Academic Programs International (API) offers comprehensive study abroad programs in 15 countries, 35 cities across Europe Latin America, and the Middle East.
Academic Programs International (API) offers comprehensive study abroad programs in 15 countries, 35 cities across Europe Latin America, and the Middle East.
Alycia Parish is an API student blogger and will be sharing her experiences in Florence, Italy this summer on our Tumblr blog.
After struggling to make coffee with my roommate and figuring out how to pour the unrefrigerated box of cream without a pouring spout into my coffee….I’m sitting at my dining room table looking out our balcony at our gorgeous view of central Florence…take a look…. :)
Sleep deprivation, sore legs, a full stomach, and overwhelming beauty. Just a few of the adjectives that describe my first week here in Italy. I can’t believe a week is over and already I have experienced so much, and already feel like I fit in here in Firenze….well, not quite, but I’m getting there.
My adventure began at the airport where my flight was delayed to Rome because the plane needed “maintenance,” AKA it was broken. Luckily, I met a group of awesome API girls and we had fun chatting while waiting for our second plane. I met 2 funny Italian men who were on our flight too, and I passed the time exchanging a few words of Italian that I knew with them and playing with one of those metal brain teaser puzzle things one of the Italians bought from the airport giftshop. When I told one of the Italians waiting with us that I would be studying in Florence, he smiled at me and said, “That is my town. I have loved it forever, and you will too.” I hadn’t even made it to Italy yet, but I knew he was right.
We found out our plane wasn’t going to take off that night, but luckily for us, my roommate’s mom was there and she was able to get us a flight to London that would connect to Rome. First adventure of the trip, and we weren’t even to Italy yet! Although we didn’t have time to leave the airport, I never planned on seeing London so it was still cool enough to listen to their amazing British accents!
Finally, we made it to Rome, 12 hours later than we planned. We had already missed our first orientation, and everyone else was at the restaurant waiting for us. My first taste of Italian driving——-SCARY!!!! Our cab driver was driving so incredibly fast and was pretty much bumper to bumper with the car in front of him on the highway that all I could do was pray that my seatbelt would do me good when we inevitably crashed. 40 euros poorer and and with a elevated blood pressure we made it to our beautiful hotel in the historic district of Rome! We had dinner with the other API students and had a fantastic 3 course meal complete with Antipasto, Primi Patti, and Secondi. So. much. food. I barely ate any of it because I was still so overwhelmed from our whole travel ordeal but the bites I did take were amazing. At that moment I knew I was going to gain a few pounds here, but they will definitely be worth it.
Rome was amazing. I am mildly obsessed with the abundance of ancient history in every aspect of the city—from the architecture, traditions and passion the Italians have for their culture from their ancestors. The next day we traveled to the historic district of Rome where we saw the Piazza Novana, the old Foro Romano, the Piazza di Spagna, the Trevvi Fountain, and of course, the Colloseum. I was so beyond excited to see everything.. it was crazy that all of these places that I have seen in pictures and dreamed of seeing for what has seemed like forever finally materialized right in front of me.
Despite screaming TOURISTE with our headsets and lanyards listening to our tourguide Manuel (THE BEST TOURGUIDE EVER) narrate everything, I still managed to find a personal connection to the city. During most of the tour of the city I tried to absorb everything, and tried to not just see, but to observe, not just listen, but to understand this wonderful culture and its history. While I think America has a lot of great history, nothing comes close to the rich history of Italy. It can’t be topped. I saw how strong all of the buildings stood on their foundations, built thousands of years ago by the Romans. I have such a strong appreciation for the literal blood, sweat and tears the people of Rome poured into creating their city, their empire, to last for centuries to come. Feeling the worn stone walls of the buildings, I could feel the passion in each stone stacked on top of each other, each perfect column, each perfectly formed human body and face in their sculptures, churches, and frescoes. I was in such awe of the dedication and purposefulness that was so obvious in everything the Romans did. I can’t describe with words or pictures the feeling I felt with my hand on the walls of the Colloseum, imagining how life might have been like if I was a Roman.
After seeing the city, a bunch of us walked around on our own and got lost in the city…walking around the beautiful Piazza’s, shops, and restaurants. Using my limited vocab of Italian, I managed to make a few friends in Rome, using many gestures and charades to find out what each other meant. While there were a few creepers, the majority of Romans we met were funny and so interesting to talk to! A lot of them attended the university there and were typical college students like ourselves. It was nice to finally interact with some Italians our age and try to understand their culture more.
The next day we saw the Vatican… which was also breathtaking. I didn’t see the Pope, but couldn’t help but think he was looking at us below the Vatican out of his little window in his room! It was great to finally say that I’ve been to the Vatican and can say that I definitely feel a little bit holier now. :)
The next day, it was Arrivederci Roma. Time to gather our belongings, leave our beautiful hotel that smelled of fresh pizza from our Italian neighbors next door, and get on the bus to our real destination, Florence, or Firenze as the Italians call it. I was so caught up in discovering Rome that I almost forgot that I wasn’t even in the city I chose yet. While I napped off and on during the bus ride, the glimpses of countryside I saw on our trip to Firenze gave me an immediate sense of peace and comfort.
I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Scott Manela is an API student blogger and will be sharing his experiences in Florence, Italy this summer on our Tumblr blog.
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Scott. I’m a rising senior at The University of Georgia. I was born and raised in Washington DC. I’m a family-man, an uncle of three awesome toddlers. And most importantly, I’m here to tell you what’s good.
What’s good, you ask? The answer: everything I have to say. So listen up, readers. I’m about to brief you on some legit information.
Some say I’ve got a wit about me that personifies my character as humorous. You may agree, you may not. Thing is, I’m still trying to figure it out too. Am I comical or am I serious? I look at myself from the outside in and see, what I’ve titled, a pragmatic jester. This, because while I tend to spit a few comical lines every so often, I always mean business.
Business, that’s my focus at UGA. Marketing is my major and creativity is my passion. I habitually look for canvases to express myself upon. Be it a desk, a basketball court, a tweet, or even a blog post (like this one), I’m gonna leave my mark. It’s true, I’m no da Vinci, but I don’t let that stop me. So readers, prepare yourselves, because the text that follows is my latest attempt at painting a masterpiece.
I’ll begin my sketch by saying this: I’ve never been one to let a regret take hold of me. While this is true for most everything, I’ve coped with one for quite a while now. And that is: I’m not a traveler. I’ve only gone beyond US borders once in my 21 years of existence: a “life changing” voyage to the Bahamas for my senior year spring break. SB ‘09, so cray.
This remorse has taken its toll. I’ve been contemplating on it for too long. It appears that somewhere along my life, I slammed a door and locked it shut. Behind that door: the rest of the world. Well readers, now is the time to pry that door open. Let me make you the first to know: I’m breaking barriers this summer. Bongiorno, Florence. Anyone got a crowbar?
So why Florence, you ask? It’s a valid question. What we have here is something that Facebook Timeline would define as a Life Event. I can already imagine my post— May 20: “crowbar worked, door opened, #helloworld”. That should get a lot of Likes, no doubt.
Like it or not though, this Life Event must have motives behind it. If you’re still reading I’ve obviously captivated you at this point. You are undoubtedly dying to know why Italy is my foreign land of choice. To reward you for your attention, I will elaborate. Lucky you, reader, lucky you.
I’ll preface with this fun fact: I don’t speak Italian… at all. Literally not one bit whatsoever. So with that, it really is a mystery. Seriously, what am I thinking?
Like I said earlier, I study business. And as I mentioned, I mean business too. I’ve calculated my to-be abroad experience (with the help of the wonderful API staff) and know exactly what I want to accomplish in the amazing city of Florence:
* From an academic standpoint: 9 weeks; 4 classes; 12 credits; 4.0.
* From an artistic standpoint: 9 weeks; 40+ museums; 1 digital camera; ∞ canvases.
* From an awesome standpoint: 9 weeks; 1 continent; 1 student; 1 mission.
My mission: make the uncomfortable, comfortable; take my mind off the typical collegiate grind; learn and gain experience from the opportunities presented to me; and lastly, just saddle up and travel. This summer, I don’t plan to just reach for the stars, I’m gonna grab them too.
As I make this leap, this determined bound to grasp every single experience worth experiencing, I’ll make sure to describe it all. I enter Florence blindly. No expectations, just goals. How I meet these standards, I do not yet know. What I do know is this: this won’t be your travel blog norm. This is Europe the way I see it. Through my eyes. My way.
