Italy is AMAZING Past Review
By Taylor Coy (Truman State University) - abroad from 02/01/2017 to 05/20/2017 with
Lorenzo de' Medici – Florence
100% worthwhile. I had the best four months of my life.
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. |
School itself was terrible and nothing I would repeat. Fairly unhelpful, not many resources and a few professor's spoke almost no English which is unacceptable for a class that is supposed to be taught entirely in English. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
in comparison to other programs CCIS was almost non existent. Other programs had get togethers, trips, things as simple as just dinner together. I don't think I heard from someone from CCIS more than once or twice this semester. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I understand Italy is small and things are older but our apartment was unacceptable. For the amount of money I payed and in comparison with other students in the programs housing, ours was terrible. The first day we arrived it was obviously not cleaned. There was dirt on the walls and the floor and dust everywhere. There was one window (no sunlight), we had pipe's burst, an electrical current throughout all of the appliances in the kitchen (which was never fixed), broken microwave, and the wifi almost never worked. It was very difficult to get people to come and help us with issues we had within the house and all in all living arrangements were a TERRIBLE experience. |
| * Food: |
I mean, it was Italy. The food was amazing there. There was none provided by my program but Italy is awesome. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Very. I made friends with a lot of florence locals. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not experience healthcare. |
| * Safety: |
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| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
Italy was amazing, but every issue I had this semester came from being in this program. |
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? | Not including travel expenses, about 80 euros |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | It is okay to not eat out every night! |
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 |
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| 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? | Italian 201 |
| 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? | Use it everywhere you go! People will normally have patience with you and they respect you for trying to speak their language. So don't worry about embarrassing yourself |
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? | That I could choose a different program |
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. |
