Hello all!  My name is Kelsey and I am actually a graduate student here at the College that decided to study abroad.  I am in the second year of the Master of Arts in Communication program and graduate in May. I did not go abroad for a semester during my undergraduate time (also at the College), but professors in the Communication department had made me aware that I would be able to incorporate an abroad experience during my time as a graduate student.  So to any potential graduate students reading this, it isn’t too late to study abroad!  You just have to be proactive in planning your coursework so you can fit something like this in.  The program I am here with is a CofC faculty led program and not an affiliate or an exchange program.  Professors from the English and Communication departments traveled here to teach, and the courses are hosted in a local hotel’s conference room.  Since I am  basically considered a non-traditional study abroad student, I am taking a graduate level pedagogy course, because I am interested in possibly becoming an adjunct instructor when I’m done with school.  So I get to attend two of the undergraduate courses, and make observations about the classroom environment! 

By the time I leave I would like to feel like I understand exactly how a Florentine lives.  I have been wanting to go to Italy for years!  Even before I decided on this trip I had been gifted Italy guidebooks.  They are full of post it flags of things I’d like to see and activities that I’d like to do.  Italy is a relatively young country compared to other European nations.  In one of my guidebooks I remember reading that Italian people have a strong allegiance to their region.  So instead of saying “I’m Italian” one might say “I’m Tuscan.”  I took French during my time as an undergraduate student, but Italian is close as it is also a romance language.  I know that I definitely won’t be fluent by the time that I leave, but I would like to learn basic words and phrases so I have an easier time around town!