Accommodations and Cost of Living

I am officially registered at the University of Bologna!!!

Here is some useful information I found at the Student Accommodation and Information Services Bologna website (listed in euros):

Single Room Accommodation from 310,oo to 340,00 + bills

Shared Room Accommodation from 210,00 to 235, 00 + bills

Shopping at a supermarket for 1 week about 80,00

Meal in a pizzeria about 20,00

Breakfast in a bar (cappuccino and croissant) about 2,00 

Meal in University canteen from 4,00 to 6,20

Meal in a bar (drink and one roll) about 5,00

Disco-pub in the city centre: about 12,00

Bus ticket (valid for one hour) 1,00

City-pass (bus ticket with 10 journeys) 8, 50

Student monthly ticket 24,00

First release films 7,00

Train ticket prices:

 B- Venezia-B 33,00

 B- Firenze-B 19,00

 B-Roma-B 68,00

"Finding accommodation is one of the most difficult issues to deal with for a student wishing to study in Bologna. As a matter of fact Bologna is relatively small town and hosts one of the biggest among the Italian Universities: the resident population counts about 370,00 units and the registered students are about 100,000. Most students, moreover, would like to live in the historical centre (which is an extremely limited area) and this makes the accommodation search even more difficult. in addition to that those exchange students who only spend a few months in our town have a further problem: landlords prefer to rent their apartments to the same student/group of students for a few years, so that they do not need to find new tenants after a short time. This situation results on one hand in a scarcity of accommodation offers for international students and on the other hand prices are quite high (Bologna is one of the one most expensive towns in Italy as far as rents are concerned, coming after only Milan and Rome).  "

I added up an estimate cost for five months (with rent, bills, groceries, meals out, club, bus pass and movies) :2195 euros which is about 2,800. It will probably be more than that but at least it will be under 4,000!

Lost Passport!

Lauren, the other IU student going abroad with me, just found out that the Overseas Study Office lost her passport! We gave the office our passports so they could send them in a batch to the Italian Consulate's Office in Detroit, so we wouldn't have to do it ourselves. But they lost Lauren's passport. She said that she went over everything in her packet of visa information with the secretary so she knows she gave the passport to them. The secretary says she put the packet in the safe but they don't have it. This is very stressful for Lauren because now not only does she not have a passport but she also doesn't have a visa and we leave in 40 days. With much effort and extra money she may be able to get a new passport fairly quickly but visa processing takes a long time. She met with the Overseas Office yesterday and has a meeting scheduled with IU's Vice President at noon. They say there is much use focusing on the lost passport, they now just have to take action to get a new one and a visa.

I am very hopeful that this will work itself out but would be very saddened if it doesn't. Originally I was prepared to go over there without knowing anyone and was going to be fine with it. But since meeting Lauren and becoming new bestfriends I can hardly imagine going without her! 

A presto e buona fortuna a Lauren! 

Bologna Weather

So I have found out some pretty great news about Bologna weather. I have been asking people that have been to Italy, people that have lived in Italy and specifically people that have been in Bologna in the winter months what the weather is like. I have gotten responses that range from "it's the coldest place I've ever lived" (my Sicilian Mafia Professor) to "about the same as Indiana" to "no, not even as cold as it gets here". So I was confused and started preparing for it to be pretty cold, know that I hate to be the slightest bit cold and not wanting to be unprepared for my long walks from my apartment to school and around the city. I was thinking, "well Bologna is kinda northern and kinda near the Swiss Alps so it's gotta be pretty cold." 

But I have been keeping an eye on the temps of Bologna in the past few weeks and it has been on average 15-20 degrees warmer there. So I'm thinking this is pretty good news. And then I talked to Lauren about this and she says she found online that Bologna temp patterns are usually in the 40's for January, 50's for February and up in the 60's for March. And we commented, "here we are 'eskomoing' ourselves out for Bologna and it turns out it might not be that cold!"

So I went to do some more researching for myself and found this at one website:

"Usually Bologna experiences fairly predictable weather patterns most of the year. January heralds in winter which can be particularly cold. Between May and September, the high pressure African winds blow in. Bologna becomes very hot and humid during this time. Rainfall is quite prevelant especially during November and December. High temperatures in the summer soar to 30 degrees C (86F), while seasonal lows are around 15C (59F). In winter, temperatures average from 8C(46F) to 2C (36F)."

I think a winter average of 46-36 degrees Fahrenheit sounds pretty good considering it is in the 20's here this week and I know the temperature goes below zero here most winters.- And they said "winter can be particularly cold"- i don't think 40 degrees F is that cold for winter, yay!! 

