Finals Week and Final Roman Adventures
Somehow this semester slipped past me and now here I am trying to write end of the semester papers and study for finals…in Rome. It’s hard enough to push through finals week in Chicago and now I’m finding it even harder here. My classes are starting to feel like actual classes and I have to prepare to fly back to the States in just one week. Where did my semester go?
My course load definitely isn’t as intense as usual because I am taking less credits this semester. The harder part about my finals week is going to be balancing my studies with finishing off my Roman Bucket List. I lucked out with a pretty good finals schedule that should allow me ample time for sight-seeing…assuming of course I get this 2,000 word essay finished.
My friends and I worked out a schedule so that we can make the most of this last week abroad:
THURSDAY: The last day of classes at the JFRC is followed up by the End of Semester Banquet. “A Night Among the Ruins” more lovingly referred to as JFRC Prom, will be the last time that all of the students, faculty, and Student Life Assistants will be together as one big group. We’ll celebrate an absolutely incredible semester with good Italian food, an awards ceremony, and some really great people.
FRIDAY: The JFRC’s Fine Arts Festival begins on Friday. Early in the afternoon students who earned the International Leadership Certificate will give poster presentations to the administration about their leadership experience abroad. At 5 that evening is the JFRC players performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (which I’m in!), using the JFRC’s courtyard as our stage. This performance is followed by an art exhibit from the sculpture class and fiction readings from the writing fiction course.
SATURDAY: Final exams begin! All students will be taking their Italian exams on Saturday and to celebrate crossing final #1 off the agenda my friends and I plan to celebrate by going out to dinner at a Roman restaurant we have yet to visit.
SUNDAY: For a bit of a study break 2 of my friends and I planned a day trip to Pompeii–one Italian destination we had yet to visit. Don’t worry though, we’ll be studying on the train.
MONDAY: It’ll be back to the books for most of us (especially for me as I have 2 tests on Tuesday). So I see potential for a mid-afternoon gelato break. That evening the Fine Arts Festival continues with vocal performances from the voice class and a viewing of the short films created by the film class.
TUESDAY: My last day of testing with finals for my European Novel course and my Italy Culture and Context course. Hopefully there will be time for an afternoon nap to refuel and go on a Roman adventure that evening–I’m thinking about finding a good spot to watch the sunset over the Eternal City.
WEDNESDAY: One of my friends is done early with her finals as well so we’ll spend the day exploring the city. The number one sight on our list is “The Keyhole”–a literal keyhole on a gate that perfectly frames a view of St. Peter’s Basillica.
THURSDAY: By this point hopefully I will have started the expedition that is packing my suitcase for the journey home and making sure my room is all cleaned up before spending one last night in the city. One of our SLAs mapped out a walking tour of Rome (gelato stops included) that hits all of the major sights. So I’ll have a chance to say good-bye to Roma–for now anyway.
Friday morning the entire JFRC has to be cleared out by 10 in the morning and all 235 of us will be on to our next adventures. Some are staying in Europe for another week or so, a few spending most of the summer here, and then there’s those of us (like me) who will be returning to the States. See you in a week, America!