Italian host families, gelato, and dwindling bank accounts Past Review
By katherine freeman (Trinity University) - abroad from 01/18/0016 to 04/28/2016 with
Syracuse University: Florence - Syracuse University in Florence
Definitely worthwhile! I feel more independent and confident in myself. I hope that I get the chance to travel again in the future.
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. |
Syracuse offered many academic resources for research, such as its library and online research data base, and I liked all of my professors, who were very intelligent and helpful to students. However, most of the courses I enrolled in felt significantly easier than my home university's workload. The easier schedule made traveling less stressful, but I think the program could be made more challenging for all students. My intermediate painting was the most challenging class in my schedule and forced me to think critically throughout the entire semester. Our painting final project was an invaluable experience, allowing me to develop my own original idea while working it out with my professor. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everyone working in administration was friendly and helpful, which I appreciated especially at the start of the semester when I felt so new to everything in Florence. Sometimes the Housing Office was a little hard to reach because there was only one person working there and it got crowded frequently. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
My host family was the best part of the program! My host mom and host brother welcomed me into their home and treated me like a part of their family. They were both amazing cooks and friends. I got paired with a great roommate, and my favorite part of the host experience was sitting down together for dinner every day of the week and just talking about our days and different cultures. I know if I ever visit Florence again, I can always reach out to them. |
| * Food: |
Never a bad food experience, but my host mom was the best cook I dined with. Pasta, pasta, gelato, pasta. Don't forget to try Florentine hot chocolate (without milk)--it'll change you. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The Syracuse program sort of sheltered American students from Florence and its people. I think my host family experience was the greatest source of integration into local culture, because I usually traveled with and hung out with other students during the whole semester. People have to be willing to learn the language and adapt for Florentine culture because that's the biggest way I felt more accepted there. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
The nurse was easily accessible and she spoke very good English. I didn't have any major health concerns while I was there. |
| * Safety: |
I always walked with another person at night, so I never felt unsafe in Florence, even if it was past midnight. The city is pretty quiet at night into the early morning, especially once you leave the center of the city. If students plan on traveling outside Florence (which will probably happen), I think carrying a paper map (roads and metro stations are so helpful) is important since phones often didn't have a good connection. I think a lot of students, including myself, felt like they couldn't travel alone at the start of the program. But I learned a lot about myself and how to plan during my solo trips to Paris and Poland. I think people felt obligated to travel with a buddy where ever they went. Though it can be a lot more fun with a buddy or group, I'd advise future students to not let others' travel plans restrict theirs. If there's a place you've been wanting to see forever, but no one else can make it, you should go and experience it. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I wouldn't trade my time with my host family for another program. They were too great. I could've probably found a better academic program in Europe, but one of my criteria was to live with a host family and my decision worked out for the better. |
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) |
You have to be willing to spend money if you want to travel. Transportation was less expensive in the U.S., but it can still add up for a student budget. I probably spent around 20-30 euro one weekend if I stayed in Florence, and that's from eating dinner out Friday and Saturday. You can find some good cheap street food, especially outside the center. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | 40-50 euro |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Grocery stores were significantly cheaper than anything else in Florence and most of Europe. You can get some good snacks and fruit there if you don't want to sit down somewhere for a full meal. |
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 host family encouraged me to use Italian, but I fell into the habit of speaking English with them because they could already speak it so well. |
| 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? | Beginner |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None |
| 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? | Speak as much as you can and don't worry about what people think. There's going to be a period where you don't feel really confident speaking, but you have to push through it. Wish I had used conversational Italian more often. |
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? | Future students: you won't get to travel everywhere in Europe and it'll be difficult to fully experience the places you do visit given that you only have a few days on each trip. I wish I had thought more about where I wanted to travel before going to Florence. I had many free weekends to travel Europe, and though I visited amazing places, I now wish that I had planned it a little more before going. One more thing: don't expect for the U.S. to seem completely different after you come back from your semester abroad. It actually feels a little bit the same as when you left it, and the thing that changed was me. |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
