Best Summer of My Life in Italy! Past Review
By Rebecca C (Community Studies, University of California - Santa Cruz) for
ISA Study Abroad in Florence, Italy
I'm planning to travel across Europe with only a backpack as soon as I graduate college in a few months. Anyone who knows me would know that I may not have had the courage to go to so many new places without a plan and leave my entire life behind. After getting a taste of Italy, there is a fire inside me that can't be tamed until I go back and experience even more!
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I had a smaller workload in my class, which I liked because it was summer, and I also wanted to have time to explore the country. The major difference that I noticed was when we had a paper assigned, our professor gave us very little direction and no prompt. We didn't even know how many pages the the paper was supposed to be, he just told us to write one. We were all used to having very specific instructions and thus, stressed out that we weren't going to do it right. In the end, he was just happy that everyone turned something in. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everyone who ran my program was always very enthusiastic and excited. I found them to be friendly and approachable, and they were always able to help us with anything we needed. I thought they would get bored with going on the same trips every session, but they were always very happy and full of energy. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Our apartment was beautiful and in a very convenient location. Overall, it was great. The day we got to our apartment was tough, because the bus dropped us off about 15 minutes away and we had to carry all of our luggage through the town to the apartment, and then up several flights of stairs (though we were warned about this ahead of time). On the last day, we had to carry all of our things to the train station. The apartment was pretty well furnished, and we were in walking distance of a grocery store and a market where we could buy food. We didn't have a well-functioning air conditioner, and we also only had a certain amount of money that we had pre-paid toward our utilities, so it was really hot in our apartment, but we dealt with it by freezing water bottles during the day and then sleeping with them. Any problems that we had were manageable, and didn't negatively impact the trip. |
| * Food: |
If you go to Italy, eat anything and everything!!! I am a very picky eater but I forced myself to expand my culinary horizons and try new things, and everything I ate was delicious. I was in food heaven. I don't have many dietary restrictions so I can't say for sure how great the accommodation is, but I know there are many meat-free options, and gnocchi is a good go-to gluten-free meal. Definitely hit up Acqua al 2 for dinner! It's pricey, but worth it for a special night out! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Explore as much as you can!!!! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The program managers were great advocates for everyone in our program. Even though many people at pharmacies speak english, in the rare cases that someone needed medical care, the program managers tended to the students and made sure they were taken care of, especially if the student didn't speak Italian. |
| 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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Language
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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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? | You are the only person who will hold yourself back from benefitting the most from your abroad experience. While it may be intimidating to be in a new place with a new language, it's an incredible opportunity to travel and see new things, so make the most of your time, and make sure to meet some memorable people along the way! Take lots of pictures, but not so many that you're hidden behind the lens of the camera and you miss the whole trip. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Food, Culture, and Society in Italy |
| Course Department: | FW FC FC 340 |
| Instructor: | Giuseppe |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | It was really fun to learn how to cook Italian food in a hands-on way, while also learning the history of the Mediterranean cuisine. The best part was getting to eat everything after! |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I took this class because I knew ahead of time that I wasn't going to be allowed to transfer any classes back to my home institution, even if I took a high level Italian class. I didn't need any extra units toward graduation, so I just decided to take something that seemed fun and not worry about the fact that it wouldn't transfer over. |