Culture? Food? Religion? Don’t know much yet, but I welcome it all with open arms. I intentionally haven’t done my research. I’m not ready for what’s to come but I’ll take it head on. Come on, Florence, bring it.
Italy, here I come. Get ready for me. Please readers, tag along. I may not speak Italian, but I’m definitely a quality tour guide.
First stop: Rome. See y’all there.
Christine Hurst studied abroad with API in Rome, and served as an API Peer Mentor at Stonehill College
Late last spring, a few of my housemates bought a toaster. And there’s no other way to say it: that simple purchase changed my life. I had no idea how much I’d missed the simplicity of toasted bread, and not just at breakfast. It wasn’t long before I found myself sneaking downstairs for a midnight study break, and preparing the butter and jam before the bread even popped out.
Now, maybe I’m just an overly excitable person, or easily amused. It’s not like I’m spoiled and can’t go without the amenities of daily American living; I was out of the country a total of nine months of the year, and now experience occasional homesickness for Rome. But having toast after so many months of learning to embrace foreign vegetables was more than a slice of something familiar: it was comforting, enjoyable, and delicious.
It was something we could all agree on, because it wasn’t spicy, and didn’t smell like fish. It was something we all ate in different ways, some of us with butter and jam, some of us with sauce, and others simply with complete abandon – ok, maybe that last one was just me. And it added something to my life which I hadn’t been aware was missing.
In Europe, April is the middle of the semester – finals don’t start until June, and I didn’t get home last year until July. That midpoint is about when things started to get a little rough. My classes had stopped being new and exciting, but it hadn’t yet started to really settle in my brain yet. My teachers were no longer intriguing in their accents and unique pedagogies, but only mundane and occasionally frustrating. It was about that time when the work started to pick up, and studying abroad was beginning to feel suspiciously like taking the same tough classes with a different backdrop, nothing more. Homework, papers, long hours spent studying in the library. Where was the adventure in all of this?
It’s a good thing that toaster came along when it did. Now my morning routine involved one element even more elusive than crunchy deliciousness: waiting. Just a few minutes between depressing the lever and receiving the toast, but it was enough time to sit at the kitchen window and watch the city come awake around me: to hear the morning bells, and to watch the early pedestrians arrive at the bus stop.
And along with that, came other little, hardly perceptible changes in my day. I had the chance to remember to grab my hat, because spring means rain in Europe. Often it meant I was up early enough to say good morning to my housemates before we all went our separate ways in the day. I had time to stand at the bus stop and take notice of the world around me, all the little things I was overlooking that still made this study-abroad experience so unique. How could I stress about classes when I was walking by the Tiber every day on my way to class? When I took a bus home past the Vatican every night?
Today, back at home now in the US, every time I bite into a piece of toast I’m reminded of the diverse and wonderful personalities in the different houses I’ve lived in abroad. I’m reminded of slower-paced mornings, casual afternoons, of deciding to take the coffee break no matter how much work I have to get done, of quiet evenings cooking in my apartment with its view of cobblestone streets. College doesn’t afford many opportunities to slow down and take stock of my surroundings, but every once in a while something completely mundane and American occurs, like a piece of toast, and it gives me the chance to realize how much I have going on all around me.
The semester gets hectic; the work piles up; it’s spring and it’s raining and half the time I forget my hat, and it’s the easiest thing in the world to get frustrated and annoyed. But whenever I do, I try to remind myself: slow down. Focus on the little things, either the memories from the year spent abroad, or all the good things happening every day. Focus on the pleasant things, see the bright among the habitual and commonplace, and take the time to enjoy every moment. Because who knows the next time I’ll be in a foreign country and be so delighted over something as simple as toast?
Christine Hurst studied abroad with API in Rome, and served as an API Peer Mentor at Stonehill College
Maybe it’s where you grew up. Maybe it’s where you learned to ride a bike or where you learned to swim. Maybe it’s where you’ve celebrated your birthdays, in the same kitchen, opened Christmas presents or lit the hanukkiah year after year.
