Travel Guide Part XV: Villa Life
If the section on the trains could have been a book then this section on Villa life could be volumes. There is just that much to talk about. I’m going to try and talk about most of the basics like meals in the Villa, the Student Center, and other everyday aspects of life at 41 Viale Milton.
From Monday to Thursday, you get three meals a day- as much food as you want without having to worry about points or anything. You just have to show up and take what you want. Breakfast usually consists of cereal, bread and jelly, some fruit, and of course juices and coffee. Breakfast starts at about 7:00 and will stay out until 8:30. After that, there will be about a half hour before classes start for the day (Monday-Thursday). Lunch is from 12:30 to 1:30, then more classes until dinner which runs from 6:00 to 7:00. Both lunch and dinner consist of three courses. The pasta/soup course, the main course, and the dessert course. The pasta/soup course is just what it sounds like- always a pasta dish or soup. The main course is always some kinda of meat, and then vegetables and other side dishes. The pasta/soup course will come out at the beginning of the meal time, then someone will clean up the pasta dishes and the main course will be brought out. Everything is done buffet style, so it’s serve yourself. You can have food from both courses or only one- up to you. You can also save food for later and put it in the fridge- just be sure it doesn’t go bad and make the whole Student Center smell. The dessert course is usually cookies, but occasionally it will be something special. For instance, Sunday nights are usually gelato, birthdays- cake, and Tuesday is a surprise!
This is the meal schedule for Monday-Thursday, and Sunday dinner. For breakfast on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we get to go to Caffe Liberta’ if you’re in town. Caffe Lib is a bar very near the Villa, and it has amazing pastries and drinks. Hours for Caffe Lib are 8:30-10:30, and like the Villa, you can have as much as you want, although they prefer it if you don’t take any to save for later here. For lunch on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and then for dinner on Friday and Saturday, you’re on your own, so explore and try some places.
Classes are pretty much similar to those in Malibu, just nothing on Fridays. There are several differences in structure. Being absent on a Monday or Thursday for the purpose of travel counts as a double absence. You are allowed one hour of absence per hour of class per week for the semester. For example, in a three unit class, you can miss three class hours before your grade starts to fall, in a four unit class, four class hours, etc. Missing for sickness on a Monday or Thursday is only one absence, I think. The classrooms are located on the lowest level of the Villa, and are always open to students for studying. In addition to the classrooms, there are also two computer labs and a library in the house. The two computer labs each have about ten computers that all students can use at any time of the day- I think. There are also printers available here- not sure whether or not they’re free or not. The library is a fairly large room with comfortable room to study and a good supply of books to pull information from.
When you don’t want to study, the villa offers a lot of ways to pass time. There is a room called the music room which has a piano and a guitar, both of which are available to students whenever. There is another piano in a small room off the business entrance of the villa. If you’re not the musical type, there is a ping-pong table in the courtyard, as well as a swing. The courtyard is a great place to hangout and study or relax. Right off the courtyard there is a small game room in which there is an air hockey table and a foos ball table. There is also a large patio on the top level of rooms. This is a good place to suntan or whatever, although it is kinda loud with all the street noise. Then, there is the student center. In this room there are several board games, various travel books and newspapers to look through. There is also a television with a DVD player and a VCR. This T.V. is supposedly connected to a satellite dish, but the only channels that ever seem to be on are MTV and CNN. Movies are on all the time. People bring their own from home for the most part, but the villa has a decent collection as well. That’s pretty much what the villa has in store for recreation hours. Those options, as well as exploring Florence should be enough to keep you entertained for a year.
As far as rooms go in the villa, there are about twenty rooms, each with at least two people in them. There are two rooms with four people, and four with three. The rest are standard two person rooms. Some rooms are better than others for various reasons, but for the most part, they are all comparable. The four person rooms have two toilets and showers in each of them, all the other rooms have their own bathrooms/showers. The one exception is rooms 3 and 4. They share a large and nice bathroom- the five of them share the bathroom. The Malibu campus visitation rules apply in Florence, so that means guys can only be in a girl’s room between 10:00am and 1:00am, and vice-versa. All the rooms are close together and all similar.
