Monash Prato Student Report

Jessica Zikman

Monash Law's claim to be an internationally-focused 'law school for a changing world' can appear somewhat distant when studying subject after subject inside the confines of the David Derham Law Building at Clayton. However, the Faculty's commitment to internationalism rapidly became apparent to me upon my arrival in one of the world's most beautiful countries, Italy.

Admittedly though, my post-arrival sentiments towards Monash Law were not altogether positive. In addition to the jet-lag and exhaustion, this was probably a direct consequence of the two oversize backpacks (weighing collectively 35 kilograms, comprising what seemed to be the heaviest Equity and Civil Procedure textbooks that money could buy) that I was lugging through the sweating and shoving masses swarming within Rome's Fiumicino Airport. Those backpacks were both my best friend (a useful pillow!) and my worst enemy (damn heavy!) as I endured the forty-five minute train ride from Rome Airport to Rome Termini (the central station), and then the four hour train ride from Rome Termini to my home of the next few months - Florence.

Florence, or Firenze (pronounced "Fear-en-say") as you will definitely come to call it, is a beautiful city that certainly provokes a longing sigh from anyone who has had the fortune to visit it, let alone live there. Florence transforms the close-quartered, community-oriented bustle of any European city into a more intimate and slow-paced affair. Thus when you are frantically power-walking to the station to catch the 8:41 am train to Prato (all the while blaming Italy’s irresistibly inexpensive vino for your headache), you will not encounter a city chaotic and bustling in its peak hour, but rather a city slowly waking up. Indeed, the morning walk to Stazione Santa Maria Novella invariably takes you past shopkeepers raising their aluminium roller doors, talking loudly and gesturing flamboyantly, past market stalls being arranged, and past a few keen tourists lining up outside the Duomo. It is within this leisurely atmosphere that you will find every monument, museum, church or market within a short walk of your accommodation. And it is this closeness that inevitably weaves you into a community where you will, albeit fleetingly, belong.

The train journey from Florence to Prato takes 25 minutes on an express train, or up to 40 minutes normally, and trains run quite frequently (except over lunchtime due to siesta) - but are not always on time! The cost is around three euros return, and you can purchase a weekly ticket for ten euros or a monthly ticket for thirty euros. Students obtain discounts by purchasing a Carte Verde for around thirty euros, but this only discounts train travel on long trips (ie: Rome to Florence) and monthly tickets, so it is only worthwhile if you will be doing lots of day or weekend trips while you are in Italy.

Despite the beauty of Florence, arriving in Prato for class is always a relief. Prato encapsulates all that the term ‘Tuscan town’ evokes. While Florence’s streets are narrow and its sidewalks non-existent, Prato offers space. While Florence is overrun by noisy vespas and crazy drivers, Prato offers quietude. The transformation occurs before your eyes during the train journey, as stock standard apartment complexes give way to rolling hills of all shades of green, with terracotta villas randomly perched among them. You can feel that the air is cleaner, and the streets are too. The centre of town is a big piazza where locals feed the pigeons, and the Duomo church dwarfs a quaint little fountain. This is a few minutes walk from the smaller train station, Prato Porta al Serraglio, which is also only a few minutes walk from the Monash Prato Centre.

The Monash Centre at Palazzo Vaj is a restored palace that dates to the 15^th Century and is thus very important to the local Pratese. The Centre is beautifully decorated and provides large classrooms, quiet rooms for private study, a computer room, small library and everyone’s favourite - the terrace. The setting certainly provides an enhanced context for studying subjects such as Comparative European Legal Systems, as every day brings experiences which highlight the intricate cultural differences between Australia and the European nations. Indeed, when classes move out to the terrace permanently, you can tell the group mindset has shifted irrevocably to the Italian way. Accompanying this culture change are the increasingly frequent coffee breaks, the constant gelati cravings (and debates as to where to best satisfy them), the rapidly acquired wine expertise and the daily desire for an afternoon nap.

The choice as to whether to live in Florence or Prato is ultimately a personal one. While Prato is more convenient, those living in Florence did not find the train journey unpleasant or a nuisance. There is certainly more apartments to choose from in Florence (and hence the search is much easier), but you may get better value for money in Prato. Both cities provide excellent wining and dining, although in Florence the night-life certainly never ends. From bars that offer a complimentary buffet when you purchase a cocktail, to nightclubs such as Central Park with a ferris wheel at its centre, there is always something happening or somewhere to be. It is perhaps this social aspect that attracts most Monash students to living in Florence, as you’ll no doubt be living within only a few streets of your fellow party-goers.

After experiencing all these adventures and more, I would participate in the Prato program all over again if possible. Hundreds of hours working two jobs over summer, the endless planning, searching for accommodation, obtaining a visa and eventually packing, ultimately transpire to allow you to board a plane destined for the experience of a lifetime.

As a secondary college student facing the difficult decision of where to study law, I was predominantly attracted to Monash's Law School for its claim to being 'the law school for a changing world'. For me, the Prato program is a vindication of the university's claim and my ultimate choice.