Studies in Venice, Italy! – Madolyn McCormick

Living in Venice has definitely been a change of pace from College Station. For one, there are absolutely no cars or bicycles and the only way to get around is by foot. It’s rather nice once you adjust to walking 7+ miles a day. The school here is spread out all over the city unlike the convenient and wonderful layout of TAMU. I currently have classes in three different buildings and the average distance between them is 1.2 miles. All the walking helps balance out the mounds of pizza and pasta I’ve been consuming though. As far as the structure of classes, I am most definitely not impressed. The professors often ramble on about topics completely unrelated to the course materials and offer no advice on what to study for the single exam that counts for our total course grade. The massive celebration of Carnevale is underway and the streets are often lined with men and women dressed in traditional 18th Century clothing. It is quite the spectacle, however I am ready for this week-long festival to be over so the hundreds of tourists will disappear.?