Florence: Yes, that was real life... Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload in Florence through Fairfield University was a little bit easier than it usually is in Florence. Teachers all seemed to be friendly and willing to help their students whenever necessary. The attendance policy seemed to be similar to Providence, although there was more of a school-wide rule saying that if a student misses three classes, their grade drops a whole letter grade. As for the exams there were no quizzes in any of the classes I took, and with the one exception of my Italian class, the only tests I had were the midterm and the final exam.

On-site administration of your program

The program was extremely helpful, and offered a lot of free day trips as well as one weekend trip. They provided us with a museum card. which saved me a ton of money around Florence. As for the gym, I have to say I was unimpressed; it was so tiny that there was never any space to work out indoors. The classes were great, the size of the program seemed perfect, and my experience here in Florence definitely exceeded my expectations. I would come back in a heartbeat if given the opportunity.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I was in a perfect location; the apartment was in the middle of everything (classes and nightlife) and I always felt comfortable walking around the streets. To settle into my apartment, my roommates and I needed to buy a few drying racks, but that was it for the most part. We were already provided two sets of sheets and towels, a bunch of blankets, and lots of cookware, plenty for the six of us.

For the most part I ate in my apartment and bought groceries at Esselunga, which was a supermarket twenty minutes away by bus from the center of Florence. I highly recommend to go there because even though I had to take a bus, the food was much cheaper than the local "Meta" around Florence. As for eating out, Aqua Al Due was delicious, as well as Gusta Pizza and Dantes. I loved Tijuana, which was not an Italian restaurant, but a great mexican food place. For Gelato, Grom and Perche No were my favorites.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I went to the Viareggio Carnival, saw one of the Medici Villas, went on a gelato tasting, took a weekend trip to see Perugia, Assisi, San Gimignano, and Siena and took a tour of each city. I participated in the occasional dinners they hosted (which were delicious), and learned how to make tiramisu. Amazing.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The city was very safe-of course at night I always stayed in a group, just to be extra cautious, but I luckily had no bad experiences in this aspect. As for healthcare, our program gave us a health insurance card, which was extremely helpful, since I had to go to the doctor once and get a prescription for a cold. It was a free visit, and all I needed to do was pay for the antibiotics. It was easily located and the doctor spoke English, which was key. There was no vaccines I needed to get before coming to Florence either.

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

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• Apartment

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• Americans

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• Americans

• The advisors were super friendly and always willing to help if you had a question of any kind.
• The people I met were so nice and I know that I will be keeping in touch with so many of the friends I made through this program.
• The activities that were offered for free were so much fun and definitely worth it.

• The gym should be much bigger.
• The printers should be available all weekend long as well, especially to print out travel tickets.
• The art rooms should be open at all times if students want to work on their projects-they were never open on weekends.