Study Abroad in Padova, Incredibly worthwhile. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I learned a lot about the italian language of course but more importantly my instructors taught be tons about Italian culture and life that I never could have learned in another situation. There weren't a lot of tests, mostly just a midterm and exam for all the classes and the finals were usually oral (which is not nearly as hard as it sounds, unless you take a University class, and then it is definitely as hard as it sounds). The grading was not too vigorous but for many stressed out students on my program they found it difficult that the teachers were not as specific about grades as their American professors usually are. I, however, saw this as just another learning experience and another example of the difference in being an Italian student and an American student.

On-site administration of your program

They were great at making us feel very comfortable in the city and they set me up with a great host family. The woman in change of the program, Elisabetta, was so loving and interested in our education which was very helpful.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived with an italian family that my program set up for me. They had 4 children and were absolutely amazing. I also lived with 1 other student from my program but that was only because my host family happened to have 2 extra open rooms. Most people were the only American student living in their house. My neighborhood was very adorable, safe a quaint and about a half hour walk to the center of town (where the BU center was) or a 10 minute bus ride. The nightlife was all in the center of town as well. The entire city of Padova is a very safe town and never once did I feel unsafe in my home city.

AMAZING ITALIAN FOOD!! The family could not make better food and every restaurant in centro was absolutely amazing. My personal favorite dish everywhere I went in all of Italy was gnocchi. Eat it and love it!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

We traveled to Venice and Ferrara on day trips and ate amazing food. Outside of this, we only had class monday-thursday which gave us 3 day weekends to travel all around italy and the Veneto region!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

The only problems were with getting the H1N1 vaccine and also the comfort with getting help from a doctor if it was needed. Many of the students felt uncomfortable calling an italian doctor when they were sick but the program did have certain doctors (who spoke english well) listed in their welcome packet

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I was completely uncomfortable with Italian before this experience and by the end I was very much a conversational speaker. I practiced with my host family and in my classes. It was great to be in Padova because the people in the town really don't speak much English at all, compared to other Italian cities like Rome and Florence where it is almost impossible to find someone who will speak Italian to you. This being said, I did not feel fluent leaving this program but I did improve immensely and I think that unless I spoke italian to all my friends in the program as well, I was not going to be able to become fluent in just 4 months.

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