My name is Shannon Bullen and I am a history major with a minor in international studies. I am in my senior year of college and am in Florence, Italy by a CofC staff-led program focusing on the slow food movement. When I was in the fourth grade I read a book called The Thief Lord which takes place in Venice and ever since then I have dreamt of going to Italy. During my junior year, I finished my second year of Italian and I took an ancient Rome history class as well as an Italian Renaissance class and so when I looked at the opportunities, Florence was a clear choice. One very big goal I set for myself is to become fluent in Italian. Although, my classes will help me get around I still struggle with parts of the language that I am hoping will get easier as I talk with locals. I am a picky eater, so another goal I set was to eat anything offered to me and to at least try the common street food and most popular dishes the city has to offer. Learning to cook some of these dishes would be wonderful as I am a terrible cook and would love to bring something back with me that won’t have to be crammed in my suitcase. Traveling around the different parts of Italy as well as Europe are a must. I would like to go to five different places in Italy and three different countries. Thankfully my program will be helping me with the traveling in Italy as we have some trips planned to Bra and Siena. I have done a lot of research on the history of Florence as well as reading lots of blogs on eating and shopping. My professors have been incredibly helpful in telling me what to expect and mistakes to avoid as well as all of the museums I have to go to while I am there.