This week, I talked to my friend Nora Martin (senior, English and psychology) about the Adventist Colleges Abroad (ACA) program available to Andrews students. We chatted about their experience going abroad to study and travel in Italy during the fall semester and all that Italy has in store for its students. For those considering a semester or year in a foreign country, read ahead to see what experiences and opportunities may lie ahead!
Where did you go abroad last semester?
I went to Italy through the ACA program!
What made you decide to go there?
I wanted to live in this city and travel. I think in totality, it's a little less than seven or maybe six and a half thousand, something like that for three months with independent trips added into the program. We went for a week to Sorrento, that's in south Capri and I really enjoyed that.
All the food is paid for and you get free travel within the city of Florence [covered] for months, and it's not like that's the only trip either, we also went to other places. We went to museums, did activities, all of that. So I thought this was something that I’m probably not gonna have an opportunity to do as easily in the future.
What was your favorite thing you did there?
My favorite thing was living in the city. There's a lot of freedom inherent to having a public transportation system that gets you in and out places, and I liked that.
Would you recommend this to other people?
Oh, yeah. I do think if you’re interested in going for social reasons, it would be good to maybe coordinate with some other people who are interested in going and try to, like, get to know them before the trip happens. But, otherwise, if you're just there for the travel experience, then absolutely.
What’s an aspect of Italian culture you really enjoyed?
Well, the food is really good. And I feel like in general, Italian culture is just more relaxed and in particular Italian Adventism. I didn't mingle with a lot of non-Adventist Italian people, but Italian Adventists are really just laid-back people who love God.
What is your favorite Italian food?
Pasta, which is such a cop-out answer but it truly is just better. The pasta in general tends to be more handmade and so it tastes better. And then the sauces are better too even though the dishes themselves aren't extremely different from the American version. I feel like it's a lot simpler and the quality of the ingredients is better. Even regular spaghetti with tomato sauce is just better.
What classes did you take in Italy?
When I went they weren't requiring language classes and since that wouldn't count for anything towards my major, I just took all of the art classes. I did painting, ceramics, sculpture, cooking, tailoring, and fashion design. For the tailoring classes, it was mainly geared towards people who had never ever touched a sewing machine in their life. And so the first section of it, the part that I was there for, a lot of the material I already knew. But not everyone did. It was the same thing with the cooking class, I feel like most of the people who ended up taking it were people who truly had no experience in the kitchen and I think they learned a lot. But for me, I've been cooking for a long time because my mom taught me how to cook and so a lot of what they covered I knew already. But it’s a good beginner class and supposedly things get more difficult over the three quarters but I was just there for one quarter. I did really like the painting and sculpture class because I am a beginner so that was really good for me.
What do you think you will miss most about this experience?
Living in the city. You can just go on the train and you're in Florence and it was really great. And everything is so cheap. I mean, the buying power of one euro was way more than the buying power of a dollar in America. So even though the euro is about one point five or one point two five dollars, I could get coffee for like three euros. I did get a lot of bug bites though, and there were mosquitos everywhere—in the dorms, the hallways, and the showers—it made me appreciate Lamson more.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of 老司机传媒. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, 老司机传媒 or the Seventh-day Adventist church.