After nearly a year since Temple University students were pulled from study abroad programs, students have returned to Rome and Japan.
Students returned to Rome in January after the program was put on pause last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite heavy restrictions and a 14 day quarantine, students are still having a great time.
“I’m having an amazing time, one of the best experiences, well literally the best experience of my life” said Kayla Jackson, a junior communications major who is currently in Rome studying.
The university put in place the four pillars of public health which include washing your hands for at least twenty seconds, practicing social distancing, monitoring your health and wearing a mask.
Just like students in Philadelphia who have in person classes, students in Rome will be required to get tested weekly. If students test positive, they will be sent to an isolation facility for two weeks.
The government imposed a strict mask mandate which requires anyone outside to wear a mask. If they do not wear a mask they can be fined up to $1,163.
Franz Utomo, a junior political science major who transferred from Georgetown University because of the Rome program, feels safer in Rome than he does in America.
“The mask enforcement is really in place, the government really takes everything seriously, Romans take things seriously so it’s, I mean I feel a lot safer here” Utomo said.
While COVID-19 is still raging in Italy and The United States, Italy has seen a weekly average of 12,039 cases while The United States has seen a weekly average of 81,200 cases, according to New York Times data.
“It’s kind of opened my eyes of how if people care about others and how if we all cooperate things get better” he said.
The program is expected to continue throughout the rest of the semester and the application for the summer abroad has opened.
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