program that was flexible for me to personally visit 10 countries Past Review

By sam r (Microbiological Sciences and Immunology., The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 09/07/2014 to 12/19/2014 with

Arcadia: Florence - Accademia Italiana Florence

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

I developed into a cultured being, medium level art junkie, full blown food addict, and most importantly transformed from obnoxious tourist to picture-taking traveler embracing all types of scenery.

Review Photos

Arcadia: Florence - Accademia Italiana Florence Photo

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	Renaissance Art was unexpectedly rigorous perhaps because Florence is the birth of the Renaissance. Other than that classes were very laid back, teachers always tried to incorporate daily culture and show you historical places around the city as part of lecture.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Barbara and Iris were so awesome! Very patient with all our questions and of course prompt and accessible.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	Fall 2014 was unexpectedly a low student turnout. So we had an apartment that could probably sleep 10, for 4 girls. We each had our own room and 2 bathrooms/ 2 kitchen/ large living room/ bottom level studio/ balcony. We were on a very popular street, 4 min walk from the duomo, 15min walk from school. Our landlord was very nice, only complaint was losing wifi for a solid weekend (horrible- right after midterms too). Everyone always raved about our apartment and how lucky we were (Arcadia always has these apartments).
* Food:	Near the school, Gusta Pizza (best pizza in town as said by locals) Gusta Panino (solid paninos) Near Apartment Gusto Leo (fav pizza because so close) Yellow bar (favorite of many for pasta) i ghibellini - go to their aperitivo (buffet w/adult drink) - best in town as said by my roommates and I - Soul Kitchen is also a good place for aperitivo Food was amazing!!! Try Pecorino cheese (w/ honey), any type of infused Salami, creamy Gelato, Nutella- filled croissants.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	Accademia Italiana is an international school so there are many people from Sweden, Eastern European countries, and Italians. There are some Italians you can definitely befriend if approached nicely. If you go in with an open mindset and friendly attitude making local friends is surely possible. This is highly dependent if you travel alot during the weekend, I traveled alot while one of my flatmates did not, she created a stronger bond with our classmates. Go to a Fiorentina soccer game, see how many words you know in Italian/bond with local Italians, that is a true measure of how integrated you truly are.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	Never used it (luckily). Flatmates did, they never had any problems with the system. The English Doctor is right behind the H&M we pass going to school.
* Safety:	Nothing EVER happened to anyone I personally knew being in Florence. But I did happen to witness/hear someone running down our street with some american's purse. The girls were yelling and chasing him to give it back (never do that please). Luckily some guys grabbed the guy and the girls were able to get their stuff back. Another example, we were going on a school trip to Rome- within the 5 min from getting off the bus to the hotel my friend was pickpocket-ed. Always be aware of your surroundings, make sure your bags can zip up, and try to not draw attention to yourself by speaking overly loud in English. Pickpockets are highly trained- watch out for them in Rome, Paris, and Verona.
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)	expensive city, but easily manageable - eat at home during the week, eating our everyday for lunch can add up fast. Especially if you want to travel during the weekend. Make the 99 cent store your playground for household things.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	90 dollars a week, each weekend trip probably 200 dollars alone
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Decide what is more important, travelling glamorously or eating glamorously. That is what is comes down to, food adds up so fast. (2.50 euro croissant and espresso) (4 euro panino) (3 euro gelato). I would go grocery shopping 1x a week maybe 1x every 2 weeks and prob never spend more than 25 euro. Of course I would eat out during the weekend or if I had nothing in my pantry, I definitely decided that I wanted to travel more and eat more diverse foods while visiting.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Apartment
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Local Students Americans International Students
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	free trips to Rome, Sorrento weekend trip to Il corno
* What could be improved?	better library to study
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	do not be scared to smile and say hi, introduce yourself... also I wish I would have known about Duolingo (the language teaching app).

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	History of 20th Century Fashion
Course Department:	TXA 327
Instructor:
Instruction Language:
Comments:	TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU LOVE FASHION HISTORY. This class was so interesting, but sometimes the professor could make it a little tiresome with her fast lecturing and us trying to take notes. If you cannot keep up- definitely purchase the book (her lectures are heavily based on it). The professor gives very broad essay question exams, questions like "Coco Chanel influence in the 20's - 30's lifestyle, influence, etc." although you may want to do a brain dump, it is important to give details and make connections to her and really analyze the outside world to her. ex. coco was avant garde, transitioned from belle epoque, fake jewelry popularized, was not popular in hollywood. The professor also arranged (free) museum trips to the Ferragamo and Cappucci museums. Very knowledgable with many connections and very helpful.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Elementary Italian I
Course Department:	ITL 419S
Instructor:	Veronica
Instruction Language:
Comments:	At times a little challenging, I remember freaking out during midterms/ finals mainly because of all the material we learned. (M-Th class 2 hours a day). Veronica is such a sweetheart, she is young joyous person thus very approachable and most importantly patient. Veronica would take us to practice our Italian by taking us to cafe's, gelaterias, or restaurants. For this class, use flash cards for vocab/ and definitely make charts with all the conjugations of verbs to keep things in order. I advise and encourage to actually take this class seriously, you do not want to go home only learning how to order food or saying 'ciao/grazie'.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	History of Tuscany
Course Department:	HIS362G
Instructor:	Dr. Capponi
Instruction Language:
Comments:	Field trips all over the place! We learned so much about not only Florence and its marvelous history but about the culture and standards of people living in the times of the Medici and the modern day. Dr. Capponi though at first intimidating, really enjoys teaching about his city and most importantly teaching life lessons incorporating etiquette and philosophies. Our class started off with 15+ students then it finally dwindled to the "final four" we really enjoyed this class, a must take if you want the genuine 'Italian study abroad class'.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Photographing Florence
Course Department:	ART 320K
Instructor:	Cosimo
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	At times we would have random class field trips (even if it is raining). Cosimo was very knowledgeable but he is young and was probably not the best at teaching. Homework (if any) consisted in bringing in a picture you liked and examining the technique and style in front of class. "Final" was power point presentation of 10+ images talking about the styles and techniques. I definitely learned alot, but at times this class felt like a drag, we would spend hours going through one book looking at photographers photos.. Field trips were nice I definitely "photographed Florence".
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	History of Italian Renaissance Art
Course Department:	ARH 331L
Instructor:	Franco Fiesoli
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This course was a challenge in terms of remembering the in depth material we were given, I guess I should have expected it based on our location. At first the material can seem boring, but once you start traveling throughout Europe and see how widespread and important the Renaissance was you will appreciate being able to distinguish Da Vinci from Raffaello. Franco was such an expert on the subject matter, every class (1X a week) for the first hour we would take a field trip to one of the many museums or churches around Florence. Definitely had to study for the mid terms and final, homework was based on what he lectured, research paper can be on any topic- do not leave for last minute. Do not need to buy the textbook, just take active notes throughout class and ask questions.
Credit Transfer Issues: