Hello everyone, here again to talk about my experience in Florence this week, specifically about my challenges abroad. The most challenging about Italian culture to adapt to is the most obvious, the language barrier. This is the first situation that I have been in where I must approach people and reinvent the way I communicate with them. I feel this is a challenge mainly in my internship, as many of the employees are native to the area. Although many people do speak English here, there is a sense of guilt I get constricting Italians to speak in English. This challenge has come in waves, I am currently taking an Italian class and some days I can communicate fully in Italian, while other days I feel uncomfortable in my communication. Secondly, it has been fun and a challenge to find my way through the city. The way I would put it is having to find substitutes for everything in a completely new environment. For example, I must find a study spot, gym or places to eat that will substitute my routine activities at school or home. This process has taken a bit and has been the most mentally challenging, however the new environment is so refreshing. At times it can be very uncomfortable being in a completely new environment. I got sick early on in my experience and it exacerbated the feeling of being far from home. What I do to remedy this is hangout with my roommates. It is a friendly reminder that the people around me are in the same shoes. I also like to go to the gym when I get the chance to clear my head. Thirdly, it has been slightly hard to juggle my relationships at home and here. There is only so much free time that I have between my internship and classes that it has been hard to make time to talk to friends or family. The 6-hour time difference doesn’t help for starters, and I have noticed that the times I am free are times when others are busy. My solution to this is to text people ahead of time to talk to them and find times that work for both of us. Overall, these road bumps have been very manageable, and I would still recommend this experience to anyone. The positive things I have experienced definitely out way any of the negative. It is also important to note that these issues are temporary and come from my personal experience; however, other people in the program could feel different.