If I had any advice to give another student planning to study abroad, I would let them know it is unwise to enter the program with any sort of expectations. No matter where a student decides to go, this advice would be helpful in the grand scheme of things. This is because, if something doesn’t go as planned (or even catastrophically wrong), that student will be unable to blame their…

Since spending a month in Spoleto, Italy, there is always something fun to do. One of the best days so far though was spent at a cooking class. It wasn’t at some large fancy establishment, but at a small locally owned restaurant. My instructor, Professor Lott, always takes his students to the same place each program to meet and cook with Chef Andrea Leonelli. His restaurant is off a small…

Hello! My name is Madi Rast, and I am a sophomore, but I am still undecided in major. I chose the study abroad summer program in Spoleto, Italy, Charleston’s sister city. The program includes two classes, The Travel Memoir taught by Professor Lott, who is also the director of the program, and The Italian Image in Nineteenth-Century American Literature taught by Dr. Peeples. Over the course of the program, we…

With a cappuccino in one hand and a chocolate cannoli in the other, I chat with fellow students while we watch the morning sun light up the Apennine Mountains. I think we can all agree this is not the worst way to start a school day! I am spending my summer in Spoleto, Italy where the view is breathtaking from any part of the city and locals are not only…