Pulchritudinous Past Review
By Matthew A (Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas., Trinity University) - abroad from 05/15/2012 to 06/30/2012 with
Gonzaga University: Gonzaga-in-Florence
It was worth every cent. I gained a lot of new friends, a new excitement in life, a taste of Europe that will probably never be sated. Wanderlust.
Review Photos
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. |
Not too difficult or rigorous for the classes that I took. Class 4 days a week encourages travel. Library at the school was good enough, the school provided some of the books that I would need. Overall it was a good summer. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Love Italy. Love the people I met. Love the Gonzaga administrators, they were really knowledgeable about the city, the country, Europe in general, food, travel, everything. They were seriously great. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing was decent. The food was fantastic, but having a night guardian guy that had to buzz us in was sometimes problematic when you come home drunk at 4 in the morning. He didn't really appreciate that but...whatever. One thing that our place of stay could have improved upon was air conditioning. It was extraordinarily hot in Italy this summer and going home was no relief to it because there was no AC. None. Keeping the windows open helped...but it let in mosquitoes and those things are just ugh. Other than that I absolutely loved living there. |
| * Food: |
Scrumptious. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Meh. Didn't meet many Italians but I had a ton of fun with the Americans I met. The one family of Italians that I did get the chance to meet were absolutely splendid, very nice and pleasant and they cooked great food. They were a lot of fun as well. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Didn't have an experience with health care. Didn't need any vaccines. |
| * Safety: |
I personally felt very safe and never felt in danger unless I put myself in it. However, some of the girls in our group had some trouble. One girl got her iPhone stolen. Another got her entire purse stolen, which included phone, wallet, passport, scarf, etc. Lastly, a couple of girls claimed they were followed and a little harassed by some Italian men... I think it's best to just go wherever you go in a group, preferably mixed gender. |
| 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) |
Hard to say really. I spent a lot of money because I brought a lot of money and I was determined to have a good time...usually you need some money to do that. However I'm sure I could have survived on a much lower budget... You could find cheap food if you looked. But in general the dollar to Euro conversion was pretty painful. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I have no idea. Depends on where I went and what I did. Randomly shopping included? Maybe like $200. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Find the places with the best conversion rates. Don't convert or take out too much money at one time. Be frugal. Barter with the people that you can barter with. |
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 |
Italian was a class. It was optional. They encouraged cultural assimilation and using it as much as possible but...how much can you learn in a 6 week program? I mean come on. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| 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? | Intermediate |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 0 |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Have a decent teacher. |
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? | How much fun it would be...I wish that I had gone for an entire semester. |
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. |