Guests are always welcome in the villa, it is just best to let Elizabeth know when you’ll be having someone around- she’ll probably already know cause she knows everything, but just make sure. The only guests that can sleep in the house are students from other Pepperdine European International Programs, and they can only do this if a student is gone for the weekend and has offered their bed for use, and the guest has cleared this with both their home program and the program they are visiting. It sounds like a complicated process, but it really isn’t all that hard, you just have to plan ahead and try to give about a week notice if possible. This process works in reverse as well, so we can stay in the Heidelberg and London houses when we want to. Not sure about the French Program place yet. All other guests, even if they are Pepperdine students from Malibu cannot sleep in the house. They have to get a hostel or hotel room somewhere in Florence which is not all that hard or expensive (at least it does not have to be all that expensive but certainly can be if you want it to be). There is a hotel right down the street from the villa which is within two minutes walking from the villa. This is a popular one with visiting family members- I forget its name though.
Since you only have classes four days a week, that means there are three day weekends. While most people tend to travel on weekends, the villa is open for you to stay in, work in, etc. the only thing is that there are not the meals that you would get on the weekdays. The only limitation on curfew that are ever imposed on you over there is on Sunday night. You are supposed to be back to the villa by midnight on Sunday. This is not a huge deal, just let Elizabeth know before hand if you won’t be able to make it back from your weekend travel before midnight on Sunday and you can get an exemption. I don’t think this curfew applies to going out in Florence on Sunday night, but I’m not sure about that.
The program office, Elizabeth’s office, and the faculty residence are all located off one main entry hall above the music room. The program office will be able to help you out with any faxes, mail or anything else you may have to deal with. They around standard office hours during the week, including Friday. Elizabeth’s office is another place to go with questions or just to chat for a while. The faculty apartment is pretty secluded when the faculty member wants it to be, but there will be several instances in which you might get a tour.
As far as laundry goes, there is a laundry room just off the courtyard. There are several washers and driers in this room that can be used at any time by students. They are not quarter operated like the ones in Malibu are, they are operated by gettoni (token) which can be bought in the main program office for about 1.50E. Every two weeks or so, each student gets two gettoni to wash their sheets.
In the student center, each student has their own mailbox for letters or just storage. They are more like cubbies than mailboxes because they are open and easy to access. You will get some of your mail here, but any packages or other mail will come into the program office, and will be available there,.
There are several student jobs available in the villa. I believe they are all meal set up and clean up duties. It is not a huge paying job or long hours, but it does create some income which is always nice. Details about the jobs will be available during orientation in Florence. I’m not sure whether or not you need work study or not to be able to work.
Clothing in the villa. Nothing is a real big deal except shoes. You have to wear something on your feet at all times while in the common parts of the villa. Sandals count, I think socks count, you just cannot be barefooted. Something about Italian law prevents this because the villa is considered a food service station or something. Just wear shoes or socks.
There are several places in the outdoor parts of the villa that are designated smoking places. You cannot smoke inside the villa. But feel free to pretty much anywhere else in Europe- everyone else does. Just use some common sense about it.
Apart from these rules and pieces of info about the villa, just use some common sense and you’ll be fine. There is so much more about the villa that I could write, but I’ll let it go for now and let y’all figure it out for yourselves. Any students that have already been there, feel free to add your own stuff about the villa and life in it. And be sure to let me know what I’ve left out. I’m sure I’ve forgotten something this time. There’s just too much to remember at one time.
Travel Guide Part XIV: Eurail Passes
Traveling by train is one of the best ways to see Europe. And Eurail passes make that process a bit easier and cheaper. Eurail runs in seventeen countries across Europe and goes pretty much everywhere. There are many different types of passes with all sorts of options on which ones to buy, and because they are fairly expensive- you’ll want to look into the passes before you buy them.
Here is a basic overview on the different types of passes. Note that all the prices I've listed are current as of 2005, and will probably change sometime in 2006. I've also listed the youth prices in tickets because youth is under 26, and as all of students are going to be under 26, that seemed to be the best price to put.
The first type of pass is a regional pass. This is the most basic type of pass and is limited to travel in travel in two bordering countries to be specified at the time of purchase. These passes are good for a specified amount of time (four to ten days) within in two months. The way the passes work is that you buy the pass, then activate it- that starts your time limit. Once the pass is activated- then you travel at will on it and mark off days as you go. This pass is good for a light few months of travel or a heavy week. Look into it because it is limited in the places you can go and the days amount of days you can use it, but it is much cheaper than the other passes. These passes run from about $200 to $330 (youth prices)depending on the countries you travel between and the amount of days you travel.
