My Bologna has a first name ...: …it’s c-a-c-c-i-a!

(la caccia = “the hunt”)

Ciao tutti!

Greetings from Bologna and welcome to my blog! In the past when I have traveled, I have sent detailed emails to family and friends, but this time I decided to utilize the ‘blogosphere’ so as to detail my adventures while abroad in a more concise manner. I hope you enjoy!

As you can see, my theme for this blog is based off the famous Oscar Mayer song. Maybe it’s not the most original theme (and I’m sure past Bologna students have used it for blogs, facebook, etc) but I thought of it of my own accord and I think it’s catchy.

I also want to apologize for the delay in getting my blog started. Once you read these first few entries, you’ll see that I’ve been pretty busy for the past three weeks. But I am glad that I am finally developing a routine here in Italy and can sit down and start to journal about my adventures.

This entry’s word is la caccia, which as you can see means “the hunt.” What does this have to do with Bologna? Well, my first two weeks here in Italy have been spent frantically searching (hunting) for an apartment. BCSP (The Bologna Consortial Studies Program – my study abroad program) puts us in a hotel for the first two weeks (Jan 9 – Jan 21), and during that time it is up to us to find our own places to live for the rest of the semester.

Thus, the beginning of my study abroad experience has been pretty hectic! Luckily, I have found a great place to live with nice roommates and in good location. But it was a long, stressful road to get to where I am now…

It all started three weeks ago, when all the BCSP students began to arrive in Bologna from the U.S. On one of our first days here, we had a housing meeting where Andrea, Danielle, and Claudia (the BCSP directors) gave us information of where to start looking for housing. After that meeting, it was a mad dash to Via del Guasto, off of Via Zamboni, near the University of Bologna. This street is FILLED with flyers, mainly “wanted: roommate” ads, so a bunch of us BCSP students became very familiar with this street for the next several days.

As you can see, there are hundreds of flyers tacked on the corkboards which line Via del Guasto. So you’d think it’d be easy to find a place, right? Wrong. Most of the ads I saw would have some sort of problem with them, such as:

“…The room is free beginning of February…Looking for a female roommate...No Erasmus*…Si fumatori (yes, smokers)…”

*Erasmus is a European study abroad program, and the term refers generally to foreign students from Europe as well as the U.S.

Well, being a non-smoking American male who needed the room by January 21, I had trouble finding some good options. But all hope was not lost. Once I finally found a few ads I liked, I went back to the hotel and started writing a script of what I wanted to say when I called the phone numbers listed on the ads.

Here's an ad that specifies "no fascists!" ("no fascisti"). They also mention they have a very nice dog,
and they would prefer someone who is vegan or vegetarian

After a good hour of pacing I finally mustered up the courage to make some calls. The first few were miserable. I would say my spiel about how I am an American student looking for an apartment, I saw the ad for a single or double room, and was wondering if the room was still available. Once I got through all that, though, I was bombarded by a bunch of Italian that I could not understand. I became very familiar with using the phrase “può ripetere?” (can you please repeat?).

After the first few calls, I became much more at ease with the whole process. I started to understand more of the terminology, as well as what I should be looking for in an apartment.

After about a week of searching and not finding a good match, I stumbled upon an ad for a double in the city center near the university. I visited the apartment and met with one of the roommates there (Francesco) on a Sunday. I loved the place. Francesco seemed very nice, the apartment was clean, the location was great, and the rent was cheap! I was so excited about it, and I could not wait until I heard back from Francesco. You see, the housing process here is much like a job interview. It’s not enough to simply find an apartment that you love. The potential roommates with whom you’re meeting need to pick you.

So even though I had found my top choice, I had to wait a few days while Francesco met with other potential roommates. The wait was painful, to say the least. I had just spent a week of feeling completely discouraged, and when I finally find a place that I really like, I have to continue looking for other options in case this one didn’t work out. I was just so ready for the process to be over!

Luckily, Tuesday night I received an email from Francesco saying that the room was mine if I wanted it. I was ecstatic! Finally, I was able to calm down a little bit. The rest of the week I was still in the hotel, and I spent my days finally enjoying this beautiful city and taking in everything Bologna has to offer.

A view of the courtyard inside the Archiginnasio,
which was once the main campus of the University
of Bologna but today is a communal library.

Le due torri (the two towers). Famous Monument of
Bologna. Unfortunately, the towers are currently
under renovation so we're not able to climb them.

A view of the porticos along Via Santo Stefano.
Bologna is famous for its porticos, which line the
walkways of almost every street in the city center.

La Basilica di Santo Stefano (St. Stephen's). As this
site has had a history of churches being built on top
of one another, it is known as le Sette Chiese (7 churches).

I have also begun to settle in and enjoy my new apartment. Here are some pictures of my friend Adrienne (who goes to Notre Dame with me and is also studying abroad here in Bologna with BCSP) and I cooking dinner one night at my place: