Life changing in every realm possible! Past Review
By Samantha Giordano (Indiana University - Bloomington) - abroad from 01/15/2016 to 04/23/2016 with
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Florence, Italy
I gained much more self-relying skills. That is, I feel comfortable doing things on my own and stepping out of my comfort zone. I do these things more easily at home due to my time abroad.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| 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. |
Studying with CAPA was by far the most rewarding experience of my life! They provided me with much more than simply an education. Teachers took students throughout Florence to get a hands-on experience and learn about the culture in a real-world setting. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
At times there was some confusion when coordinating with the administration, but besides that they were all phenomenal. They took the time to learn about all of the students and truly cared about helping all of us. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My apartment was incredible. The landlord was so helpful and nice, and the actual apartment was in the best location. Everything worked properly and if there was ever an issue then it was fixed immediately. |
| * Food: |
Oh gosh don't even get me started. The food was the entire reason I chose Italy in the first place, and my expectations were definitely surpassed. Everything was so fresh, local, and cheap! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
CAPA has awesome programs in order to help you immerse yourself in the Italian culture. I wish I would have done more with local Italians but my experiences did not disappoint! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Halfway through the semester I got a kidney infection and was hospitalized for a couple days. The staff at CAPA helped me figure out how to handle it, they visited me in the hospital, and overall were incredibly helpful with my immersion back into classes. |
| * Safety: |
Thankfully since Florence is a pretty touristic northern Italian city, there isn't much crime to be concerned about. Granted with the refugee criss and other worldly problems going on, there is an influx of "foreigners" in the city and there is an increase of military surveillance around. Nothing happened while I was there, but I was definitely aware of the possibilities. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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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) |
Pretty easily! Traveling took up a lot of my money but in my opinion it was worth it. Besides that though everything is the same if not cheaper! |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
We had many field trips with our Italian class just to go out into the city and speak the language. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None in the relevant language |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| 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? |
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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? | Interact with the teachers more! They know the city better than you ever will and it will give a cool lens to look at everything. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
