Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

As an art history major, I thought that studying Sienese and Renaissance art in Italy was an entirely new and important experience as a student. I was living among the works I was studying, and now recognize the importance of direct experience in education - going to see art is always better than reading about it in a book! As for the academics, including Italian classes, I thought that the intensive month-long course at the Universita per Stranieri was a great chance to meet foreign students and to get a good basis of the language, though I had been told the other courses would not begin until after the first month, and that was not the case (which meant a lot of class in that first month, which can be a bit overwhelming). The CET Italian class was less useful, and tended to be redundant, as we were also taking a CET-student-only class at the University after the first month. I do think that there should be more options to take courses at the University, as it was nice to be with non-CET students in that first month, but got rather insular after.

On-site administration of your program

David, the program director, was accessible, and arranged for many group trips and organized events to get us oriented. I think that since CET is a small program, it was difficult to be independent, as all of the classes had strict attendance policy and all of the trips were through CET. The group spends a lot of time together, and so it tends to be hard to get away from a clique-like social life. David did a good job of trying to accommodate everyone that he could, though I know that sometimes this was difficult.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in an apartment in the city center with eight American girls from CET and five Italian students (girls) studying at the university. I lived with two roommates (Americans), and our apartment was large, taking over a whole floor of our building. The building was 4 Via d'Abbadia <br /><br /> The location of my apartment was incredible - right in the city center - but I would have preferred to have been in a smaller apartment, as it was difficult to spend my time speaking Italian, as well as getting privacy/space to do homework. Safety was never an issue and we all felt very secure.

The food in Italy is always wonderful - even in the cafeteria! We got mealtickets to the two mensas, the student cafeterias in the city which serve five-course meals. As I was in an apartment, I would go food shopping and cook for myself often, as well.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I loved the people on my program, but I recognize that if I hadn't, I would have been in a bad situation - since CET does a lot together - with classes, events, dinners, etc. there is little room to get out and make friends elsewhere. I think that while there was a great social network within the apartments and classes, I was shocked to find that I was mostly friends with Americans, when I had been certain I would be making Italian friends. It's difficult to meet people, especially with the language barrier and stereotypes of American girls. Also, the time spent in one semester is shorter than you expect. I loved all of the trips I went on with the group, including a tour through the aqueduct system of Siena and a bikeride through the countryside.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I always felt safe, and Siena is a very safe city in comparison with other Italian cities. I never had any health problems, so I can't comment on the first question.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

CET in Siena doesn't really have a homestay option, but I lived in an apartment with eight CET students (American girls), and five Italian students studying at the University. I think that this is a great setup, but because I was living with so many people, and so many Americans, I used Italian less than I would have liked. I like the apartment system, and think that living with Italian students is a great idea, but they do have less of an incentive to speak to American students if they have friends around and if they're not interested like a homestay family might be. I think that the best thing for my Italian conversation was that I signed up for a conversation exchange partner through the director of CET, who had a partnership with the University.

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• Apartment

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• Americans