The most common phrase I keep hearing, now that graduation is just around the corner, is: “I’m going home.” But the more I hear it – and the more I keep saying it myself – the stranger it is in my head. In the last two years I’ve had four addresses; and only two of them have been in this country. Only one of them has been with the people who raised me. So, yes, I’m returning to the place where I grew up, but does that really mean I’m going home?
To me, home is a concept, a construct, and it’s different for everyone. “Home” could be your porch, your garden, your car, your favorite summer ice cream stand. “Home” could be your suitcase, your passport, your pillow. “Home” could be that faraway look in your eyes when you talk about the foreign city that so intimidated you when you arrived, which you hated to leave and can’t wait to go back. Could be that group of people, perhaps only gathered in the same place in time for a single year or a single semester or even a single summer, and somehow creeping everyone’s Facebook and Twitter and Tumblr isn’t quite the same thing as actually being together again.
For me, “home” is all of these and none of these at the same time. For me, home is the streets and sidewalks I traverse every day, cobblestone or concrete; home is the shops and stores and restaurants which I visit or pass by on a regular basis; home is the familiar smile from the shopkeepers and crossing guards. Home is knowing how the sun hits the uppermost corners of the buildings first thing in the morning, and how sunset touches the rivers and windows late in the evening. Home is knowing bus numbers and routes and stops, and waiting casually at the street corner after school with the locals.
Home is knowing what day the fruit will be fresh at market, or remembering to duck my head when I pass through certain doorways. Home is chatting with the neighbors over hanging laundry to dry on sunny days, then laughing together when it suddenly starts to rain. Home is where I first learned that language barriers only make birthday parties more fun, where I first understood in a very experiential way that all people cry over the same things, laugh for the same reasons, and stop to watch the sunset.
Home is not about things staying the same but instead about growing accustomed to the differences, hearing the sound of Malayalam spoken throughout the house, or the smells of African cooking. Home is making dinner together, though none of us speak the same language. Home is about embracing the togetherness and comfort that we find in one another, which I found in my housemates both semesters I was abroad. Two very different countries, two very different experiences, two very different sets of people. And Skyping with them does not make me miss them less. Though it does serve to remind me how lucky I am to have met them at all. <
And I feel so fortunate in knowing that I’m never too far from a place I call home, because home is all of those things and more. I know that when I move away from the town in which I grew up, I’m not really leaving home but instead relocating to a different one. Making a new one. Nobody ever said I have to have just one. There is something very comforting in understanding that no matter where I go – to a foreign country, among non-English-speaking people, in a far-off land – I always know that I can find a way to feel at home.
Christine Hurst studied abroad with API in Rome, and served as an API Peer Mentor at Stonehill College
It all seems so possible. If we set goals, if we make plans, if we stick to our ideas and know how to follow through. If we memorize the timetables and arrivals and departures, buy our tickets ahead of time, online, and print them beforehand. It all seems as though we can really structure it and plan it all out and control it ourselves. If we pack maps and guides and learn even a few catchphrases, then travel should be a cinch.
But travel, especially the wanderlust kind, never works out that way, and somehow it’s really not supposed to. So much of travel – and indeed, so much of life – really depends upon luck. Certainly it’s wise to plan ahead and book in advance. But how was I to know that, while snowed into the Italian airport for two nights, that I would meet the niece of a professor at my school, whose class I would take the following semester? Many of the API university sites host many single-semester study-abroad students. Had I altered my plans just a little, I would have met and befriended an entirely different set of people. The geography of my friendships would be so different. The entire experience would have been so different. And I consider myself lucky that, in the end, things worked out the way they did.
Because when it comes down to traveling, there’s really only so much of it that we can control, and the rest is out of our hands. These are the years of movement, in which only change is constant – everything from field of study to sense of fashion; most college experiences are also marked by significant change of address a well: a different town, a different state, occasionally a different country. We never know what we’re going to experience next.
And that’s a part of the appeal as well. To discover not only new settings, new languages, a new backdrop, but also to put ourselves out there, to be open to the possibility of discovering new friends, new “family”, and maybe, in the end, something new about ourselves. To take up the risk of buying the plane ticket and getting the visa, but also of recognizing and leaving oneself open to the experiences of the unknown. Yes, it’s dangerous – you may get lost, confused, scared, homesick. But in the end what you discover will be worth all that you think was too difficult to overcome. The unexpected. An unplanned detour, a missed departure, an unintentional turn of events beyond our control might just be an opportunity to seize the moment, be in the present, and let go of the stress and the pressure of being in control; it may be just the right time to enjoy the ride and leave the rest up to luck.
