Florence, Italy: A Renaissance City Past Review

By (COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCES AND SUPPORT SERVICES., University of California - Riverside) for

University of California EAP (UCEAP): Florence - Summer Language & Culture

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Yes, I learned a new language and met new people.

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was appropriate to what we were learning and it contributed a lot to my learning. The grading system was very standard (A, B...) and sometimes they used percentages too (100%, 83%, etc).

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

All the staff were really accessible and friendly

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

My host family was the best, and they contributed a lot to my language acquisition.

* Food:

The food was always good and of great quality

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Trips to Siena and San Gimigniano, dinner at an Italian villa

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I guess safety starts with oneself. As long as we try to be safe and avoid dangerous situation we would be fine.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* 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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? About 30 euro
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Do not go on and spend a lot of money the first days. Give yourself time to identify the cheap places.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? None.
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Language acquisition improvement?

I practiced the language with my classmates and also with my host family. When we traveled, we needed to speak in Italian as well most of the time.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Being able to learn a new language.
  • Visiting new cities
* What could be improved?
  • More activities to interact with locals
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? They should definitely do it; it's a life-changing experience