La Bella Firenze, Italia!! Past Review
By Kirstin A (PSYCHOLOGY., Ithaca College) for
Lorenzo de' Medici – Florence
My experience changed me as a person in a great way. It opened my eyes to what's out there and the friendships I made while I was there will always be intact.
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. |
The work load was pretty minimal, and I chose classes I was interested in taking. In Florence especially, if you have an interest in art, take an art history class! My classes traveled to various places in the city and viewed the artwork first-hand! Most of the time, I had each class once per week except for Italian language, which was an adjustment for me because I am used to having each class a few times per week. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Chiara, GSE's program adviser in Florence is amazing! She was extremely helpful with pointing us to restaurants that were good, different ways to travel, and just generally good advice! My expectations were far exceeded by GSE. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The apartment we stayed in was in the middle of the city and close to everything including classes, good places to eat, transportation, and the clubs! We were provided with everything we needed in the kitchen aside from food, as well as sheets and towels. |
| * Food: |
I didn't have any dietary restrictions, but the quality of food is AMAZING!!! We really enjoyed the restuarants Il Gatto e la Volpe, Colle Bereto, Acqua al Due, Dante's, and many other bars for aperitivo!! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We went to carneval in Venice and San Gimignano which were both amazing!! GSE provides trips as a group to some places such as Pisa, Lucca, Venice, Rome, San Gimignano, and Cinque Terre! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I felt very safe while I was there - I never walked alone, but even if it was just two of us I felt safe. |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Probably around 50 euro per week on food and personal things depending on where we went out and what we chose to get. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you want to go on other traveling adventures not through GSE, which I would highly recommend, they can be pricey and add up quickly! |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Beginning Italian |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
In Florence, most people speak English. Having some knowledge of Italian helped when I was in the mercato buying food or trying to bargain with street vendors on prices. |
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 did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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