Italy : Reviews (Florence)
The following program review responses have been selected for publication by Study Abroad & Global Engagement
Rate Your Study Abroad Program!
Sarah Sybille Bodle,
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
My favorite part was that we got to live with a host family. I felt this not only helped us immensely with acquiring the language, but we also got to experience how a typical Italian family lives. Plus the food was awesome!
Cara Marie Fullenwider,
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
My favorite part of this program was just being able to completely emerge myself into the Italian cultural. I was able to travel, speak the language and just be an "Italian".
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
Meeting new people and building great friendships with those people. We will forever share the bond of having spent this month together in Italy, and nothing can change that.
Shane Thomas Reynolds,
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
My favorite part had to be living with another family and seeing how everyday life works in another culture.
Summer - Two Months 2012 Participant
The program allowed for students to become immersed within a completely new culture, and delve us into their everyday lifestyle along with the history.
Summer - Two Months 2012 Participant
Being able to see firsthand the monuments and art about which we have been taught our entire lives.
Summer - One Month 2013 Participant
My favorite part of the program was being completely immersed in the Italian culture. I think living with host families helped us to get a better feel for how Italian families actually live everyday life. I also really enjoyed the small class sizes at the Accademia del Giglio; we were able to receive a lot of individual attention.
Summer - One Month 2013 Participant
My host family was my favorite part of this program. They were absolutely wonderful! Getting to live along side natives of the country truly allowed me to fully experience the Italian way of life.
Kristen Adrianna Larsen,
Summer - Two Months 2013 Participant
My favorite part was when I went down to southern Italy (Positano, Capri, Anacapri, Sorrento, Napoli) and got to swim in the Blue Grotto and hike through Pompeii. It was also cool to make friendships with natives that will last a lifetime and to be able to go find my Italian relatives in Torino and speak Italian with them.
Laura E Carlson,
Summer - One Month 2015 Participant
My favorite part of this program had to be living with a host family. Part of this program is all about culture and there is no other way to say you have truly lived and learned everything about Italian culture without living with a real Italian family. You can learn all the facts about the monuments and museums, but you will never understand what it is like to live in Italy if you don't embrace the host family and their way of living.
Robert Donovan Girard,
Summer - One Month 2015 Participant
The freedom to explore and immerse yourself in the culture with which you're studying by only having around 4 hours of class a day is truly something unique about KU's study abroad programs!
Tesla Rindels,
Summer - One Month 2015 Participant
My favorite part of this program was having the chance to live with an actual Italian family. My host Mom was amazing. She cooked us awesome authentic Italian meals and it was really nice having someone to practice my Italian with everyday in real life settings.
Katherin S Campbell,
Summer - One Month 2016 Participant
As students abroad, my friends and I had lots of opportunities to explore Florence, but some of the most memorable experiences took place in our weekends of travel throughout Italy. We took trips to Rome, Cinque Terre, Fiesole, Assisi, Perugia, and Venice, and found enormously different aspects of Italian culture along with the liberty that comes with independent travel.
Summer - One Month 2017 Participant
My favorite part was the balance between the organized learning in the classroom and the ability to learn about the cultural sights of the city at my own pace.
Mackenzie T Knox,
Summer - One Month 2017 Participant
I just loved living in Florence (even if only for a month)! In the short time that I spent in Italy, I was able to travel all around the country, meet some amazing people, see some beautiful places, and embrace a new culture.
Samuel Richard Packer,
Summer - One Month 2017 Participant
Being absolutely free to explore the streets of florence, talk to people, and visit cultural monuments of my own free will. When you have an entire beautiful city at your fingertips, and nothings stopping you? Well, that's one of the most magical things about studying abroad in Italy.
Summer - One Month 2017 Participant
I loved going into this not knowing anyone and coming out with several friends. I used to hate going into situations not knowing anyone but after this trip I became more confident in myself.
Chloe A Wilder,
Summer - One Month 2017 Participant
My favorite part was Firenze itself. Being in a large city with a lot to do but also in the middle of Italy made it easy to travel to surrounding towns.
