After only a month of living in Florence, I have learned so much about my host city and the norms of studying abroad. Here are five things I have learned so far while studying abroad that have helped me adapt and immerse myself in a new culture! Attempting to speak your host country’s language goes a long way! I came into this program knowing very little Italian other than some…
My study abroad was truly the adventure of a lifetime. My class on the palaces of Florence was the perfect way to learn about the city I was living in. I loved learning the stories behind these incredible structures that I walked by every day. Living in Florence gave the art and architectural history of the city another dimension. Studying abroad also opened my eyes to a whole new culture.…
My time in Florence, Italy has ended, for now after a month of learning about Parent and Child Interactions based on Cultural Influences. This particular psychology course has taught me a lot for my future. Since I know that I want to work with children in the future, this class has taught me many lessons. Not only were my academic goals accomplished with learning about this subject but also I…
I really enjoyed my time studying abroad! Not only was it a great learning experience but it made me learn how to be way more independent when it comes to traveling and meeting new people, I made a lot of new friends, and I am so happy that I went on this trip! I truly recommend future students to study abroad, it opens your eyes to a lot in the…
I was able to visit Meyer Children’s Hospital which is a large pediatric hospital in Florence, Italy, with about 250 beds and many specialties with continuous growth. Although there are cultural differences between this hospital and a hospital in the U.S., there are also many similarities. Italy does not have certified child life specialists in their pediatric hospitals, but other professionals cover some of the services that a child life…
On my first day in Italy, the other students on my program and I had to walk to the local grocery store, called the COOP, to get groceries to get us started. As soon as I entered the grocery store, I did not notice any immediate differences except the everything was written in Italian. As I made my way through the aisles, starting in the refrigerated food section, I started…
It has been a couple of weeks since I started living in Florence for my study abroad program. I have witnessed many cultural differences in the brief time I have been here. I have interacted with locals and attempted to go to the outskirts of the town rather than staying in the more tourist areas of Florence. After discovering new areas, I realized there is a drastic difference in central…
I have officially started the last week of my program and I am not ready to go! I haven’t even left yet but I’m already missing this amazing country. Although I’m sad to leave I feel like I really made the most of my time in Italy. During the weekdays I was able to see so much of the city through tours with my class, the API program, and exploring…
If I had any advice to give another student planning to study abroad, I would let them know it is unwise to enter the program with any sort of expectations. No matter where a student decides to go, this advice would be helpful in the grand scheme of things. This is because, if something doesn’t go as planned (or even catastrophically wrong), that student will be unable to blame their…
I really loved the experience inside the schools, it’s so cool to learn about how the education system works there. For starters I loved the message that they promoted about letting kids be kids. Inside pre-schools and even the middle schools they allowed them to be more outside and play… Also comparing that to American schoolings we only have lunch/recess for 20 minutes before we must go back to class.…
