Halfway around the world in the great country of Italy whose history includes the Roman Empire, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and cuisine with various types of wines and pasta, my fellow students are homesick for peanut butter. I was looking forward to experiencing all these historical places but also wanted to have great Italian cuisine. I had expected pasta with delicious sauces, various types of meats and pizzas, every meal with wine and gelato. As college students we opted for cafeteria food so we could save up for our travels. However, I have gone to enough restaurants to be able to say, after three weeks, that my stomach is unsatisfied.

After being served plain pasta twice a day for about a week, we realized that the food was not going to get much better than this. Luckily, the study abroad program provides travel weekends and weeks so we can experience an authentic European experience.

The first travel weekend a few friends and I ventured to Venice, Milan and Verona where we expected to do some shopping, see sights and have some outstanding Italian food. Shopping, done. Sights, done. Outstanding food? Well, suffice it to say, we left all three cities with an unsatisfied stomach.

Even though our experiences of fine Italian cuisine have been below par thus far, I remain optimistic and will not succumb to eating peanut butter no matter how much I miss the food back home.

Michelle Hsu, Warren, N.J.

Rutgers University, junior, communication major