Najifa Hussain, ’25, is a Management Information Systems major studying at the American University of Rome this Fall 2022.
Buongiorno! Starting my typical school days off in Rome is usually the same thing every morning. The school I am in places many of their students in a local neighborhood for housing, which means that there are many cafes and restaurants right on my street. When I walk out of my apartment building, there is a café directly next to it where I get my usual cappuccino and chocolate croissant. Sometimes, when I am in a hurry, I will take them both to go. The best thing about living in Rome is that I never get sick of my daily cappuccino and pastry routine. It is simply the lifestyle here. One thing that is fairly important to know about my school day is that I pretty much have to climb three sets of stairs in order to get to my university. Since much of Rome’s neighborhoods are built upon various hills, I find that climbing stairs around here is also a huge part of my everyday life now. My classes each day are fairly simple and range from about 70 to 90 minutes depending on the class. I have about an hour and a half break between my classes and somehow always find myself at this brunch restaurant named Homebaked that many of the students in my program frequent because the menu consists of various American breakfast dishes. Therefore, whenever I find myself craving a bagel or grilled cheese after class that is where you will find me. Studying in Rome makes many things accessible to students such as having various cafes and bars on every block for us to be able to frequent in between classes for drinks and small bites which I really take advantage of since it gives me down time between my classes and also allows me to get some of my work done before my next class.
After classes is my favorite time of the day because that’s when my roommates and I will all be back in our apartment together trying to figure out what the rest of our day should be like. Sometimes we will get groceries and have a home-cooked meal that we all make together or we will find ourselves looking up the best restaurants in Rome that we want to try out. On this particular day, we all decided to try out one of the most famous restaurants in Rome for dinner named Tonnarello. This restaurant has traditional Roman food and always has a line. After waiting about 40 minutes, we were able to get seated. I ordered the Cacio e Pepe pasta which is a very popular Roman pasta dish and one of my favorite dishes so far that I have tried while studying abroad. The neighborhood we ate in was in a very poplar location that’s always bustling with people so it was nice being able to partake in the Roman lifestyle of sitting and enjoying your dinner for as long as you wish to with friends while taking in your surroundings. We topped the night off with some delicious gelato for dessert and that pretty much topped off the end of my day and that my friends is my typical day in the life studying abroad in Rome 🙂
A Message from the Office of Global Engagement:
The safety and security of Drexel students is a priority for the University. As part of the efforts to support Drexel students that are studying abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Office of Global Engagement has conducted a rigorous review of programming and provided additional support to participating students with customized pre-departure orientations and regular check-ins during the required self-isolation period and the term.
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