Take Me Back! Past Review
By Jessica F (Art History, Criticism and Conservation., University of Oregon) - abroad from 08/31/2011 to 12/16/2011 with
Italy Study Abroad Reflections: Comprehensive Reviews of Past Programs
I gained a different perspective on life, met some incredible people and had many new and unique experiences that I will remember forever. Living in a different country introduced me to a new style of life--one where you live in the moment, appreciating what you have and making the most of it. I learned that can't plan everything, and sometimes the surprises life throws at you make for better stories anyway. ;)
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. |
I loved the multitude of classes that were offered with this program. I was able to take upper division courses for my art history major as well as culinary, art and artifact conservation classes that I normally wouldn't be able to take at my home university. I was surprised at how long the classes were--typically lasting about two hours minimum, but the longer ones occurred once a week and I really didn't notice how long I was in the classroom because many of the courses were hands-on versus just lecture-based. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
My on-site advisor was really helpful and always available if I had any questions or concerns. She checked in with all of her students in one-on-one sessions within the first half of the course to make sure everything was going okay. The rest of the on-site staff was really friendly and helpful too, as well as interested in getting students to participate in cultural activities. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
AMAZING. My apartment was fully furnished and very spacious. I also visited several other apartments of fellow Athena students and their places were comfortable and nice as well. Our apartments were located in the city-center and it took anywhere from 10-15 min to walk to class. I wouldn't have minded living across the river either though, even though it's a little more of a walk, because that area is so pretty! |
| * Food: |
The food on the LdM campus was good but I mostly ate in and around the city. I don't think there was a meal-plan with this program but you don't need one living in Florence! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt somewhat integrated just by living there and doing cultural activities with the school, but I felt most integrated with the Italians and the Italian way of life when I did my own thing away from the school because I wasn't with a bunch of American students. Meeting locals and interacting with them is the best way to become integrated with the culture in Italy. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not have any health issues and did not need any vaccines for this program. An Athena representative did check in on us after a shooting occurred in the city, which was really thoughtful. |
| * Safety: |
As long as you don't walk alone at night, Florence is a safe city. There was a shooting near our school, but it seemed to be an isolated incident, directed at a specific ethnic group and was taken care of by the police quickly. There were a lot of protests in Italy when I was there, and I found it best to just watch from afar or avoid the streets altogether when this was going on. Even with these things, I felt very safe in Florence and was comfortable exploring on my own, as long as I had a map! :) |
| 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) |
It was hard to stay on a low budget. Fortunately I had saved up enough to allow for a larger budget than I would normally use in Oregon. Also, because I was able to save on groceries and everyday expenses each week, I had extra cash to use on trips almost every weekend and a few big trips and to still have a good amount remaining in my account for when I returned home. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | I budgeted for 220 euros ($330 at the time) each week, but really only spent about 80-100 euros each week unless I went outside of the country. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Buy groceries because meals in Italy can be very expensive. Go to the Mercato instead of the grocery store when you can because the food is cheaper and healthier. Also, make a budget and stick to it. Decide what you want to spend the most money on--trips, food, museum passes, etc and allot a specific amount of money for each thing. It helped me to have a weekly budget and only pull out as much money as I needed for the week/weekend. |
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 |
My program required that all students take a language course while we were there. My Italian teacher encouraged us to use the language daily and we did. She even took us to different parts of the city on field trips so we could practice what we were learning in the actual context. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| 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? | French 203, no Italian. |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Definitely get out in the city and use it every day! Try to speak only in Italian when you leave your apartment and when you interact with locals. They appreciate it and you will learn a lot more and a lot faster if you do. I got really good at food/cafe/restaurant jargon from eating out and going to the Mercato, and I improved my small talk just by meeting locals at bars and aperitivos. |
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? | I would advise students to go into this program with an open mind. I certainly got the most out of my experience by being flexible and open to experiencing new things. The worst thing you can do is go to a foreign country and expect it to be exactly the same as your home country. Learn to embrace the differences and go with the flow and you might just end up never wanting to leave! |
