When coming to study abroad in Rome, I had no idea what to expect from my apartment. The only information I had before I left was the address of where I would be living and the names of my roommates. I knew I would have to share a room, and that was something I was super nervous about. I’ve never had to share a room -- even freshman year in my dorm. I had no idea what to expect, and I just had to hope that my roommates and I would get along.
I wondered what on Earth my apartment would look like. When I arrived at my apartment, it was sensory overload. Stepping out of the car outside of my apartment, I still felt in awe of being in Rome, so I had no idea where to even look. It didn’t help that I had my two suitcases and I was trying to talk to the housing helper. I was so overwhelmed but with excitement. The next thing I knew, we were going up the elevator (thank goodness) to my new home.
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Piazza Cavour is in my neighborhood and it has definitely become one of my favorite spots to go sit on a beautiful afternoon.
When I first walked in, I was blown away by the high ceilings. Three of my roommates were already there so they came and greeted me at the door. I then got a tour of the apartment and it was amazing; the place was so much more updated than I could have imagined. There are two bathrooms, a large kitchen, and three bedrooms. Two of the bedrooms have two beds and one has three beds. When I had arrived, both two-bed bedrooms were taken, so I was in the three bed room. I thought to myself, “Wow, you’re jumping right into this sharing-a-room thing.”
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One day on my walk home from class, I came across this cute flower stand.
Once I started unpacking, it helped to make it seem real that this was actually my home for the next four months. I brought a blanket from home and one of my pillowcases to help make my bed really feel like my own. They were the first things I put on it. At first, I thought it was "extra" to bring my own pillowcase, but some of my friends who have studied abroad said it was a game changer. It has been the best thing, because even now as comfortable as I am here, it’s nice when I go to bed to feel a piece of home.
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Just some of the photos that I have around my bedroom to help make me feel at home.
Before I arrived, I printed out a bunch of pictures of my friends and family from home. Above my bed there's a magnetic hanging board so I made sure to hang up some photos there, and I also have pictures on my nightstand just as a little reminder of my friends and family. As cheesy as it is, my roommates have truly made my CEA housing feel like home. I know I got extremely lucky with who my roommates are, but I have CEA to thank for that because I had completely random roommates.
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Six of the seven roommates (thanks for taking the picture, Sam) on our first night in Rome.
All of the little tips and tricks of bringing a few little things from home definitely help with making a new place feel like home. The connections you make while you’re abroad are truly what make it feel like home.