I’m currently two days into my semester at CIMBA, and I’m feeling very excited for the upcoming semester. Although I haven’t been on campus long enough to share any exciting travel stories, I do have a few tips for a smoother arrival to campus.
Packing for CIMBA
Before leaving for CIMBA, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to pack. There are a few things I brought that I think some people might not think about, so I’ll share that here.
- Comfortable shoes for hanging around campus (I brought my Boston Birks, which have been handy. Classes are right downstairs, so it’s not necessary to fuss with your boots or sneakers all the time)
- A swimsuit or two (it is January here, but CIMBA has an indoor pool. Also, by the time we leave in April, there will be places in Southern Italy that are just warm enough to swim)
- Comfortable clothing (I brought several sweatshirts and pairs of leggings for when I’m on campus. I know everyone dresses nicely when traveling on the weekends, but campus is a little more lowkey and it’s nice to have loungewear)
- Travel-sized bottles of all your products (You’ll need these for traveling on the weekends. You definitely won’t want to take all your full-sized bottles with you)
- Photos of your friends and family back home (Because you’re flying to campus, it’s hard to bring things to personalize your dorm room. I slipped a few photos into my suitcase and taped them up once I got here. It made my space feel a little more like home)
I feel like I packed mostly everything that I needed, but there was one thing I didn’t think about, and I wish I had: towels. CIMBA provides students with one large bath towel and two smaller hand towels, but that’s it. I wish I had packed more towels, but it wasn’t the end of the world because I ended up buying a set of towels on our mall trip. However, if I had planned ahead, it would’ve been more convenient.
Flying and Arriving
Before flying to CIMBA, I had never taken an international or overnight flight; I will say, my first experience was not great. I didn’t sleep a wink on the plane, and I landed feeling incredibly jet lagged.
My saving grace was something that I’d originally thought was a major inconvenience.
When booking my flight to Venice, I was unable to find a flight that would arrive early enough for me to catch CIMBA’s shuttle to campus. So, I booked a flight that arrived a day sooner and planned to spend the night in a hotel near the airport. Initially, I was a bit annoyed and felt like having to get myself to a hotel after a long travel day would just add to my stress. However, taxis were readily available outside of the airport, and for 20 Euros, I took one straight to the hotel.
I entered my hotel room feeling like a hungry, sleep-deprived zombie. After a good night’s sleep, two showers, and a chocolate croissant for breakfast, I left the next morning feeling much more refreshed. If you feel comfortable getting to and from a hotel, I recommend going that route. I felt much more like myself than I would have if I had gone straight to campus after an 18-hour travel day.
The Dorms
After being shuttled to campus, we were each given a key to our rooms and about 20 minutes to settle in before other activities started. My dorm is a premium single room, which is $75 extra for the semester but highly worth it. I have a full-sized bathroom with an enclosed shower, more storage, and my room is bigger than the regular single rooms. I also think it is important to note that most of the CIMBA students were able to get single rooms, and it wasn’t difficult to purchase a premium single room either. It seems like students are highly likely – at least during the semester – to get their first choice of rooms.
That’s all the advice I have for now. Hopefully next time I write, I’ll have some travel experiences to share with you! Ciao!
Sydney