Spring in Florence Cut Short Past Review
By A student (Reed College) - abroad from 01/03/2020 to 04/30/2020 with
Syracuse University: Florence - Syracuse University in Florence
I gained some familiarity in Italian and I think that makes it worth it. I also learned some cool things about the Sicilian mafia in my class on the subject, and was able to travel around Italy quite a bit in my brief time there. I'd say it was worth it.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Coming from Reed, Syracuse was a nice break. Instead of reading hundreds of pages a week for a history class, we had one book to read for the entire semester. It was easy to impress my professors by applying the same work ethic I did at Reed, and I still had a lot of free time. Definitely a GPA boost. While the classes were cool, they did not have any in my major, linguistics. I feel like I could have learned more in the same period elsewhere, but it was fine. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The on-site administration was very kind and available to talk. They didn't have a great handle on being inclusive of non-binary people, but were receptive and committed to doing better. Also, the day trips that they organized were one of the best parts of my experience. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Very! I was with a host family, and they were lovely. It's hit or miss, though. |
| * Food: |
My host family cooked great food and Syracuse provided a list at the beginning where we could mark foods we didn't like, which was helpful in terms of communication. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt fairly integrated, but only because I went out and actively searched for it. My goal while abroad was to learn as much Italian as I could, so I spent a lot of time with Italians, including my host family, but also some locals that I met in a Language Exchange facebook group. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
We were sent home in a timely manner when COVID became an issue, but that's the extent of my familiarity with issues related to healthcare. |
| * Safety: |
The Syracuse offices provided valuable resources and information related to safety in Florence, and there weren't many times I felt unsafe for any reasons other than being an anxious person. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I had a fine time for the month I was in Italy, and once we were sent home, the transition to online classes as fine. If I had been there for longer, I would not have chosen the same program, but the pre-semester seminar that I did really made it all worth it. |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Hang around your host family! They're not required to feed you for every meal, but I was just around all the time and they graciously included me in their dinner plans for every meal without my asking. I think it helped that I was just around and spending time with them, and it would have felt weird to just send me out for dinner by myself. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | None, in this language |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Use Duolingo before you get there, and once you get there, immerse yourself as fully as you are able to, whether it be through your host family, or making Italian friends. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | You're only going to be there until the end of February. |
