From my experience to you. Past Review
By Dieg C (Riverside City College) - abroad from 09/03/2019 to 11/28/2019 with
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Florence, Italy
I learned many things while studying abroad, one important thing I learned to do was live on my own. This is very good for any student who is going to community college as I did because this gave me a chance to learn how to cook, be responsible for my own things, and learn how to live with roommates. Aside from that I learned how to speak enough Italian to at least get by, which was very helpful and even something you can put on your resume. One thing I noticed and found true for myself was that students who study abroad are much less shy a and outgoing that they were before they left.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I give this a 4/5 rating because the classes were not very difficult, but they did require you to put time aside to do the homework in order to be prepared for class. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The CAPA staff in Florence were some of the most helpful and kind people I have truly met, and aside from being very insightful and knowledgeable in their area of knowledge they were simply amazing people who connect with you on a personal level. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The living arrangements were quite nice and only a 10-minute walk to the CAPA center. They included furniture, fridge/freezer, a wide variety of spices, kitchenware, and anything else you might be missing within reason the landlord was more helpful. There was only one instance where we had difficulties with our washer machine but the landlord fixed it promptly and even invited us to visit his vineyard then after. |
| * Food: |
Italian cuisine is world renown for being nothing but delicious, and I can confirm that this is true. Food has a such a critical role within the Italian culture and thus, the quality and flavor of the food in Italy is one of, if not the best in the world. Some of my favorite foods include: lasagna bolognese, risotto, and my all-time favorite: tuscan steak. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Within CAPA there are certain activities and enrolled student can participate in such as meeting and interacting with an Italian family on a weekly/biweekly basis, meeting Italian middle and high school students, and cleaning and restoring the city of Florence with other volunteers, and many more. To be honest, it is up to the student to immerse themselves as much into the local culture as they were willing or comfortable to. However, there are many opportunities and ways to do so. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
For any typical health needs, there is health insurance included within the cost of the program that reimburses you with an insurance claim which need receipts as proof of a health need. For more severe needs there was always a member that was on call, so there was a 24-hour emergency line, thankfully I never needed to use it. |
| * Safety: |
The city of Florence is one of the safest cities I have ever been in, I am proud to say that I never felt in danger or threatened during my stay. In fact, I felt safer in Florence than I did in my own hometown, however that being said, one cannot be reckless as no city is free of danger, but simply using your common sense and general safety measurements on should be fine. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
One important thing that made a large difference in this program compared to others is that all the students were from the same school district and therefore we all had some common ground. Then after we got back to the United States some of us kept in contact and are now friends who shared the same experiences. |
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) |
Any extra costs during the semester were completely dependent on the student and therefore one can live as lavish or frugal as they desired. I personally tried to save money in as many ways I could with things I needed to buy such as food and toiletries in order to be able to spend more on independent travel. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Each week I spent about |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Although living on the euro is slightly more expensive than an American is used to, I was comfortably living on 25-40 euros a week on groceries while cooking at home. However, I found a lot of my money went towards dining out, which is expensive in Florence but if you learn how to cook at home you can easily save hundreds of dollars instead of dining out. When it came to traveling, traveling within Europe can be surprisingly cheap, a trip I took from Florence to Paris, London, Barcelona, and finally back to Florence with accommodation included cost me just under $400 over the span of 12 days, but they key to this was buying your tickets early as others took the same trip and spent close to 3 times more just buying tickets 2 weeks earlier. One final recommendation would be to get a Visa or Mastercard credit card with no foreign transaction fees to get the best euro exchange rate and earn cash back or points with money you were going to spend anyways. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
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? | During the summer (June-September) bring bug spray, and bring extra layers for the winter because air-conditioning is not common in Italy there are only heaters. |
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 Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
