On Sunday the 19th of November 2023, Sharlene Ruane, Roisin Prendergast, Elaine Brady, Eimear Finn and I set off on our Erasmus trip to Rome. On arrival that night, our first stop was to a traditional restaurant which set the tone for a week of Italian culture.

On Monday, we travelled the metro amongst the sophisticated Romans and made our way to our course centre in Garbatella. We learned that this area was home to the current Italian Prime Minister.

We were greeted by our enthusiastic facilitator, a New Yorker named Christine and we met our peers which consisted of eight Germans, one Cypriot and one Finn. It was an eclectic mix of people which wasone of the things we were looking forward to on this trip.

Over the week, our course ‘From Burnout to Balance’, discussed factors which contribute to stress and strategies we can use to combat them. It was both insightful and useful to hear what our peers found stressful in their learning environments and what they did to relieve stress in their life. We took away many ideas and tools which we use in our school life now. It was also very interesting to learn about their education systems and compare them to ours.

But our trip was not all work, we got the opportunity to explore the city and the many wonders of Rome. We visited The Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica, The Colosseum and the many Piazzas. We of course made a trip to the Trevi Fountain, we threw our coins in and look forward to returning some time.

Diane Marigliano