All entries for Tuesday 16 October 2018

October 16, 2018

Finding our Feet

To kick off this Warwick in Venice blog is a piece on finding our feet in our first week, discussing the challenges we encountered and the help we have received from the Warwick History department.

View of the Doge

I had avoided visiting Venice before this term abroad in order to really relish the surprise and beauty of the city when we arrived at the start of term, but perhaps this had some practical drawbacks. Landing at Marco Polo airport and lugging our heavy suitcases onto a boat to the city, and then up and down some of the hundreds of bridges Venice sports, was certainly an interesting and muscle-building experience, and we were relieved to be met by our landlord who helped with some heavy lifting near the apartment we had found with the help of the Warwick in Venice coordinators. We found our apartment fully furnished with all we would need to cook and clean for the term, maps to navigate the city, and wellies to wade through acqua alta if it ever occurs.

Basilica di San Marco

The next morning introduced us to Venetian supermarkets, and how to become comfortable shopping for our diets abroad, without the familiarity of Tesco or prices in sterling. This aspect of moving abroad is perhaps the most overlooked challenge, as the reality of not being a tourist isn’t immediately apparent and the delicious Italian restaurants are all too convenient. But on a student budget, identifying the Venetian equivalents of our home favourites was key. With this hurdle cleared, we enjoyed walking around Venice as tourists before checking out Warwick’s Palazzo Pesaro Papafava. We took in the beauty and overwhelming crowds of the Piazza di San Marco and the Rialto, enjoyed some sublime gelato, and noticed that the city is home to many friendly dogs.

Castello District

The Warwick in Venice programme is different from most study abroad experiences as the work completed over the term is summative and the staff are from Warwick University. That Warwick has its own palazzo with staff has made navigating the course content, library locations, and contact with the home campus much easier and less daunting. Having a lecture around the churches of Torcello and seminars in a Venetian palazzo, made for a much more authentic and meaningful learning experience, and it’s certainly engaging to see the buildings in your seminar readings from your apartment window. The Warwick staff have also helped us settle in to the student social life of Venice, by using their links with Ca’ Foscari to put us in contact with Italian students looking for English-speaking buddies. As a group we arranged some drinks in bars popular with Venetian university students and got some tips for settling into the city.

Grand Canal from Fondaco dei Tedeschi

Perhaps the hurdle many of the Warwick in Venice students were concerned about for the term was the use of Italian. Having learned it for two years, we have an idea of the language and have been better able to engage with and settle into Venice this past week. Of course, in many situations when our Italian knowledge hasn’t stretched far enough, Venetians have happily helped us in English if they have been able to speak it. I was even able to use some Italian to help fix my broken phone screen!

Piazza San Marco

All in all, there are some challenges to studying abroad, with the main issues of the degree course, finding accommodation, and speaking the language, but also including the menial tasks of food shopping. Fortunately, we have been prepped with a basic knowledge of Italian and have been guided fantastically by the Warwick in Venice coordinators in getting ourselves settled in for a stimulating term studying in Venice!


Charlotte Wilson, University of Warwick History Finalist



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