How much
Italian do I need to go to Bologna with TASSEP?
If you have to ask it’s not enough.
I believe there is another program to Bologna sponsored by the LAS department. If you’re not sure about your language abilities, it’s a much safer bet. TASSEP, which to this day I’m still not quite sure what it stands for was the epitome of disorganization. Yet despite all its shortcomings the professors were very friendly and helpful, and the program is certainly repeatable.
I studied Latin in high school, and so learning Italian seemed the next logical progression. I also spent my senior year of high school in a small village between Rome and Naples. I was very close the town of Arpino, which coincidently was the birthplace of Cicero and the famous Roman general Gaius Marius. Unfortunately the economic conditions had begun to deteriorate over the last 2,000 years or so, and so the region today called la Ciociaria, has remained something of a cultural backwater; the Alabama of Italy if you will. Nonetheless it provided the ideal “sink or swim” environment to learn Italian, as very few people spoke English.
When in Rome do as the Romans. Shun fellow Anglophones, mingle with the locals and drink the vino. Your liver might not thank you, but you’ll have plenty of friends to compensate for that. As the Italians say il vino ti scioglie la lingua , “wine melts your tongue.”
Yes, I took the equivalent of 30 U of I credit hours. All the courses were technical except for one exam I took at the spur of the moment in “Psychology of Art.” Among the courses I took were, Physics II, Solid State Physics, Macromolecules, Computer Programming, Molecular Spectroscopy, and Microelectronics.
Yes, except for the Psychology the exams were pretty challenging, and required a lot of studying. Generally the exams were given orally, so if you tried to BS your way through it, the professors would catch on in a hurry. Engineering is difficult wherever you go; so don’t expect a cakewalk when you go abroad. In Italy engineering is a five year curriculum, with the average time of matriculation taking about seven years. Go figure. On the other hand, other Americans studying in Bologna found their exams to be relatively easy. Then again they were enrolled in LAS curricula and weren’t studying anything technical. They will also rue the day when they are unemployed.
What
do you mean by oral exams?
The only grade received for each course was given by a final exam. No homework quizzes or any other such nonsense. Usually exams were given orally, and open to the public. This meant you were subjected to anywhere for a half hour to and hour interrogation by a panel of professors, with other students in the gallery.
Written exams were only given on occasion, and usually only to weed out people unprepared for the oral exam. This was done for two reasons. Oral exams are more traditional and give the professors a better indication of the students’ knowledge. Italian university students are also some of the most fantastic cheaters I’ve ever seen. Hollowed out watches, post it notes, Morse code from across the room. You name it I’ve seen it done. Not that it mattered though, most written exams were open notes anyways, and hence virtually impossible to pass.
I am extremely studious.
I generally paid cash for small items, and paid for other things with a credit card. ATMs generally gave the same exchange rate as the bank, so carrying a credit card was much more convenient. DO NOT carry traveler’s checks. They are a pain to cash, and give you a poorer exchange rate. Just keep your wallet where you can see it and you’ll be fine.
After the conversion to the euro, the cost of living has gone up all over Italy, particularly in northern cities like Bologna. I would say that Bologna is certainly more expensive than Champaign, but probably less than Chicago. The euro hovering around $1.20 certainly did not help matters either.
Officially no, you would have to have an official visa to do so. However many people work in nero or off the books. If you are an amply endowed woman, you should have no trouble finding work in a club or doing promotions in one of the numerous trade fairs that come to town. My best advice is to ask around, since procuring work really depends on whom you know. Generally you will find that your Italian peers are not the most enthusiastic souls in finding work themselves. Work as the say, “is not something we aspire to do, it’s a biblical damnation.”
Email me at trbailey@uiuc.edu and I’ll see if I can pencil you in.