The next step up from the regional pass is the select pass. This pass allows you to travel for 5, 6, 8, 10, or 15 days within two months of activation within three to five bordering countries. This pass is kinda tricky because of the countries and days you have to choose from. Where the regional pass is preset on regions, you can make your own country combinations for the select pass. This means you can choose any five countries as long as they are connected. Youth passes on this one range from $240 to $550, that is a large gap- check this one out on eurail’s website if you’re thinking about it. It’s kinda complicated. www.eurail.com
The next pass is the most commonly bought pass by students from Pepperdine. It is the flexi pass. This pass can be used for either ten or fifteen days within a two month period, and this pass can be used to get you to any of the seventeen Eurail countries. It is fairly basic and seems to be student oriented. You can use it to go anywhere for a weekend and then the next, for two months. Just be sure you plan ahead so you don’t waste those valuable days because you run out of time. These passes are $451 for the ten day pass and $591 for the fifteen pass.
The last pass is the standard Eurail pass. This pass allows unlimited travel within a specified time period. This means once activated, you can travel as much as you want until the pass expires- across any of the seventeen Eurail countries. You can buy this pass in 15 and 21 days fashion, and also in 1, 2, and 3 month form. These passes would be best for those people that want to travel before the group arrives, during winter break, or after the group leaves. This pass is only worth it with repeated use over long distances, so before yo buy one, be sure you’re gonna be up to use it.
Some other things. Most of these passes are the second or third class tickets. If you need to get a class upgrade (which some trips require) that is an extra charge. Also, you still need to make reservations in most cases, especially if you want a bed compartment (extra charge for those too). And, should you want to ride the Chunnel, that is not covered by Eurail, but for having a pass, you do get a good discount (I think...)
This is a basic guide to Eurail. Some things might change before we get over there, so I may have to revise this at some point. And if I have forgotten anything I’ll be sure to put it in when I remember it.
Travel Guide Part XIII: Nightlife
The nightlife in Florence... there is so much to say on this topic. I'm not really going to go into all the details I could, but I will give a breif description that touches on some of the basics. If you want to know more- ask.
Having said that, you can go out and go clubbing. Bars in Florence are pretty much catered to American college students, Italians do drink, just not in the way Americans do. Italians will drink wine and after-dinner drinks for the most part, they will have some beer, not a lot of it. You will rarely see an Italian drunk in public. That is a
very American thing to do.
There are a lot of bars and clubs in Florence that you can find. I’m not gonna say a whole lot on this site about the specifics of each one, you can figure that one out for yourself and see which places you like. All the bar tenders will speak English, so don’t worry about that.
As for the times when we go out as a group, we have to watch out for eachother and that there
will be a “no man left behind” policy whenever we go out.
No one walks back to the villa alone, especially the girls or people obviously drunk. There will always be people willing to walk back with you, so take advantage of that and don’t do anything stupid.
Do what you must as far as the nightlife goes. For those people that don't drink- you can go out and go dancing or just take walks around the city. Just be smart, watch your friend's backs and do not do anything stupid.
Group Night Out in Malibu
Last night, nine of us got together with the Willis family and had dinner at Malibu Seafood. It was a nice break from final exam preparation, and a great chance to get to know the students and faculty family we will be living with next year. For those of you that came, thanks. It was fun and great to get to know you all a little better.
After dinner, we went to Malibu Yo, and got the chance to hang out there for a while. Several more joined us for that part of the night. Overall, we had a pretty good turnout for this close to finals.
We decided at dinner that we are going to have a (hopefully) whole group dinner sometime next semester. Dr. Willis said that his family was going to try to put something together for us back up at their house, but we should try to get out as a whole group sometime next semester. And, if that does not work out, then we will try to have smaller group outings every month or so.
Travel Guide Part XII: Identification and Theft
When traveling from Italy to another country, even another European Union nation it is a good idea to have your passport with you. This is a near essential and can help you avoid some major hassles. When in Italy, it is not a big deal to carry your passport with you everywhere you go, but you do need to have some identification with you at all times. This can be a driver’s license or Pepperdine Id card or pretty much anything else. You should also carry a photocopy of your passport’s front page and page with your visa in it with you at all times. Doing this can save you the trouble of having to find some suitable ID in a crisis and let the government know that you are legit, and while it is not as good as a passport, it is also not as big a deal if you should lose it. So, always have your photocopies with you, and carry the actual passport with you whenever you travel outside Italy.
