Cultural Immersion in Florence Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The courses were not as rigorous as what I was accustomed to at my home school, but they were very interesting and enriching. The faculty makes a strong effort to include the Florence's cultural offerings in the curriculum. My Renaissance art history class included a site visit every week, and an overnight tip to Urbino and Arezzo. My advanced Italian class visited an artisan carpenter's workshop and a Medieval tower, and my Italian literature class attended a lecture given by the renowned Italian author Dacia Maraini.

On-site administration of your program

Everything was very organized, and the administration is helpful.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The host families that Syracuse uses are wonderful. Most of them have been hosting students for years, and living with an Italian family provided me with the valuable opportunity to practice my language skills. I know that my Italian would not have improved the way it did if I was living with other American students.

The host families go above and beyond to introduce the students to traditional Florentine cuisine. Every night, my host family served multiple courses consisting of pasta, and Tuscan meats and cheeses.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Syracuse provides many opportunities to interact with Florentines. Students live with host families, there are optional weekly conversation practices with Italians, and students can take a special joint Syracuse and University of Florence class with Italian students. For students with advanced Italian skills, it is possible to take a class at the University of Florence in Italian with Italian students. The only problem is that Florentines tend to be very closed, and it is hard to form close friendships with young Italians in the span of one semester.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

A doctor visits the campus twice a week for non-emergency visits, and the staff has a 24-hour phone if there ever is an emergency. Given that the students are living with host families, if there is an urgent health problem the host families will know what to do.

European cities are generally safer than American cities because gun violence isn't as much of a problem. The most common crimes are pickpocketing and bike thefts.

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

Living on a student budget depends on what you want to do. If you plan on visiting a different country every weekend, living on a student budget will obviously be more difficult.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Every student has plenty of opportunities to practice Italian given that they are living with host families. That being said, Florence is a very touristy city so most people speak some English. Students who want to practice Italian will have to push themselves while they are interacting with the Florentines.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans
• International Students

• the host family experience
• the site visits and trips organized by the program
• the possibility to do an internship

• Having more contact with Italian college students