Student Review: My Trip Abroad to Florence Italy

By Maryanne Connell
Athena Study Abroad Ambassador Intern

Getting Started

When I was looking for colleges to apply to, one of the requirements for me was they had to have a study abroad program. I had wanted to travel abroad ever since I learned what a map was. I love learning about new cultures. I was born in Lima, Peru and adopted at birth and brought to the U.S. I had been back to my home country when I was ten. The last place I was at before I went abroad was Costa Rica when I was a junior in high school. When I was applying to go abroad, I really wanted to see Europe, because I had never been there or around there. It sounds silly, but even though I had seen it on a map a million times, it still didn't feel like it existed unless I went over there myself to see it. I chose Italy because my mother is half Italian and she is very proud of her heritage. I also wanted to see an older city, but have it still feel like a city because I am used to living in a city that always has something to do, San Francisco. I chose Florence, Italy.

Housing

I chose the people I would live with. I chose to live with other Chapman students who I already knew because I wanted to be to share this experience with people I would be able to see in the immediate future. The Athena Study Abroad program is really good about putting people in the living situation they desire; be it home stay, apartment with friends or people they don't know (so they can meet new people). I was spoiled and got an awesome apartment overlooking the Arno River, next to Ponte Vecchio. When I arrived the apartment was fully furnished, so I did not have to buy sheets or cookware (basics) because they were already provided. We did have some issues, as is typical in apartment living, with certain appliances not working properly. A positive to that is we would contact the landlord and they were good about promptly fixing the problems.

Living as an Italian = the bomb.com!

I took Italian 101 and that gave me great tools in being able to just get around the city in general. I did take classes in English, but outside of class when eating out and walking around Florence, I encouraged myself to speak Italian as much as possible. The workload was very manageable. I was able to take classes that counted for my GE requirements and minor. The teachers were very helpful and I never felt overworked.

We would cook our own food or go out and eat and let me tell you, Italian food = the bomb.com!!! It can get pretty pricey if you go out a lot so we ended up eating in a lot. Most of us took cooking classes, so we were able to show our new found cooking skills. We would get our ingredients from the Mercato Centrale, the huge central market with nice fresh food.

Field Trips

We had two field trips that were included in our program. I was able to choose between many different and wonderful looking fields trips. I finally chose my two about a month before I went abroad. I went to the French Rivera (Monaco, Nice, and Cannes) and to Southern Italy (Pompeii, Capri and Sorrento).

Both trips were two days and it was insane how much they packed in there. I couldn't believe that it was only two days and I saw so much!! For both field trips I needed to get up on Saturday around 4:30am and get to where the bus would pick us up (usually by the train station) at around 5:30am. The bus rides were pretty long, so that is where I would get my sleep that I lost. We would come back on Sunday around 10pm.

The French Rivera is the first field trip I went on. The bus took us north about 5 hours, just to the tip of France. When I looked outside my window, Monaco was staring right back at me, so picturesque that I couldn't declare it real until I stepped off the bus. It was February and Florence had been really cold, so we all naturally wore layers for days, and the minute I stepped off the bus I felt a nice breeze and I couldn't believe it, sun! We ventured to Nice as well that day and stayed in a hotel and ate a provided dinner of French food that left me satisfied. Cannes was our last stop and it was quiet and calm. The ocean was a deep blue. We would walk around and look at the handprints of the celebrities who attended the Cannes Film Festival.

The second field trip that I went on was Southern Italy. First stop was Pompeii, where we got a tour of the ruins, the forgotten city. The objects buried beneath Pompeii were remarkably well preserved for almost two thousand years. It was a remarkable site to see. We ventured to Sorrento where we stayed for the night. The next day we went on a boat ride to take us to Capri.

On the way we explored the Blue Grotto, which is absolutely worth the minute. Capri is also a picturesque miracle. I wanted to just stay there and soak up the scenery, the culture, and the sun of course.

Conclusion: How to get back!?

I absolutely loved my time abroad and I wish I could turn back the clock and do it over and over again. I have finally ventured to Europe! The awesome thing about going to Europe is that you can easily travel around to many different countries. This has enticed me to come back and maybe even get a future job that grants international privileges.