Summer - One Month 2018 Participant
I like how the program offers students opportunities to apply their language skills in an educational and cultural setting. I also enjoyed having enough time to explore Italy with my peers within our host city as well as other cities and regions in the country.
Emily Jean Elder,
Summer - One Month 2019 Participant
I loved that the program was based in Florence. Florence is an amazing city with so many activities and places to see. I got the opportunity to do something exciting every day.
Stephanie Christine Aristei,
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
I enjoyed taking italian courses with other people who were not on my program or with KU. I was able to meet other people from all over the world while we learned italian.
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
Being immersed in the language because it greatly improved my Italian
Cara Marie Fullenwider,
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
I was able to see myself in another cultural, a world different than my daily life. It was rewarding to be able to find a different side of me.
Olivia N Lynch,
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
Living with the host family-my host mom was funny, sweet and loved teaching us Italian while we taught her some English as well. It completely immerses you in a culture that is different and unusual, and you learn more than you ever could in a classroom.
Shane Thomas Reynolds,
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
Being able to adapt to a new culture and see how well I adapted by the end of the program was the most satisfying to me.
Summer - Two Months 2012 Participant
The most rewarding, by far, includes the culture element and the actual school itself.
Summer - Two Months 2013 Participant
Living with a host family was one of the greatest experiences of my life. It was challenging to accept a different culture, but it made me realize how important it is to learn about the world and how rewarding of an experience it is.
Jake Nemeroff,
Summer - Two Months 2014 Participant
The most rewarding experience from the program was seeing my personal progression as an italian speaker from the beginning of the program to the end. Going from day one, not being able to hold a meaningful conversation, to the end of the program having hour long conversations with native speakers was one of the proudest accomplishments of my life.
Laura E Carlson,
Summer - One Month 2015 Participant
The way that my group bonded and became friends in a short amount of time was very rewarding. Having a group to lean on, study with, and, of course, travel with on the weekends helped out a lot. We were all very different people that probably would never be together at KU, but this program pushed us out of our little boxes and exposed us to people that made the whole experience more rewarding.
Tesla Rindels,
Summer - One Month 2015 Participant
When my Mom came to visit at the end of the program we went to the leather market and I was talking and bartering with all of the locals. My mom looked at me and said my Italian was really great and she was so proud. That is when I knew that all of my hard work payed off.
Christopher W Rice,
Summer - Two Months 2015 Participant
The elements that I found most rewarding were my interactions with my host family and learning how to get around in Florence using the language skills that I learned in class.
Katherin S Campbell,
Summer - One Month 2016 Participant
Being able to connect with my teachers and host family was extremely important to my experience. All the Italians I encountered were positive, welcoming, and accommodating toward learners of the language, and their support helped me feel comfortable enough in my own abilities to explore the language and learn from my mistakes. I could really track my progress in language competency based on the interactions I had with others--I only had 2 semesters of Italian going in, but by the time I left Italy I could feel myself thinking and interacting with others in Italian.
Summer - One Month 2017 Participant
Living with a host family was the most rewarding aspect of the program because I got to try different homemade Italian dishes and I also got to experience how Italians interact in a home setting.
Mackenzie T Knox,
Summer - One Month 2017 Participant
It was really rewarding just being able to navigate my way around Florence and communicate with the Italians who live there.
Samuel Richard Packer,
Summer - One Month 2017 Participant
Constant. Italian. It was pretty bad understanding things at first, but when you walk into the program being 10% fluent and walk out being 75% fluent, in just a MONTH, you can really sense the improvement.
Christina E Ricci,
Summer - One Month 2017 Participant
I found the day-to-day activities most rewarding; the days when we had nothing planned in particular, just walking around and stumbling upon incredible sights.
Summer - One Month 2018 Participant
Living with a host family was such a unique and rewarding experience. You get to actually experience how Italian families live which gives you opportunities to pick up on cultural differences you might not catch if you were staying with other Americans in a different living situation.
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
Be flexible, try not to stress the little things, dress for HOT weather
Cara Marie Fullenwider,
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
I learned that to be able to live life fully, you have to just let go and go live. Studying abroad brought so many wonderful memories and educational experiences that I know I will never forget for as long as I live.
