"Hey!...
...Doesn't
anyone speak English in this town?"
(overheard outside MacDonalds in Piazza di Spagna)
Depending on how well you speak Italian,
or how cool you are, or how politically correct
you are, if you're planning to stay in Rome for
anything longer than a fortnight, then sooner
or later you'll have had quite enough of speaking
Italian and quite enough cold salami and
prosciutto on crusty bread thank you very much,
and you'll start hankering instead after a bit of
steak and kidney pie (if you're English) or waffles
and syrup (if you're American). When that
happens, you'll realise it's probably not so
much the taste of the food you're missing, as
the taste of the conversation around the
dinner table - ENGLISH CONVERSATION!!
You'll be pleased to
learn that there are
numerous places in Rome where
Brits and Yanks get together (though not
necessarily Brits and Yanks together in
the same building.) The Yanks are rather
better at it actually, but for you lonely Brits
who don't mind standing up when you eat,
an American get-together in Rome is better
than no English-speaking get-together at all.
Conversely, if you're American and don't
mind standing next to someone who hasn't
had a shower for two days, an English
get-together in Rome is better than no
English-speaking get-together at all.
Click the links below to find where to meet
English speakers, (or at least overhear
English spoken, which can sometimes be
as refreshing as a drink from Rome's fountains
on a hot day!) and where to buy and
hire English language stuff.
Cinemas showing movies
in English
For a
weekly 'fix' of movietime, a safe bet is to drop in almost any
night at 'The Quirinetta' in Via Minghetti which shows two performances
of 'original version' (usually English) movies every weekday and
Saturdays.
Listed below are more cinemas showing English language films,
though only at certain times, usually one night per week. Phone
for their schedules (but you'll need to speak Italian to the person
at the other end of the phone):
Alternatively... click here to visit a site which lists up-to-the-minute
schedules of all English speaking movies currently
showing in Rome.
Alcazar: Via Merry del Val 14. Tel 5880099
Augustus: Corso Vitt. Emmanuel 203. Tel 6875455
The British Council: Via Quattro Fontane 20. Tel 478141
Greenwich: Via G. Bodoni 59. Tel 5745825
Majestic: Via SS Apostoli 20. Tel 6794908
Nuovo Sacher: Largo Ascianghi 1. tel 5818116
Pasquino: Vicolo del Piede 19. Tel 5803622
There's also the new Warner Village near Acilia - It's an out-of-town
venue, so there's space for eighteen screens, (at least two of
them state of the art), theme cafés, shops and a flight
simulator. They will occasionally show big Hollywood box-office
movies in English on their number one screen. Highly recommended.
Get there early or go to an early show - the parking lot is huge
but it soon fills up after dark.
English language
video hire:
Economy
Book & Video Centre
Via Torino 136. Tel 4746877
We also have BlockBuster
Video stores here in Rome now, several branches across the city
and suburbs, which is great, because not only do they really have
their act together, but they also have an Original Language section
in most branches. Be careful, as if it's a Spanish movie, that
means it'll be in Spanish, but if it's a British or American title,
it'll be in good old English. You can also hire Playstation and
Nintendo games there.
BlockBuster are a bit pricey, and there's a membership fee of
around 10,000 Lire, but with all the Star Wars merchandise and
popcorn buckets behind the counter, I guarantee you'll feel right
at home...
There are numerous other small independent video hire shops with
English language videos in Rome as well, but we've only listed
these two main ones.
Libraries with English
books:
The British
Council: Via Quattro Fontane 20. Tel 478141
The British Council is a sort of cultural extension of the British
Foreign Office and they have their fingers in a lot of pies in
connection with promoting the arts in Britain with markets and
sponsors overseas. As a sideline to this, they keep a small reference
library akin to the basic stock in any small British provincial
public library. In addition they have an excellent multimedia
reference information open-access suite of some twenty computers
available to library members paying a modest annual subscription
fee. Paying members may also borrow books from the library, but
it is open to all for browsing only.
Bookshops selling
English books:
Economy Book & Video Centre
Via Torino 136. Tel 4746877
You can also buy the
English
Yellow Pages
here, a 'must-have' publication for Brits and Yanks living in
Italy.
Anglo-American
Bookstore
Via della Vite 102. Tel 6795222
British and American
newspapers and magazines:
Most news-stands
in central Rome sell these, but they'll cost you more than at
home.
Studying in English whilst
in Italy:
There are of course many British and American universities with
campuses in Italy and Rome in particular. (You're probably reading
this in anticipation of an overseas semester spent in Rome) For
specific detailed information about academic overseas study opportunities,
consult your existing school, university or careers advisory service.
In addition there are also a number of Italian universities offering
British accredited degrees taught in English or part English and
Italian. One such is The European School of Economics.
Another
opportunity to study in English is offered by:
The Open University:
The Open University offers all its degree courses to Brits
living in Italy (or elsewhere), though it costs at least half
as much again as taking the courses in England, as they post all
the materials and video-cassettes of the the programmes to you.
ie: You don't need to buy a satellite dish and record all the
programmes yourself. So it's really a rather nice 'de-luxe' version
of the OU that you get for your money, and in the long run a more
profitable way of staying in touch with the sound of spoken English
than hiring movie-videos.
Clubs & Organisations:
There
are numerous organisations for expats which hold frequent get-togethers.
It has to be said though that most of these are charity orientated,
slightly staid and stuffy affairs geared for middle-aged social
climbers all hoping for a back door into an audience with the
Pope. There's little of interest for anyone born since 1960, and
you'd be better off just sticking to the night-clubs if you want
to meet other visitors from your own country.
For a list of organisations, social clubs and societies and many more useful English-speaking shops, services and contacts, try the English Yellow Pages
|
|