Another time you need to have your passport with you is when staying at a hotel. The front desk will take your passport at check-in and return it to you after checking it with the Interpol data base. This is standard throughout Europe, so get used to it and expect it to happen. I don’t know about hostels though, can anyone help me out here? Do you have to show your passport when checking into a hostel?
Theft. Pickpocketing does happen across Europe, and in some places more than others. Buses and subways are always places you should be careful, as well as street markets. One way to avoid the hassle of having your wallet stolen is to wear one of those traveler’s belts that holds all that stuff in it in a more secure place than your pocket. This a pre-caution that I haven’t ever taken, I have always just been mindful of your surroundings and watch the people around you and you should be fine for the most part. When in a street market, pickpockets will try to get you in a crowd or by diverting your attention. This is when those belts are useful, but you can foil them by always moving and when you do pause, to keep a hand in your pocket or something like that. As far as the thieves go, they are usually either young men or children and are good at what they do. They will hardly ever be carrying guns- hardly anyone in Europe is allowed to, but they will occasionally be armed with knives. Just be aware and try to travel with company whenever possible.
Travel Guide Part XI: Interactions with Italians
This one is mostly for the women in the group. Guys won’t have any problem with Italians in general. You could probably go the whole year without having to speak to an Italian in a casual setting, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Women have more problems with Italian men because of the attraction, and then because of the habits and styles of Italian men.
Many of you probably aren’t looking for an Italian boyfriend, but if you are or were, it wouldn’t be hard to find a guy to take you out. Italian men are traditionally very touchy and pressing. They will come up to you and talk to you, and even follow you for a bit should you try to avoid a conversation. It is also common for Italian men to touch and be physical with women, and because that it is their custom, they won’t change their style for an American woman that might find that overdoing it.
There are several ways as a girl to show that you’re not interested. One way is to just ignore them and don’t make eye contact at all. Another is to always travel in groups, and preferably with at least one guy present to step in if needed. And the last is to wear a ring as a wedding ring. Just a harmless idea that may work or may not.
Girls that went in 03-04- any other things that I left out?
Travel Guide Part X: Clothes
Some people can tell from the clothes you wear whether or not you are a European in an instant. Pretty much all Europeans can tell Americans before they speak, just from the clothes, and if you’ve ever been around a lot of Europeans, you may be able to tell them apart as well. It really isn’t hard to notice once you know what to look for.
It is rare for Europeans to wear flip-flops, so if you want to try to fit in, leave those at home. They tend to wear nicer shoes, or else more casual tennis shoes. Not skate shoes but Puma’s or Adidas’. Most Europeans wear pants, it is rare to see shorts in day to day life. Granted, they do wear shorts for some activities and more often in some parts of the year than others, but as a general rule- pants or jeans. They don’t sag their pants either. Up at the waist and usually with a belt. Shirts are varied. Almost anything is common. They don’t wear much in the way of hats, especially baseball caps. If you want to fit in as best as you can, try to plan you attire according to those generalities and you should be fine.
Choice of clothing is also important in a few other instances apart from trying to fit in. For example, churches quite often have “dress codes.” They require pants or at least longer shorts- below the knee, sleeves on your shirt and no hats. It is a respect issue, so if you have to wear sleeveless shirts, make sure you have a pull-over to put on in case you visit a place with a dress code. It’s not a big deal to comply with the rules, just something that may catch you by surprise the first few times you experience it.
Travel Guide Part IX: Money
It is always a good idea to carry at least a little money with you at all times while you are traveling, and Europe is no exception. So many different and random things cost small amounts of money, and because you are largely unfamiliar with the environment over there, you always want to be sure you have enough money to cover any unforseen expenses. While it is a good idea to always have some money, you never want to have too much at any one time. Pickpockets and thieves do operate in large numbers in many European cities, so have money, just not too much. I’ll talk about that more when I talk about Identification.
Travel Guide Part VIII: Bathrooms
Public bathrooms in Europe are very much different than they are in the United States. While most every restaurant and bar will have a bathroom, most stores, grocery stores, etc. won’t have one. There are bathrooms in the train stations as well. As far as public restrooms in tourist spots, they are usually unisex and will often cost something like fifty Euro cents. This is a bit of an annoyance, but worth it most of the time. In Europe, bathrooms are called Water Closets for the most part. The abbreviation that you look for is WC. To ask where a bathroom is in Italian, say "dov’e un bagno."
That’s pretty much it as far as public facilities go in Europe, once again, if I forgot anything, please let me know and I’ll add it in.
