunday. And then on Monday the classes are going to start at last with courses containing matters of international relations and comparative public law.

During these couple of weeks I have met dozens of new people from all over the world. This will be a shorter post this time because my time has mostly been concentrated on the crash course so in that field there is not so much to tell at this point. I believe that next week will be more colorful with the lessons starting and maybe some trips to the area around Rome.

Ci vediamo!