Well, i guess my new, very warm winter coat will be useful this month while still in Indiana. And, like always said, it is better to be over-prepared then under-prepared! plus it is so cute!:) 

Christmas List

Pack

Travel Pillow

Travel Towel

TRavel Alarm Clock

Earplugs

New Socks

Extra Camera Card

Luggage Locks

Luggage Tags

Passport Cover

Journals

New PJ Set

New Sweat Set

VS Boucle sweater

Ringraziamento, impressioni (per M300 Diario)

Ogni anno che la mia famiglia guida due ore a Indiana del nord per il Ringraziamento. Mio padre va alla sua casa della madre di mangiare e spendere il tempo con sua madre e suoi fratelli. Mia madre, mio fratello e viaggio alla casa di mio cugino della madre. Lí spendiamo il giorno intero, mangiando ed il tempo di spendere col mio lato materno della famiglia. Abbiamo diversi tacchini e diverse tavole piene di cibo e sopra una dozzina uni dessert diversi. Ci sono di trenta persone sopra alla casa durante il giorno. A questa casa ci sono due gatti e prendo molto malato. Dunque quest'anno ho speso il giorno col mio lato del padre della famiglia. E poi dopo che eravamo fatti per mangiare e l'osservazione del gioco, mio padre e ho guidato alla casa di mio cugino della madre. Abbiamo speso due ore lí alla fine del giorno. Tutte le donne della famiglia hanno giocato un gioco per l'ultima ora, abbiamo avuto molto divertimento.

Thanksgiving Break

It is the Sunday after Thanksgiving and everything is covered in a layer of beautiful white winter snow. It is the first real snow fall of the season. 

On Thursday I got to see a lot of family, half of whom I most likely will not see for another 7 months. Wow, 7 months sounds like a very long time. The other side of the family I will see for Christmas, which is only a month away; this year has really flown by. 

Yesterday I went shopping for a travel backpack. I tried two different bags, each with 15 pounds in them. 15 pounds was very heavy, heavier than i thought 15 was. We were trying to figure out how much my stuff would likely weigh, hopefully less than because the majority of the time I will be using the pack will be for my summer travels and will be packing light summer clothes. And today, I went back and chose the GoLite Pursuit pack, that has a sturdy frame and holds 2800 cubic inches. They only had the Quest which holds 4000 cubic inches and was a small and from that we decided the Pursuit would be the best. I will most likely get the pack from Santa for Christmas. I will also use it as my initial carry on and then for weekend trips throughout the semester, I hope it fits the size requirements. 

It is only 42 days now until Italy, which will all fly by so fast. 

I have a few more weeks of school left: a Brazilian Cinema paper and presentation; a few Study Abroad Before You Go papers and a presentation; a few more hw assign's for Linguistics and the final; a paper and a final for Masterpieces of Italian Literature; a script, dairy and maybe a final? for Italian Conversation and Diction; and a rewrite final paper for Environmental Tourism. 

I also have 19 party Recruitment in a week. And then 12 Party right before I leave for Italy.

I have to pack up my entire room and move it home for break. Then I have to get last minute things to pack and then pack. Pack for the winter and then pack my spring clothes for my parents to bring. I still have to get my passport back with my visa- that is the most important thing I need to get back. 

Well, I should be working on hw and packing back up to go back to Bloomington today. Ciao!

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Some Bologna Facts

The university I am attending (Universitá di Bologna) is the oldest university in Europe and still one of the most important. It has educated some very notable people including Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarch and Umberto Eco. Several nicknames for Bologna include: “la grassa” which means “the fat” because it is the culinary capital of Italy. It is known for tortellini and mortadella. It is also called “la dotta” or “the learned one” because of the famous university. And lastly it is also nicknamed “la rossa” meaning red because of the red rooftops and the political situation in Italy.
Bologna is the capital city of the region, Emilia-Romagna. It has a population of almost 400,000 people. It is a large college town but not a big tourist city. Its large square is Piazza Maggiore. Its main church is San Petronio. And I learned while watching Samantha Brown‘s travel show on Bologna that the church is one of the biggest in the world and that during construction it was intended to be larger than St. Peter's in Rome, but Pope Pius IV was jealous and ordered that the arms of the church be reduced, constructing buildings immediately on either side making it impossible to be large than St. Peter’s Basilica. It also boasts Bologna’s Two Towers and is known for its porticos that run everywhere in the heart of the city. It also is home to a large transportation hub- the Bologna train station (which made news when it was attacked and bombed by terrorists in 1980).

An excellent way to see the city is through this virtual tour!  

These are initial trivial facts and I can't wait to actually know the city!

