On campus, I am hyper-involved with the DOC, from Cabin and Trail (hiking) to Ledyard Canoe Club, I love leading trips and being outdoors as much as possible. Swipe through my posts for updates on studying abroad and traveling through college, student bands/a cappella, as well as the day-to-day updates of a 20yo who just recently started liking coffee (exciting, right?).
Coming into college, I had an absolute conviction that I wanted to use my time at Dartmouth to learn another language. So, during my first fall, I scoured the class catalog searching for my next step. This was when I bumped into Italian 11 Intensive Italian: a course combining Italian 1 and 2 to form an expedited introduction to Italian. As someone who loves a challenge, especially when it comes to language-learning, what can I say? I was sold.
Throughout my first term, I benefited from the small class size—about 15 students—greatly, and formed a strong bond with my professor, whom—after over a year since taking his class—I still practice my Italian with today! But truly, I felt hooked. The Italian department hosted many after school events like cooking classes and even a documentary course taught by visiting Italian filmmakers, all of which helped me feel a closer bond to a country and people that I was yet to visit.
During my first winter, I progressed to Italian 3, officially reaching the required courses in order to apply for the Rome Language Study Abroad+ (the more advanced study abroad for language-learning). I can still recall my excitement when I opened my application. For once, it felt easy to answer the requested prompts. I felt as though there was so much to look forward to that most of my application was my gushing about how studying Italian had impacted my tethering to the college, and my own pride in the rewards that come with hard-work, for I knew that regardless of whether I was accepted or not, learning this language had opened my world-view.
After a month or so, I found out I had been accepted, and the countdown began to my second winter at Dartmouth, where I would be living in a homestay in Rome, and taking advanced courses on Italian grammar, culture, and literature. It all felt like a dream.
Cut to the dream.
The Colosseum at dusk.
I'll be honest, I'm three weeks into this program, and it has already surpassed all of my expectations. Every day, my learning is my life, and getting to engage with day-to-day occurrences in another language—grocery shopping, public transit, even just coming home— make me a stronger student and person.
The Dartmouth Center, where I study from Monday-Thursday, is in the historic center of Rome. Every morning, I commute by taking a bus that transits through sites like the historic walls of the city, Piazza Venezia, and St. Peter's Basilica, to get to my lectures. I hope to never take this for granted, for the handful of conversations I have each morning with locals that take the same bus route as me make me feel as though I'm slowly earning my place in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Sunset over the Roman skyline.
I'm taking three classes and two of them are taught by Italians who live and work in Rome! The third is taught by the amazing Professor Danielle Callegari, who teaches at Dartmouth and is here as our program director.
In case you were wondering, our classes are not bound by the walls of the lecture hall, and, at least once a week, one of our classes will be at a landmark. Last week, Professor Alberto, who primarily teaches Italian history and culture, took us on a walking tour of fascist monuments—like the Square Coliseum—with the goal of increasing our understanding that architecture can often give away more history than we realize. Through it, we were able to get to know the city more closely, to dodge the label of tourists by intentionally interacting with our environment.
After classes, the other students and I are given total agency over what we fill our afternoons with. Often, we will grab a bite after classes, or meet up and do homework somewhere in the city. I've loved the experience of getting to know nineteen total strangers in such an engaging manner, it makes the city so much more new and whimsical.
One of my favorite experiences, thus far, was visiting a neighborhood called Tor Marancia. Myself and five other students decided to take a bus to this primarily residential neighborhood South of central Rome to witness its open-air museum.
Tor Marancia used to be the site to a lot of grafitti…and not the cute kind, so the local government intervened almost ten years ago by asking local artists to treat these apartment buildings as canvas, resulting in one of the most special integrated intersection between art and daily life that I have ever seen.
We spent a quiet hour walking through the cobblestone walkways on this sunny day, necks craned to take in as much as we could of each mural. Some were signed and titled, while others were mysteries. Throughout the entirety of our visit, we only crossed paths with three other people, all residents of this complex – who seemed used to these spectacles of color waiting outside their windows. I watched a woman hang her laundry on a clothesline, and listened to the loud conversation had by two men on different floors. These quotidien wonders are part of what has fueled my love for living abroad.
My favorite (unsigned) mural at Tor Marancia.
When I go home, on most days, I do homework at the table. I absolutely demolish two to three oranges (a must-try when in Italy) and chat with my host-mother, Silvia. Sometimes we talk about how my day was, but our topics often delve to world politics or end up spanning to tv-shows. Each conversation is a surprise with her.
So I write this after having finished another orange, shocker, because I feel immensely lucky. To think that two years ago I couldn't even muster a "Grazie" and now my days are full of Italian-only conversations makes me feel like anything is possible. Maybe I'll challenge myself to learn another language when I'm back on campus, or even study abroad in another place… but for now, I'm going to get ready for dinner! Silvia is making carbonara and I refuse to be late for that. You get it.
My study abroad experience this past summer helped me grow in meaningful ways. The lessons I learned didn't stay in China—they continue to shape how I approach my life, relationships, and goals today. Read on to hear more!
Welcome back to Open Doors—your inside look at life in the Woods! This week, Gabe Brigham '26, a psychology and sociology double major, showed me around his dorm room, where we discussed Dartmouth residence halls, classes, and campus life.