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
It's stressful and challenging, but if you get to take advantage of this opportunity, you are incredibly lucky. You will be in the presence of greatness with regard to the history and culture of Florence and the rest of Italy. Italy and this program will impact you, and you will be able to check items off your bucket list. My biggest advice would be to step back every once in a while during the month and just take it all in. Climb the Duomo and stop taking pictures for a second to just observe your surroundings. Go to Cinque Terre and just watch the water splash against the rocks. Go to Venice and just sit on the steps near the Grand Canal. Go to Rome, touch the Colosseum and think about the years of history in the palm of your hand. This program is amazing, and if you really appreciate it, it will do wonders for your life.
Olivia N Lynch,
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
Take in everything while you're there and do as much as you can-have a sense of adventure and try to learn everything!
Summer - One Month 2012 Participant
Don't limit yourself, just keep exploring!
Summer - Two Months 2012 Participant
You have to try, try, try. It may seem daunting, but you won't learn anything (or have any stories to share) if you don't try new foods, try to speak the language regardless of who is listening, and try to have as much fun as possible!
Laura E Carlson,
Summer - One Month 2015 Participant
You will do fine in the classes! I was most worried that this trip would be hard, since all the classes were taught in Italian by teachers that did not really have the greatest understanding of English. But it turned out to not even be a worry once classes got rolling. Just be a good KU student like always and everything will fall into place.
Kiley Hughes,
Summer - One Month 2015 Participant
I learned a lot about myself, my limits and what I can do. I encourage everyone to study abroad.
Ann Marie Mola,
Summer - One Month 2015 Participant
I learned and practiced the language much better than I ever feel I could in the United States. Just being around new cultures and people made me realize there is just so much more out there to learn and experience. Many Americans live life here and know how to do it with ease. But going to another country puts your entire life in a new light and adaptability often comes naturally. Adaptation is a key skill all throughout life so why not get better at it in a beautiful foreign country?
Tesla Rindels,
Summer - One Month 2015 Participant
Study abroad! It is a life changing experience that I wouldn't trade for the world.
Christopher W Rice,
Summer - Two Months 2015 Participant
Don't get caught up in activities that you can do back home, use your time in the program to try new things. Treat it as an academic experience and not a summer vacation, get to class on time and be prepared, and use your free time to explore the region. Plan ahead for weekend trips to get the most out of your free time. Don't be afraid to explore on your own. Visit the neighborhood stores and bars(not like bars in U.S.)it is the easiest place to practice your Italian language skills and I found the staff very friendly and patient with my attempts to communicate.
Katherin S Campbell,
Summer - One Month 2016 Participant
I felt that some of the best times I had were spent exploring the city of Florence from the perspective of a local. I would go on runs, do homework in coffee shops, and shop in residential areas (instead of touristy ones) as often as possible. Another thing to keep in mind is the short amount of time you have to spend there--make sure to take advantage of every moment! A month may feel like a lot, but it went by so quickly that when the time came I was devastated that I had to leave. See the sights, interact with your environment, ask locals for advice, stay up late with your friends, get up early to watch the sunrise at Piazzale Michelangelo, but also take a step back from the chaos to reflect on the experiences you're having. You won't regret it!
Jorge O Salamanca,
Summer - One Month 2016 Participant
I learned a lot of historical, artistic, and cultural elements of all the places I visited, especially Florence. People can be able to see firsthand artworks as well as architectural sites created by famous artists of the Renaissance.
Summer - One Month 2017 Participant
I learned that you have to be flexible with your plans because things are bound to go wrong and you have to be able to adapt in order to have an enjoyable experience.
Samuel Richard Packer,
Summer - One Month 2017 Participant
Don't give up, and while you may not speak fluent italian, try to speak it whenever possible.
Christina E Ricci,
Summer - One Month 2017 Participant
I learned how to navigate and be comfortable in a large foreign city. I learned to not rely on my cell phone and figure things out.
Summer - One Month 2017 Participant
Buy a month long bus pass so you don't get fined 50 euro. (If you would use the bus daily)
Summer - One Month 2018 Participant
Don't be afraid of messing up when you speak, any attempts to use the language will help you improve your Italian.