40. Scudit in Rome
There is a saying that one must see Rome before one dies (or is it one sees Rome and then dies?). Either way it certainly is true that Rome is breathtaking with its ruins, churches and galleries. However, let me divest you of one illusion, if like me you believe that there are seven hills around Rome. I think bumps in the road might be a better description of some of these “hills”! Bumps or hills, I certainly kept myself occupied for five weeks visiting the different sites and galleries.
For the student who hopes to practise Italian with the local populace, Rome is definitely NOT recommended. Normally, one wants to live in the Old or Historical City because that is where all the galleries and historical sites are found. Unfortunately, this is also the centre of the tourist trade. Most waiters spoke English, and insisted on speaking English even when I kept speaking Italian! I tried to ask a bus driver the direction and before I finished he had answered me in English and in a tone that let me know that he couldn’t be bothered listening to my Italian! Mercifully, occasionally I did find a driver who replied to me in Italian, but what got my goat was that the civil servants -- your museum attendants --insisted on speaking English. I can understand a sales clerk or waiter speaking to me in English, but I would have thought that servants of the state would take pride in their native language and speak first in Italian and only switch if they observe the stranger struggling to understand.
To order my food in Italian I mostly went east of the Termini station to the university area known as San Lorenzo. I’m told it is an old established working-class area, and amid all the wine and beer bars one can find excellent and economical restaurants. Here one can still find a carafe of wine for 5 Euros as opposed to paying 5 Euros for a GLASS of house wine in the Old City. To add insult to injury, it was often the same brand and type of wine! My only regret is that I only started going to San Lorenzo in my last two weeks. If you do follow my suggestion of visiting and eating there, I would recommend you take the bus rather than the train. Walking from San Lorenzo to the train station at night means you walk along a rather isolated and dark street. On the other hand, the bus leaves from within San Lorenzo.
Rome has so much to offer that you may well like to attend a school like Scudit that offers little – at least in comparison to some other schools—in terms of extra-curriculum activities. Being inherently lazy with a strong dislike for reading Guide books, I like to have a learned guide show me the sites. I certainly enjoyed the one and only tour the school sponsored. I just wished there had been more. I still have fond memories of how much Scuola Leonardo offered in terms of tours around Siena [See Blog 3]. Linguait also sponsored several tours around Verona. Both of these schools took their students to churches, museums and galleries. Alas, nothing comparable happened during my attendance at Scudit. Of course, there’s nothing to stop you from looking for another Roman school that has a fuller menu of extra-curriculum activities.
For the student who hopes to practise Italian with the local populace, Rome is definitely NOT recommended. Normally, one wants to live in the Old or Historical City because that is where all the galleries and historical sites are found. Unfortunately, this is also the centre of the tourist trade. Most waiters spoke English, and insisted on speaking English even when I kept speaking Italian! I tried to ask a bus driver the direction and before I finished he had answered me in English and in a tone that let me know that he couldn’t be bothered listening to my Italian! Mercifully, occasionally I did find a driver who replied to me in Italian, but what got my goat was that the civil servants -- your museum attendants --insisted on speaking English. I can understand a sales clerk or waiter speaking to me in English, but I would have thought that servants of the state would take pride in their native language and speak first in Italian and only switch if they observe the stranger struggling to understand.
To order my food in Italian I mostly went east of the Termini station to the university area known as San Lorenzo. I’m told it is an old established working-class area, and amid all the wine and beer bars one can find excellent and economical restaurants. Here one can still find a carafe of wine for 5 Euros as opposed to paying 5 Euros for a GLASS of house wine in the Old City. To add insult to injury, it was often the same brand and type of wine! My only regret is that I only started going to San Lorenzo in my last two weeks. If you do follow my suggestion of visiting and eating there, I would recommend you take the bus rather than the train. Walking from San Lorenzo to the train station at night means you walk along a rather isolated and dark street. On the other hand, the bus leaves from within San Lorenzo.
Rome has so much to offer that you may well like to attend a school like Scudit that offers little – at least in comparison to some other schools—in terms of extra-curriculum activities. Being inherently lazy with a strong dislike for reading Guide books, I like to have a learned guide show me the sites. I certainly enjoyed the one and only tour the school sponsored. I just wished there had been more. I still have fond memories of how much Scuola Leonardo offered in terms of tours around Siena [See Blog 3]. Linguait also sponsored several tours around Verona. Both of these schools took their students to churches, museums and galleries. Alas, nothing comparable happened during my attendance at Scudit. Of course, there’s nothing to stop you from looking for another Roman school that has a fuller menu of extra-curriculum activities.
posted by Toby1939 at 10:51 AM
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