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Study Away
A period of study in an appropriate country, usually in the junior year, is strongly encouraged for all students of language. Bowdoin is affiliated with a wide range of excellent programs abroad, and interested students should seek the advice of a member of the department early in their sophomore year to select a program and to choose courses that complement the offerings at the College.
Links to Bowdoin-Approved Programs
Bowdoin College Off-Campus Study Office
Bowdoin Students' Thoughts on Studying in Italy
Nora Pierson Pitzer Program, Parma npierson@bowdoin.edu
I had so many unique experiences in Italy that it is impossible to narrow it down to one. Following fate's foot steps is one, and dancing in the rain nella piazza San Marco as a string quartet plays Vivaldi. I would characterize my experience as the best four months of my life.
I would encourage more people to go on the Pitzer program in Parma. Too many people go to Florence and don't really learn about the Italian culture and language. Se ci sono persone che vogliono parlare in italiano o hanno bisognio di aiuto in italiano, saro' contentissima di aiutargli. (parlo meglio che scrivo).
Douglas Silton Junior Year Abroad alla Scuola de Lorenzo de Medici, Firenze dsilton@bowdoin.edu
I chose to go to Italy to study abroad my junior year. As an art history major, I couldn't think of a better place to study than Firenze, the cradle of the Renaissance. My most unique experience in Italy was on the island of Sardegna. After a year of travelling on the mainland, I travelled solo through Sicily and Sardegna, but was amazed at the desolation of Sardegna. Even though I followed my bible, Lonely Planet: Italy, religiously, the towns that I went to were so isolated and small that occasionally there were no hotels! Luckily I was speaking Italian at that point of my travels, and so after hitch-hiking to an area, I would go to the one cafe in the town and ask if they knew anybody that I could rent a room from for a night or two. The people in the towns were zealously friendly, and one teenager and his mother (on mothers day) decided to pick me up while I was hitchhiking, take me to meet their family, and then drive me another half-hour through the mountains to my next destination.
My experience as a whole: no one sentence can describe it, but if forced to put a word to it, I'd say "grande." or "gonzo" as Tuscan teenagers say 'cool.' I had an amazing year and I'd do it again in a second.
News from Abroad
All of you étudiants, studenti, and estudiantes studying and traveling in exotic locales, i.e. not Brunswick, Maine, please send us news of your latest adventures, recommendations of must-see sites, and highlights of your off-campus study programs. You can also use the link below to post to a web-based discussion group.