I studied abroad in Florence, Italy with the AIFS program. The program was very well organized, and there were many opportunities that were easily accessible. I spent about a month doing the program and took two classes which amounted to six credit hours. I took elementary Italian and Muesems of Florence which counted toward my general elective credits. The classes were similar and different from the classes in America. In my elementary Italian class, we would go to different places to practice our Italian. It was very nice to be able to use the class in the real world and also see how their culture is by doing things like going to the market. The professors were amazing and doing things out of class together gave us a better chance to get to know each other and bond.
We had the option to receive meal vouchers as a meal plan which allowed us to go to many different restaurants around the city and we had grocery store credits as well. It was nice to be able to go to the same restaurants sometimes and have the owner remember you from the previous time. It made you truly feel like you were living there and made me appreciate how welcoming they were. Our apartments were very nice and came with a fully functional kitchen if you chose to buy your own groceries.
During our program, we had the opportunity to sign up for excursions or pay a small fee to do a cooking class, wine tasting, concert, and marble-making class. One of my favorite places that I went to was Cinque Terre which in English translates to five villages. We took a day trip and got on the bus, and it was only an hour away we spent the whole day having free time getting to browse around. Some people took a hike, and some people laid by the beaches. there were all these colorful buildings on the side of a mountain next to the ocean. My favorite part was eating some really good muscles.
Another amazing place that I got to visit was Venice, Italy. This was a weekend trip and we stayed at a hotel with other people in our program. I was able to go to museums, go on a gondola tour, and see how glass blowing is done. My favorite part about this trip was that in Venice all of the streets are water so you have to take a boat anywhere you want to go. It was really interesting to see how people got around there by boat. It took a little longer than usual, but it was still amazing.
I also took an Italian cooking class where a chef taught us how to cook eggplant bruschetta, ravioli, and tiramisu This was one of my favorite experiences, studying abroad. It was so much fun to be with all of my friends and learn how to make traditional Italian recipes at the end of the class they gave us a pamphlet that taught us how to cook all the dishes that we have made. Not included in my trip, I was also able to go to Rome and Amsterdam. It was really cool to get to experience a different culture in Europe from the one that I had been living in every day.
During my time abroad, I was also able to meet people from different schools in the United States. We had an orientation on the first day where we all bonded and got to know each other. It was really nice only coming with one person from school and meeting all of these different people that come from different schools and getting to know them while also sharing a new experience.
Brinley Platt (BS Psychology) spent the Summer 2023 semester studying abroad in Florence, Italy through AIFS. Brinley had the following to say about studying abroad, “Sincerely, do you remember when you wanted what you have now? This was written on a bridge in Florence, Italy where I spent a little over 5 weeks. The experience was everything I had hoped for and more.“
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