Italy: The Good and Very Little Bad Past Review
By Devin W (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS., Colby-Sawyer College) for
AIFS: Florence - Richmond in Florence and Internship Program
I loved the experience and learned so much about other cultures. I fell in love with Paris, though!
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | AIFS |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was very manageable (with the exception of Italian Language class), and the experience in general was great! It was very nice to have a break from the typical classroom in a U.S. Institution, though the standardization at ABC Italian school was a bother and moderately confusing. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Very friendly and knowledgeable, and extremely helpful. well done, AIFS! |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
very simple, but needed more cookware and the washer did not work well. |
| * Food: |
the food was quite good, but my financial situation restricted me from eating out very much. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I loved Cinque Terre, my independent trips to other towns (and Paris), and the tasting events at the school! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Very safe city; walking alone at night presented no problems whatsoever. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 30 or so euro on food shopping weekly, then free spending money |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | be careful, as money can disappear unexpectedly if you don't watch out! |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
students and shopkeepers, and occasionally program coordinators. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | It is a wonderful experience for anyone who is interested in experiencing a new culture, but be sure to make friends with your roommates! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Italian Language |
| Course Department: | GE105 |
| Instructor: | Sylvia Arru |
| Instruction Language: | Italian |
| Comments: | The class had a heavy workload and a standardized process that made it difficult to get information pertaining to grading or the course as a whole. The teacher was great, but she should have spent more time on vocabulary as this was a difficulty for many of us who were not accustomed to a language class in this manner. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | This was managed through my home institution, so it should all be fine. |