About BCSP

BCSP is the program I am enrolled in and will be in contact with while studying abroad in Italy. The acronym stands for Bologna Consortial Studies Program. 
The program is an IU-sponsored program but also includes students from the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Minnesota, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Some students participate in the full academic year option but I choose to partake in the spring semester option.
BCSP's on-site staff includes an academic resident director, a program coordinator and a housing and exchange coordinator.
There is only one other student from IU coming with me for spring semester 2009, I met her in my Masterpieces of Italian Literature Class. She is now my best friend and we are both very anxious to go!
I will be taking a PreSession class through BSCP in the month of January, this counts as three credits. Then the rest of the semster I will be taking 12 credits, 6 of which I will be taking as one class from Universita di Bologna and then two classes from BCSP: Advanced Grammar and probably the Theater and Visual Arts class. Once onsite we attend several classes and choose the one that works. You do not register for classes, only the final exam which is an oral exam with the professor (the only grade for the class!)
The program provides accommodations at a hotel for the first week while I am supposed to be finding my own apartment in the city. I have never looked for an apartment in the U.S. let alone in a foreign country in a foreign language! This is said to be one of the hardest parts of the experience but the most rewarding- everyone does find somewhere to live :) To the left is a picture of a previous students balcony view! And flyers to find apartments.

To Do List Before Departure

I have completed these:
Response Form
Agreement and Release Form
Prepayment
Advising Appointments
Orientation Meeting
Register in OVST
Get Passport
Apply for Visa
Buy Luggage
Medical History Form
Buy Travel Backpack

Have yet to do these:
Make debit card international

Buy: travel pillow, travel towel, travel alarm clock, ear plugs, new socks, extra camera card, luggage locks, luggage tags, underamour shirt, power lugs and convertors, passport cover, journals

Packing List

I have started to create a tentative packing list. I have two American Tourister new suitcases, and will have my carry on. To help I will wear my winter coat and my largest winter boats. Below is my list, feel free to comment on things that should be added!

Shoes:

• Black boots
  
• Brown highheel boots
  
• Brown winter boots
  
• Black heels
  
• Brown heels
  
• Brown puma shoes
  
• Shower sandals
  
• Black slippers

Pants:

• Jeans: 
  
• Straight
  
• Bootcut x2
  
• Wide leg
  
• 2 black
  
• 1 brown
  
• 1 navy

Skirts:

• Brown
  
• Black

Dresses: 

• Blue sweater
  
• Black nice

Weather Wear:

• Umbrella
  
• Black wool coat
  
• Scarves, hat, gloves, earmuffs
  
• Black trench
  
• Black and pink zip-ups
  
• Brown vest
  
• underamour

Jewelry
Water Bottle

• One pair of pajamas
  
• Socks: white, tall, thick
  
• Underwear
  
• One pair of sweats
  
• One pair of black workout wear
  
• Dress shirts: black, red, teal, blue
  
• Sweaters: yellow, brown, green, red
  
• Long sleeve shirts: tan, black, white 
  
• Tanks: white, black, brown, navy
  
• Going-out shirts

Toiletries:

• Hair:
  
• Defrizz gel, hairspray, brush, headbands, bobbypins, ponytail holders, clips
  
• Shower:
  
• Razor, conditioner
  
• Toothbrush, small toothpaste
  
• Contacts, solution, case, glasses
  
• Face topicals
  
• Moisturizer, matrix, lotion
  
• Makeup x2
  
• Tweezers, nail file and clippers
  
• Makeup remover, face wash

School supplies:

• Pencils, pens, highlighter, sharpie, scissors, little stapler, tape
  
• Dictionaries, ref books, tour books
  
• journals
  
• Computer, cord, case
  
• Camera, ipod, cards (extra), cords
  
• Travel alarm clock
  
• 
  
• Power and plug converters

Bags/purses:

• Coach wristlets
  
• Black coach school bag 
• travel backpack

• travel pillow, travel towel, ear plugs, luggage locks, luggage tags
  

I am planning on buying these once i get there: cellular phone, sheets, pillow, and shower towel, hair dryer, straightener, shampoo and body wash. 

And my spring/summer attire will be coming with my parents in April.

This is the list offered in my program handbook:
clothing that is easily washed and drip-dried
one good outfit for special occasions
warm winter coat and sweaters
raincoat and umbrella
CD or MP3 player with 110.220 switch and your fav music
sturdy, comfortable walking shoes (be prepared for lots of walking!)
bedroom slippers
washcloths and towels
camera
travel alarm clock
calculator
travel backpack
dairy or journal
good Italian grammar book for reference
addresses of family and friends back home

Student Advice: "Don't bring a lot of extra clothes because you won't use them. Italians dress nicely but often weat the same outfit several times in one week."


If they dress nice there how am I suppose to pack clothes that are easily washed and drip-dried and how do i wear comfortable walking shoes that are dressy? hmm