Hello! I am about a month into my study abroad journey, and I have nothing but good things to say about it so far. I am not participating in an internship here in Florence, but I am working through a full class schedule. Here in Florence, I am taking the basic Italian course, International Marketing, International Finance and Museology: the art of Collecting Objects. So far, my favorite course has been the Italian course. The professor is fantastic and makes it easy to learn and understand the material. My museology class has also been super interesting and something I would recommend everyone coming to Florence take. This class allowed me to go to all the local museums in Florence for free, and I gained a lot of knowledge about the museum that I wouldn’t have been able to get without the professor there. It helps me feel like I am making the most out of my time in Florence because I am not only learning about the present, but I am also learning about the history and background that helped to create the place I can study abroad today. I am excited to explore the rest of the museums in Florence and continue to learn about its history.
As I mentioned in my first post, the classroom structure is much different in Florence compared to back in Pittsburgh and I am not a huge fan of it. The three-hour class blocks are a lot for me, but I have been getting better at focusing on every class. I also like how most classes have excursions where instead of being in the classroom we will go somewhere else in Florence to learn more about the city. In our Italian class, we have been able to go to a cafe and one of the local libraries, and in both spots, I continue to go back and visit outside of class. I have always been a very positive person and that is very important for achieving success because of all the different things I will experience.
There will be plenty of ups and downs throughout this whole trip and it will be important for me to understand that everything happens for a reason and I am always able to bounce back no matter the setback. Another quality I have that I believe will help me in the program is my consistency. Having a routine is very important to me, and when I don’t have some sort of routine set up it is uncomfortable for me. Once classes started here in Florence, I was able to get into a weekly routine and it has been helpful for me. Consistency also helps in the classroom because I like to have all my assignments done as early as possible, so that way I am not procrastinating until the last moment. This allows me to be less stressed on the weekends when I want to be seeing the world.
With my first month in Florence being complete, I am really enjoying all the new classes and all the new experiences that come with it. I am really looking forward to expanding my knowledge as much as possible and being able to operate fully in Italian. Will I hit this goal? I am not sure but I guess the rest of the semester will show me. Arrivederci!
Me and my roommates at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello