My study programme
My study programme was a little chaotic at the start because it remained unknown exactly what courses were at what “edificio” or university building, at what semester they would be and if they were going to be held at all. So, my initial plan had completely changed by the time I arrived in Siena. Furthermore, it was quite the challenge to plan approximately 25 ECTS – ergo, 3 courses – because every course was three days a week, making it difficult to create a decent schedule without any overlaps.
All in all, I ended up doing a course of Sociology (12 ECTS), Theoretical Philosophy (9 ECTS) and Roman History (6 ECTS). I have to add that the ECTS assigned to the courses was accurate, except for Roman History, since I had to study a lot more for that than the other courses, whereas I should have needed to study only about half the amount of time. Other fellow students felt the same way.
Language
Language was not a problem since we had actively studied Italian for the previous 1-2 years. The only difficulties I encountered were at the initial first lectures, when some lecturers would have a 3-hour monologue without breaks and without any PowerPoint presentation or whiteboard.
Furthermore, most people were able to speak English when necessary.
Finance and other conditions
Knowing that I would go on Erasmus to Italy in the future, I had saved up a lot of money on the bank to use for this trip. The Erasmus grant was not nearly enough to cover any of the expenses during my stay, though I have to admit it did help me stay out of any debts, so I am thankful. All in all, I did spend literally every cent of my money and found myself back in the Netherlands completely broke. Nearly all of my money went to accommodation, but I also enjoyed plenty of recreational activities and spent a lot on gas through my travels and food for me and my medium-big sized dog. My income consisted of my student grants (studiefinanciering) and rent for my apartment in the Netherlands.
Preparation and contacts with the faculty before, during and after my stay
Preparation and conclusion before, during and after my stay in Siena was chaotic, unclear and had a lot of paperwork, but I noticed that just by being patient and paying attention at the right moments everything would be cleared up. Also, occasionally I would ask advice from my fellow students and professor (M.E. Dicke) from Groningen. During my stay I also had the occasional Skype call with my professor M.E. Dicke for the Italian C1 course back in the RUG.
Housing
As previously stated, I went to Siena with my dog and by car, which meant I had to find adequate accommodation, as (shared) student housing would not do - because dogs are almost never allowed there. I started looking at the end of July 2019 and went on holiday to Siena (by airplane) at the middle-end of August to visit the apartments. Sadly, I was unable to find anything in Siena, but I did find a nice apartment with a small garden in Sovicille, a small town by car 15-25 minutes away from Siena. The rent, however, was €700 a month and that excluded the (very expensive) gas prices on the mountain/hill/countryside. It was a pain getting a gas contract for the apartment, but thankfully the landlady was able to help me with that. There was also no Wi-Fi.
Culture
Culture in Tuscany is a bit traditional and old-fashioned, despite it being less conservative than the more southern parts of Italy. Some things are pretty modern and innovative, like solar panels on the parking pay machines. Public transport within Siena was also pretty regular and easy, however the
moment you exited city walls it became very irregular – only 1-3 buses a day – and some Italian students had to wait hours for their classes to start or to finally be able to go back home. Administration- and paperwork in Italy also literally is paperwork, since hardly anything can be officially concluded digitally. The worst example is that I even had to send some specific handwritten letter (that was only available at the post-offices) to end my gas contract.
However, this old-fashioned side obviously also has its charm, but to me personally only for holiday or temporary stay. People would party and hang out on the streets, go out for snacks, and wine pubs and there is a lot of respect towards the elders. My time in Italy has convinced me that I love the country, but I would not want to live there for a longer time.
Free time & Travelling
During the first few weeks of my stay I (only) had my three acquaintances from Groningen in Siena with me, but the Erasmus meetups helped me meet new people and I would soon find myself accompanied by many new and different people, from all kinds of nationalities (Polish, Italian, German, Mexican, etc.). We hung out for Aperitivo (all-you-can-eat buffet if you buy some drinks), went to pubs and clubs and went out for lunch or dinner in various places in the city. With my car we were able to easily go to Florence, Bologna, Verona, other highly cultural and touristic towns, or my favorite, the Etruscan hot springs in Saturnia and, of course, also regularly to some nice walking route in the forest, hill or mountain.
