Eric Ziff
Eric Ziff is a senior at the ILR School. He graduated from the Half Hollow High School East in Dix Hills, New York.
“I was in Rome, Italy. The program I was involved in was sponsored by Arcadia University, through a school in Rome—Academia Italiana. I lived in Trastevere and it is considered the people’s quarter of Rome. On the weekends, I traveled a ton—I had a great time.
“I knew I wanted to go abroad. I have friends who traveled abroad and they told me it would be an amazing experience. I have not been to Europe before. My parents thought that this would be an incredible opportunity to spend six months in a foreign country. It was a no-brainer. I have a friend who had been there and he absolutely loved it. I also liked the fact that I didn’t know many people who were going there. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and have a ‘true abroad experience.’ I have always been in love with Italy. My family is part Italian—the food, the dolce vita—everything about the culture really enticed me.
“The application process isn’t that hard as long as you do it in a timely fashion. Get your application in early. The requirements and the paperwork are not that difficult.
“You get out of your comfort zone. I didn’t speak a word of Italian. I didn’t know anyone that was going there. You learn a lot about yourself when you put yourself in an uncomfortable situation. At this point in my education, I am very comfortable at Cornell. I know a lot of people here. I know how things work. It’s a nice change of pace to go somewhere where you’re not so comfortable, where you don’t know anybody and you can’t even communicate with most of the people. So, you really learn a lot about yourself and you get to learn what you’re made of. That was the best part of it.
“I took two classes on the European Union which were very interesting. You can read the news but you don’t have that much exposure to what the Union is. It was fascinating to learn about the Union in its early stages. In its early stages, it resembles the United States in a number of ways. And to have someone from there teach you about the evolution and the process was very enriching. On top of that, I took an Italian class and I became very familiar and comfortable with the language. I also took a photography class. In ILR, you don’t have a lot of time to take ‘liberal arts’ electives and this was a great opportunity.
“I think the culture of Italy, Rome in particular, is one of the richest in the world. I would walk around at night—I would walk by the Coliseum, the Pantheon. I don’t think there is any place in the world where you have the opportunity to see these buildings that are thousands of years old. It was incredible. You can’t beat the food. The people are so warm. It gave me a perspective on a part of the world. It gave me a breadth of knowledge that I didn’t have before.
“The staff and the professors who taught the courses I took were top-notch. The orientation process was very professional. It made us all very comfortable. It was a small program. There were only 30 students. There was never a time where I felt uncomfortable. I got sick at one point in the semester and I was able to call the head of the program and they found a great doctor who took care of me.
“Because it was small, it felt like I was part of a small family. We went on trips together. It’s a great program. I definitely recommend it.
“When you live in a foreign country for six months, you learn so much. Just seeing how schools operate in a foreign setting. It is such an enriching experience. If you have the means to do it, you should participate in it.”
