I was very worried before leaving for Florence because I had never lived in a city before and I was going to be so far away from home. I live about 3 hours from Fairfield, so I had never experienced living somewhere this far before and had only visited Europe for a short time previous to my trip. When I arrived it took a few days to feel settled, but I started to fall in love with the city. Like any new place, it can be overwhelming but the more I knew where I was going, the better it got and the more amazing things I got to experience in the city!
I had the pleasure of meeting Pope Francis when I traveled to Rome in April. My pastor from my church at home visits the Vatican every year for a conference. He invited me to a meeting with Pope Francis and many other people from the United States and I was blessed by him and was able to shake his hand. This opportunity was one of a life time, and I truly never thought I would have the privilege to do this. I feel forever changed by the day I spent in the Vatican.
My apartment looked out onto the Cathedral (duomo) in Florence. This beautiful view along with the busy city outside was my favorite part of my housing. We had street performers on our street outside almost everyday and I would open up my window to hear the beautiful opera or see a group of friends dancing to a man playing on his guitar. I lived in a 2 bedroom apartment with two other girls, and we had a spacious living room and kitchen. The living spaces are definitely smaller than at home, but it's part of the charm, and I never had a problem with the amount of space!
I took 5 classes at Florence University of the Arts, which now called The American University of Florence I believe. 4 of my classes counted towards my major/minors and one was an elective. There is a wide range of classes and some really interesting ones like Wine and Food pairings! I also had a class that was a walking class which meant we walked around the city to learn the history and visit the cites that we learned about instead of sitting in a classroom.
I had the pleasure of meeting Pope Francis when I traveled to Rome in April. My pastor from my church at home visits the Vatican every year for a conference. He invited me to a meeting with Pope Francis and many other people from the United States and I was blessed by him and was able to shake his hand. This opportunity was one of a life time, and I truly never thought I would have the privilege to do this. I feel forever changed by the day I spent in the Vatican.
In Florence, we had every Friday off from class. I spent a majority of my weekends traveling to places like Greece, England, France, Belgium, Spain and other places in Italy! There are many cheap options for these trips and we took advantage of that! In Florence there are also many museums, historical sites and shopping to do in your free time as well!
