CEA CAPA Education Abroad in Florence, Italy

Although there are no words that could perfectly describe my time with CAPA in Florence, I'll give it a shot. I had always planned on studying abroad in Rome, but somehow I stumbled across CAPA's program in Florence and decided to go for it. Little did I know that this would become the best decision I have ever made. I arrived in Florence knowing enough Italian to order gelato, but not much else. From pairing me with the best roommates I could ask for, to giving me an apartment that showed me what it was like to be a true local, and providing me with classes that brought the streets and language to life, CAPA did it all. It was impossible to complain about school when I was taking classes like, Exploring the Global City, Italian Cinema, and Italian. These classes and teachers allowed me to truly dive into the full Italian experience, while teaching me how to not only recognize the works of Botticelli, but also the proper time of day to order a cappuccino. Aside from giving me more knowledge than I could've imagined, the CAPA staff truly cared about each one of us. Whether it be gathering all the information of our weekend trips, or asking other teachers if we're doing okay after a poor quiz grade (sorry Professoressa), I always felt at home. Leaving Florence and CAPA was one of the hardest thing I've ever done, but thankfully they just provided me with so many more reasons to go back.

This past fall was the best 3 months of my entire life. Studying with CAPA in Florence, Italy could not have been better. I learned an extreme amount about myself, the world, different cultures, ways of life, and traveling. I have never been out of the country before this, or even away from home, so this was a huge move for me. I had to start my adult life in a completely new country, and different type of culture. I learned a lot from the way the Italians live. For instance, I learned not to be in such a rush all the time, sip and thoroughly enjoy my coffee, respect my elders, and just truly live. Being with CAPA was amazing, my apartment was incredible and right in the heart of the city, and very close to my fellow classmates. Plenty of cafes, shops, museums, the school, historic landmarks, and nightlife all within walking distance. Over my 3 months I got to travel to 7 different countries, and make unbreakable lifelong friendships.

The CEA program helped to make my study abroad experience as positive as it was. I had never been out of the United States before in my life, and the CEA staff helped me to transition into the Florence living as easily as possible.

The classes were not the regular business classes I was used to taking back at Penn State, but that is why they were so interesting. The classes helped immerse me into the amazing culture that was surrounding me, and the topics taught were very captivating. For example, the Fashion Marketing class taught me insights into the marketing world that I never would have known otherwise, all while being able to take included field trips to places such as Luisa via Roma, Miu Miu, and the Gucci Museum. My Italian teacher, Martina, was there to help with whatever I needed, while making it fun to learn Italian with songs (that I still sing to this day), and took her classes on field trips to local artisans and the market for practice.

The CEA staff is not only concerned about your safety and learning, but they also make sure the experience is fun and memorable. With provided trips to multiple cities around Italy, delicious traditional meals, welcoming lunches and goodbye dinners, we knew we were lucky to have chosen CEA. I made lifelong friends with people from schools all over the country, had the best food I'll ever have in my life, learnt a beautiful language, and experienced a brand new culture, all in a very short 4 months.

I didn't enroll through CEA directly, my school had a program working with them.

Florence is a beautiful city with great food and culture. The CEA staff are all friendly and eager to help out. I'm used to larger classes on a quarter system, so it was a bit of an adjustment for me.

I highly recommend the Fashion Marketing class with Professor Tamara Evans if you have any interest in it. The class can be a lot of terminology at times, but her stories are so interesting and she knows everyone.

I also advise anyone prone to mosquito bites to get netting over their windows and/or bug spray because me and many other students had terrible bites!

Going into my study abroad experience I knew that I wanted to force myself out of my comfort zone in order to have a maximized experience in a foreign country. I was determined to make Florence my home away from home that I could always go back to. Instead of rooming with my best friends from Boulder, I lived in a homestay with locals. Instead of spending all of my time with English speakers, I spent quality time with Italian children as I volunteered teaching English at a local Elementary school. Through my time teaching English, as well as time devoted to my host family, such as going on walks through the gardens with my host mom, I managed to accomplish leaving Florence feeling like it truly is my home away from home. I can only hope that one day I will have the amazing opportunity to return.

Here's a story I wrote in my journal while I was abroad:

A Day In The Life...

First of all, it is starting to warm up here in Flo and I'm all sorts of happy about it. Sunny skies and warmer temperatures make everything better, wouldn't you agree? Anyways, I met up with my friends Morgan and Alexa after class and we stopped at the cutest cafe and each got a sweet treat, mine being a delectable waffle that I thoroughly enjoyed. Then, after stopping at the art supplies store for some things I needed, we made our way to the chocolate festival, going on in a Piazza near the river just in time for Valentines day weekend. There was an entire row of chocolate stands, each one showing off their own chocolate creations from bark to truffles to chocolate covered strawberries and waffles. As we ate our way through, and purchased some of our own, we decided it was a good idea to avoid studying for a little longer and take in the sunset from the River Arno. We went to a bridge, plopped down on it, and soaked in the last bit of sunshine before it set into a beautiful pink and purple sunset.

Then, we decided we were hungry (and didn't want to study) so we made a plan to eat at Gusta Pizza - a famous pizzeria on the other side of the river. Sadly it was closed, but we did stop in a couple shops and purchased a few goodies. I got the ring I wanted, which was very exciting!

Finally, we came to the conclusion that it was time to go home and face reality, so we made our way back. But not before we stopped at Mr. Pizza where we received heart shaped pizzas. So cute.

It's crazy to think it's been a month and I've only talked about places other than the absolutely AMAZING city that I live in. Everything about it makes me smile every day, from my walk to class to the Italian's dogs to the wine - this city definitely has been a perfect place to call home for the past month.

My favorite part about living abroad in Florence was exploring the city itself. The staff and faculty in my program made this especially possible through sharing their favorite sights, restaurants, and museums of Florence. The city itself is highly populated with study abroad students, but I still was able to explore the city on my own. Experiences like speaking Italian at my local bakery or taking trains to less famous cities like medieval Prato helped shape my experience. I wanted to study abroad for lots of reasons, but in the end I miss Florence because of the incredible and unique people I met both through my school and outside of it.

My study abroad experience with CAPA was nothing short of amazing. The staff was extremely accommodating, my flat was gorgeous and right in the city center, and my classes were interesting. I was happy to arrive in Florence, ready for a new adventure, and CAPA provided me with just that. I made countless new friends, who became family. I would never take back my decision to study abroad with CAPA.