Past Review
By Eileen C (ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE/LETTERS., Providence College) for
Fairfield University: Florence - Semester or Year in Italy
It is hard to put into words just how incredible my study abroad experience was. Throughout my four months of living and studying in Europe I experienced situations that were challenging but helped me gain a new sense of confidence and taught me alot about myself. I learned that it is important to keep an open mind about everything because it enables you to accept opportunities you would normally shy away from and could in turn gain positive, life-changing, eye-opening experiences from. My experience has implanted the desire to travel the world more and witness first-hand the different cultures and ways of life outside of the 'American bubble' I had been living in. I would absolutely urge others to take the opportunity to study abroad as it was the best four months of my life. It was life-changing and something that I will always cherish and appreciate.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
All of my teachers were very knowledgeable and skilled. The workload was lighter than my home institution which alleviated stress and made learning more enjoyable as I never felt overburdened with an excessive amount of assignments |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program administrators were extremely helpful throughout my entire experience abroad. They were always available to answer any questions I had and made me feel very comfortable in my environment. They set up wonderful programs and trips for us and were very insightful and knowledgeable about the country we lived in. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in an apartment in the city center of Florence. My building was Via dei Servi. I lived with 5 other American students and an Italian family lived in the apartment below us. <br /><br /> Overall I was very pleased with my housing situation. However, as I lived with all American students it did not help my Italian language skills as I was not forced to speak Italian in my apartment. This however was the only downside to my living arrangement. I was in close proximity to my classes and nightlife. We hardly had to buy any items to settle-in, simply a few cleaning products. |
| * Food: |
Food in Florence was amazing! I feel it would have been better if our program provided us with some sort of meal plan. However, I would suggest dining at Aqua al Due. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I went to a soccer game in Florence which was arranged by our program and it was amazing to see all the Italians there, cheering and showing such pride in their country and support for one another. Our program took us to Siena, Perusia, Pisa, Assisi and San Gimignano. Each place was unique and amazingly historic. Even when it was raining the day we went to Siena I still had an awesome time walking around. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt extremely safe living in Florence. When one of my roomates injured her foot one of our program administrators took her to the hospital and she was treated right away with no difficulties. The health care was different because she was not sitting in a waiting room for hours but was treated almost immediately. |
| 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) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I was not expecting the high cost of airfare and would advise future students to be aware of this and try to plan trips as soon in advance as possible. As I did not have a meal plan I spent a lot of money eating out at restaurants which one the one hand was great because I was able to try alot of unique dishes but it got to be very expensive. My phone bill was also relatively high, I would advise students to look into a good cell phone plan before going abroad. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
While most people in Florence spoke English, I put forth the effort to speak as much Italian in everyday conversation as I was capable of since I was very eager to improve my Italian language skills. I would advise others to not feel intimidated to speak a new language since many of the locals appreciate any attempt to learn their language instead of simply speaking English. I would also advise others not to only interact with other Americans while abroad but to be sure to interact with locals so as to improve language skills. |
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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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Be completely open to everything, everyone, every opportunity. Dont be afraid to experience something that is absolutely foreign to you, because it could be life changing, and the best thing you've ever done. Be willing to feel out of place at times but know that this feeling WILL pass, because studying abroad is not an easy thing to do but is completely worth it and an unbelievably amazing experience if you give yourself time to adjust. |
