Florence Journey Suprassed My Expectations Past Review

By (History, Society and Culture, Colby-Sawyer College) for

AIFS: Florence - Richmond in Florence and Internship Program

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I gained a wider knowledge of Italian history and and culture alos an appreciation for art. It made me consider what I would like to do in the future with my career.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

The program was helpful when we had questions and we coul rely on them to help us. They had a great deal of knowledge when it came to the host country and my expectatations were met.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

there were some issuse with the appartment that made living there pretty uncomfortable but we got over it and over the appartment was good

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Trips to the museums were amazing and we were always given activities to do every week like cooking class or a soccer game.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

Safety isn't a big issue as long as you are smart. It wasn't any different than a city in America

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* 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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? after we were given money for food I spent about 20 euro a week on groceries and maybe another 20 on other things
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? don't spend too much on useless things and save for trips

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Language acquisition improvement?

most people spoke english so I didn't need to use Italian very often

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? A student that doesn't want to go just to get drunk and party but to see the art and history and also the culture and language would benefit.