Hello readers,
Being my first blog post I think it’s only appropriate I include some general details about my choices in going abroad. To give a general description, I’m in Florence, Italy, studying studio arts, and living in a homestay. I’ve only been here for about a week and a half, but I’ve gotten to get to know my host family well and had a full week of classes. My Family consists of an older couple, and I have a housemate from my school as well. The hosts are much more welcoming and supportive than the Syracuse Abroad Program orientation implied. The couple really values making the other student and I feel part of the family versus a long-term guest. I can’t emphasize enough how smooth they have made my transition to living in a foreign country. My host mother speaks English well and my host dad is less so, but it doesn’t stop him from trying to interact. I would say some downfall to the homestay which is more related to Italy’s expensive electric bills is my host family doesn’t have constant Wi-Fi. They’ve asked us to only turn it on when using it. If you’re like me and stay up late doing homework or watching TV, it can be a tough adjustment when the Wi-Fi is turned off by the host parents who think you’re probably asleep. My solution has been just pre-downloading anything I might watch or listen to at the end of my day.
As for my first week of classes at Syracuse Florence, I’m content with the quality and usage of the historic city around us. My courses are as follows: Italian Renaissance Art, Painting 1, Drawing 1, Silk Screening 1, Italian 1, and Mapping Italy (a Syracuse-required travel tracking course). The Italian, Renaissance Art, and Drawing course all have built-in site visits around Florence. Most are structured, so one day of class is in the Syracuse main building and the next is at a relevant site to the course. I will say the most difficult part about the courses (which I normally struggle with) is the website the University uses to post assignments and syllabuses. Unlike Whitman, Syracuse uses a program called Blackboard which is equivalent to Canvas. Although it has the same function there are a bunch of differences which has taken me a little bit to adjust and find everything. Another noteworthy point for other studio art students interested in the Syracuse Abroad Program is taking three studio courses is very time-consuming. Each class is 3 hours long and the required Italian language course is 2hrs. That said, we don’t have school on Fridays, which extends the weekend for traveling and hopefully extra time to get work done outside the studios. I personally am trying to get my schedule changed because taking Drawing and Silk Screenings for a straight 6 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I love both courses, but it is hard to power through, especially when there’s no time to eat a snack in between.
Well, I hope my early impressions of the Syracuse Florence Center have been helpful for some!
-Rebecca