Accommodation and pre-departure preparation
As I mentioned before, I got a free accommodation on campus. It worth €4950 and I see no reason why I should give up and find somewhere else to live. After I came to ITCILO and talk with my classmate, who both live on and off campus, I found that for those who came from less income country, likely got both 50% subsidize of tuition fee and free accommodation on campus. I have no idea if it is possible to get 50% discount in tuition fee only and live outside, I didn’t see accommodation choice when applying so it might be good idea to ask for when applying (please give me a feedback if you manage to secure this). So which one is better? I will describe both good and bad side of living on campus.
Good things:
- Convenience, here is like you are staying at the full service hotel, soap, shampoo, towel, daily cleaning
- No need for daily transportation, wake up 8am and go to class on time is a plus
- Breakfast included (though this is disaster)
- €14 worth of laundry service included (full service, not a coin operated laundry)
- 24hrs reception, can receive package from Amazon or home
- Internet is free, good speed but blocked several site include torrent…
Bad thing:
- Breakfast is shit, free coffee is shit… oh common here is Italy, at least give me real coffee
- No cooking possible, fridge is provide at reception, microwave oven at canteen
- No eating allowed in room, but who care?
- Room is carpeted, super dusty and A/C (heater) is not very effective
- Cleaning mates are vary from nice gentle lady to the immigrant who hate her job
- Laundry is expensive, €14 is very limiting
In conclusion, if you have to pay for your accommodation here, DON’T, stay elsewhere. My classmate rent is vary from €300-500 up to size, location, etc. If the place is far and need to take a public transportation, weekly or monthly ticket is €12, €38 respectively. Bicycle is about €80-100 for a brand new, not fancy one, you might found some second-handed one for sale around €50.
If you stay on campus like me, it is a good idea to bring:
- Basic stationery
- Knife, small one is ok but Swiss Army knife may not easy to use
- Dish, microwave container box, spoon, basic utensils and washing sponge
- Water boiler, hot water is provide at dispenser but it is not boiling hot. May not enough for instant noodle
- A lot of dry food! Bring your home here especially if you are not the western
- Coffee machine, if you are caffeine addicted and disgusted instant one like plague
Anyway you can buy something you forget to bring here without blowing your budget, there are a few cheap China made goods store near campus that I will cover it later.
About residence permit and air ticket, you might thinking of stay a bit longer here to do some sightseeing after the course end. Forget about it! You will be forced to leave the country as soon as the course end because it is seems to be an arrangement between ITCILO and the immigration bureau that residence permit will issue only up to the following Monday after the course end ( My course end on 18 May and permit is expire on 21 May). Forget about stay period you might have on your visa, yes I ask Italian embassy in Bangkok to give me a bit longer visa and they did give me 2 weeks beyond the course end, proofed to be useless. You might be able to extend this but at your own expense (€100++ and a lot of headache) and you can not travel outside Italy during application period. The traveling unit of ITCILO will make sure you have a return ticket within expiry of residence permit and trust me they are very stubborn and never leave you alone. So for your own sake, just buy the return ticket no later than 3 days after course end. If you do really want to do some sightseeing here, try it before the course start. My classmate got a visa valid from Oct and stay period 200+ days! A few of them also arrive 2 weeks earlier, so you have a plenty of time to see the place. However, keep in mind that residence permit need to apply within 8 days of arrival in Italy, don’t go too far and get in touch with ITCILO staff who will help you apply for the permit (the cost is included in tuition fee).