Christian Iezzi studied abroad with API in Florence, Italy, and serves as the API Peer Mentor at Baruch College, where he is soon to graduate.
Me with the API Florence staff
One of the key features that separates API from all other study abroad programs is the dedicated support staff that is on-site in all the countries that they send their students to. Speaking from my personal experience, I can say that they are some of the most helpful individuals I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting. Not only were they there to help with all of the logistical concerns we had, but also for the cultural, social, and even linguistic technicalities. I was in the API office at Via Cavour 34, several times a week sometimes for hours on end. The five women who staffed this office (Federica, Ellen, Monica, Irene, and Cathy) would become my unofficial guides to anything and everything Florentine. What saddens me is when I realize that there were so many other students who did not avail themselves of the opportunity to learn about Italy through the eyes of people who knew this country intimately.
My first experience with the API support staff occurred immediately upon my passing through customs in Florence. The first person I saw was a smiling woman with a big sign with the API logo on it. It was like finally reaching an oasis after stumbling through the desert for what felt like an eternity. I was annoyed with Alitalia airlines, I was overwhelmed by being in a totally new country, and I was frustrated that I was having so much trouble recalling my Italian language skills; but seeing an API rep waiting for me was a turning point where I finally felt that things were going according to plan. This feeling of settling in would only grow stronger as time went on, as API was there throughout my weeks of orientation and always ready to answer my (often numerous) questions.
Even though I am an Italian-American, I had no idea what it meant to be a local in an Italian city. There were times when I found myself a little confused about some local custom or just wanted a suggestion on where to have lunch and I would always walk over to the office to see who was available. My persistent curiosity eventually led me to having very meaningful discussions with everyone in the office. I learned so much about Italy and what it meant to actually live there. This knowledge was not confined to Florence, as I would often seek them out while we were on our excursions to other cities. From discovering details about Venetian cuisine to learning odd facts about Roman history, I could always rely on valuable information from the API staff regardless of where we happened to be.
The ladies of API were so helpful on so many levels. Two examples immediately come to mind, as they are some of my most vivid memories of my Study Abroad experience. The first was when three friends and I decided to plan a road trip to the South of Italy. We were interested in getting a “professional” opinion on our plans to rent a car so we all went down to the office to discuss it. We went on a Friday afternoon and hammered out our plans in the student lounge while Cathy, Monica, and Irene all told us that it sounded like a fantastic idea and strongly encouraged us to pursue it. We had specific concerns about driving in Italy. Cathy gave us advice on road etiquette (the left lane is only for passing, don’t linger!), while Monica loaned us a giant book of Italian maps and even called the rental car agency and spoke to them in Italian for us so that we could get accurate answers to some of our questions. This road trip was a resounding success as all four of us had an incredible weekend in the Italian countryside, one that continues to define my experience in Italy.
My second memorable experience with the API staff was at the very end of my trip. They had always told us that they offered free Italian language assistance to any student who needed it. Again, very few people actually took them up on this offer and I didn’t either up until the end of the semester. I was sitting in the student lounge of the office studying very hard for my Italian Final. I was in the Intermediate 6-credit language class and they were cramming a lot of material into the last few weeks. Irene was around and asked me if I had any particular questions that she could help me with. There were a few concepts that I wanted to clarify so I just asked a few basic questions; this turned into a study session of about an hour-and-a-half. I could not have been more grateful for her help and I give her a lot of credit for helping me get through my final (relatively) unscathed.
I can’t overstate just how much of an impact these five very special women had upon my experience in Italy. They were my surrogate family who were there to make sure that everything went according to plan. The key to their success was that they were not overbearing in the slightest but were always available to help with anything we might need. In my opinion, this is the hallmark of API’s outstanding level commitment to their students. I would strongly encourage any prospective API student to endeavor to get to know the on-site staff because their assistance can prove invaluable and if you make the effort these relationships can turn into very meaningful ones. I was fortunate enough to meet five women all of whom I am honored to call my friends.
