Study Abroad by Amber Lingle
Moving to a new place is always a difficult adjustment for everyone to make. Living in another country with a language barrier, vast cultural differences, and little knowledge of the city, is more than an adjustment; it’s a complete lifestyle and mentality change. This is not something to be intimidated by, think of it as a new challenge that when you overcome the changes, you will realize how strong of a person you can be and what a wonderful place Florence can be.
Learning the language and the culture of Italy will be an important component in adjusting, since you will be living and breathing it, but it’s also helpful to find people that are adapting in the same ways. The city and their pre-deceived notions about Americans will take some time to get used to, however there are some antidotes that can help to make your time in Florence easier and a lot more fun.
There’s no shortage of students here, so it’s a matter of where to go and what to do that will make the difference in how much fun you can have here. As soon as you can get to a computer, get online and check out FlorenceForFun.com. It tells you all about events going on in Florence: shopping, museums and touring, accommodations, entertainment, restaurants, and everything new that’s happening. There are a lot of planned student activities where you can go to meet other people. The website promotes different events and trips happening all over the city. They are affiliated with the company Bus2Alps. This company plans cheap trips for students to travel throughout Italy and different places throughout Europe. They visit the Chez Republic, Switzerland, Ireland, Spain and have many other travel opportunities planned.
The trips include the bus to the destination and your hotel accommodations. When you get to the city they suggest places that are popular to visit and you are on your own for a few days to do what you want. It’s a great opportunity to meet new people and the tour guides offer help when you need it and great company. They treat you like family and its impossible to have a bad time, even on a sixteen hour bus trip!
I traveled to Prague with Bus2Alps and had such a memorable experience. I met a lot of new students on the bus trip and together we saw Prague Castle, Saint Vitus Cathedral, the Charles Bridge, the Convent of St. Agnes and Golden Lane. The city has a wonderful history with an old and new section built on either side of the Vltava River.
There is also non expensive shopping and delicious restaurants to try out. We ate well all weekend. Breakfast is included in the price, we ate light lunches and had really appetizing traditional Czech dishes for dinner. And of course, what trip would be complete without some crazy night life? There were a lot of bars and clubs to go to and the tour guides recommended the best places to go. There is even a dance club that has five floors with different music in each of them.
My money and time were well spent on this trip; because not only did I get learn about and travel to a beautiful city, I met new friends and shared the experience with forty other people that loved it as much as I did.
Florence is full of opportunities. There are many different ways to have fun in the city and travel to make your time here unforgettable. If you are an American student, this is the best time to travel around Europe as much as possible, for most, you won’t be back here for awhile. Take advantage of all of the opportunities that lay in front of you because you never know when you will have another chance.