Hey guys!

Sorry I have been absent for a while. But never fear, now I finally have a break I am getting on with writing a few posts for the hoards of fans my blog has.

So what have I been doing?

At the end of March I went home. Home home. I went back for a 10 day period over the Easter break and it was a fantastic decision. When you’re on a year abroad, you are well aware that you are only here for one year. You’ve only got one year (or 6 months in some cases) to spend in your chosen country, so you feel like you need to jam pack every waking hour with something to do, in order not to miss out on any Year Abroad Experiences. However, going home once in a while is good for the soul (and the body). During my trip home I went to London a few times, I caught up with Durham friends, I got some studying done, and most importantly, I got the chance to relax. A year abroad can be hectic, fast paced, and really quite stressful at times. But when you go home you get to back to your own room, your home friends, and a fridge stocked courtesy of Mum. The fridge is the best bit. Full of food you are used to and none of it paid for by you. Wonderful. I think it’s a feeling we have all experienced when coming back home after university.

An old photo but a lovely one all the same

When I came back, the second semester was picking up the pace. The semester actually started about 2 weeks before Easter – a very awkward time – and neither the professors nor the students were able to get into the swing of it. Lectures were cancelled 30 minutes before they were due to start, professors would turn up 50 minutes late (2 hour lecture, no worries. Imagine if it was only a 1 hour), and there was mass confusion among the students about everything from the timetable to the texts. The Easter break was much needed by everyone, and now things are back on track.

One of my lectures (Storia della Filosofia Antica/History of Ancient Philosophy) is actually at a different campus. La Sapienza has one main campus which they call ‘the city seat’ and it is almost a small town. It is exactly what I imagine American universities to be like, so I was pretty excited when I first saw it. But La Sapienza also has other, smaller campuses dotted around Rome, and the teaching of Philosophy happens at a campus called Villa Mirafiori. It is a 20 minute bus ride from the main campus, directly opposite the Afghanistan Embassy, and it has lots of Mediterranean style, orange buildings. It is also an actual park. Often as I walk to my lecture hall I go past people walking their dogs or taking their babies out for a stroll in the morning sun. There are lots of trees and benches everywhere, and it is an absolutely gorgeous campus.

Villa Mirafiori

That’s all for this quick update folks. See you next time!