When I first arrived in Florence, I was really not expecting that I had to actually attend classes. I thought the “study abroad” was more of a “traveling abroad” situation. Lo and behold, I do actually have to attend class; however, classes here are more engaging and interesting than I could have imagined.
My class schedule is not at all intensive, and I have lots of time to explore when classes are over. I start my week by taking cross-cultural psychology, then head to my figurative sculpting class, where we learn to sculpt clay and eventually carve marble. I will usually get an espresso and a quick sandwich from Il Bufalo Trippone, the best sandwich shop ever, and head to my intro to Italian class, where we meet three days a week. When Tuesday comes around, all I have is exploring and analyzing Florence, where we walk around the city and learn about the history, how to learn to navigate the city, and learn about the traditions and values. One of my favorite moments from my classes is when we went to an authentic Florentine market and got traditional Florentine food and dessert. Overall, my experiences in class have been nothing short of amazing. My professors are incredibly helpful and kind while being able to teach the content in a fun and engaging way.
Unfortunately, there is some homework, but it might take up to 30 minutes a week at most. In my intro to Italian class, we have weekly homework, which helps me improve my Italian skills. It can be difficult to remember to complete my homework sometimes, especially as the weather keeps getting nicer out. To be successful with completing the homework, my roommates and I sit down on Wednesdays and complete all we have to.
All of my professors are from different areas and all have different backgrounds. One of my professors is from the States, one from Germany, and two from the north and south of Italy. Our class sizes are much smaller and from my experiences, the professors are much more interactive and you build better relationships with them here. In many of my classes there are often interactive activities we do to practice class material and in my sculpting class we move around and talk the entire time. While not having any classes here does sound fun, the classes are very worth while.