Hi everyone! My name is Anna Bruno and I am a junior at the University of Pittsburgh’s College of Business Administration! I am double majoring in Finance and Business Analytics and I am studying abroad through the Global Business Institute Florence program. This program is meant for business students who want to study abroad at Pitt. I arrived in Florence on September 3rd and will leave to go back home on December 21st. I chose to study abroad in Florence because I was really excited about the history and the culture of the city. The city is so beautiful, everyone walks everywhere, and there is art everywhere! My goals for this program are to learn as much as I can about the history of Florence and get comfortable living in a new city and new culture. Additionally, I want to try to travel to different places in Europe as much as I can while I am here! I have already traveled to Cinque Terre, a group of beaches in northern Italy that we were able to take a train to. We also traveled to the Chianti region of Tuscany, where they produce Chianti wine. We were able to tour two different wineries there!
A similarity I see between Florence and Pitt’s campus is the walkability! Just like in Pittsburgh, I feel like I can walk to everything I need, and all my classes are very close to where I live. Theres coffee shops and restaurants everywhere, and I can get to my friends and school in just a matter of minutes. What I initially love about my new neighborhood is how central it is to Florence, and the Piazza that we are about 20 feet away from. There is a church, tons of restaurants, and constantly people exploring and walking around. I live in an apartment with three other girls from Pitt, in addition to three girls from other schools. The new living situation was at first a little hard to adjust to (there was no air conditioning and it was very hot the first week we were here), but I am really starting to love it! There are so many shops around me and there is always something to do!
I’ve included a couple pictures of me and my roommates throughout our first couple weeks abroad and I can’t wait to keep blogging to update you on my experience!
