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"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
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