Mallory Bazan is an API student contributor to our Tumblr blog, and will regularly report on her adventures in Florence, Italy.
There’s no place like home.
When you are a child you know exactly what home is. It is the house you grew up in, filled with your loved ones, your prized possessions, where your favorite festivals were celebrated, and where sweet monotony laid in-between.
But then, perhaps, like most of you reading this, you traveled.
Home became less concrete. It is no longer one certain place. You’ve grown old, you’ve moved. And home became a garden in Stratford, meringues in Florence, star-gazing in Decorah, train rides in Scotland.
Home is no longer one thing, in one place, at one time, but the many things that make you happy.
So you travel more and more, to enjoy all the different things that make you feel at home.
Now how to fuel this traveling urge?
Where to go
Getting Around
Place to sleep
Overall Traveling
Elizabeth Gildea is an API student contributor to our Tumblr blog, and will regularly report on her adventures in Rome, Italy.
After spending the most amazing weekend in Florence on an API excursion, I am all about traveling right now. Firenze itself was insanely beautiful, and with the addition of an Italian cooking class and hours to shop in the leather markets, I was pretty much in heaven. Anyways, it’s a little hard to focus on midterms (yes, we actually have classes here) when all I want to do is plan my next adventure. Up next on my calendar are the Amalfi Coast, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. In the process of booking all these trips, I’ve picked up a few tricks of the trade. Some tips on weekend travel while studying abroad:
1. Make your list of places before you leave the U.S. There are at least a million places I want to travel to in Europe and my friends have a couple million places to add as well. Obviously there aren’t that many weekends in a semester, so prioritizing is key. Make sure you’re getting to the places you’ve been dying to go before you get swept up in the chaos of planning trips with eight roommates.
2. Be flexible. This is probably a good tip for studying abroad in general, but for traveling its absolutely mandatory. First of all, be flexible where you travel. I wasn’t planning on going to Prague, even though my roommates were dead-set on it, but after a few Google Image searches I was in and it’s one of the trips I am most looking forward to. Second, be flexible what dates you go. Head to major cities in the off-season to save some serious cash.
3. Start budgeting now. Take it from this girl, who managed to blow her entire budget within the first few weeks, be as frugal as possible. Check out budget airlines, like Ryanair and EasyJet, to fly cheap. If you leave at an ungodly hour in the morning or fly on a weekday, it’s normally less expensive. Look for promo deals with TrenItalia and bus sites. Be sure to book in advance and get an International Student Identity card for discounts!
4. Stay in hostels. I know you saw that totally terrible movie Hostel, but I promise they’re really not that bad. Actually, I’ve loved staying in hostels; they’re a great place to meet other young travelers! Search sites like HostelWorld.com and HostelBookers.com to compare the options in your destination. Always read the reviews before booking! If you’re freaked out about bed bugs (which you shouldn’t encounter if you do your research!), invest in a sleep-sheet and travel pillow. Don’t forget to bring a padlock for lockers!
Well, get to planning! A presto!
Mallory Bazan is an API student contributor to our Tumblr blog, and will regularly report on her adventures in Florence, Italy.
The History:
Teatro Communale, also known as Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, was originally built as an outdoor amphitheatre in 1862. The building has been transformed through time, standing through years of history, including war. The building that now stands was last renovated in 1961, and holds the stage, orchestra pit and 2,000 audience members within a ground floor and two balconies, curved to reflect the original status of the building as an amphitheater.
The productions:
The performance of Swan Lake was certainly a surprise. The original music was used, but the performance was far from what was thought as a traditional interpretation. In fact, Tchaikovsky himself was brought as a character into the story. His life was played out in dance, against one of his most famous compositions, alongside his original characters, the prince, the white swan, and the black swan.
Tosca, however, was completely and wonderfully traditional. Beautiful costuming and set design brought the audience centuries back into the lives of a young singer, her artist lover Mario, his friend the political fugitive, and the malevolent noble Scarpia.
Both pieces brought to beauty the old and new influences of Italian artists and culture.
The scene:
As an outsider I was both encouraged and intrigued by the social situations I observed.
Looking to go to a performance? Stop by the ticket booth at Corso Italia 16, 50123 Florence, Italy or check out their website at http://www.maggiofiorentino.it/. If you’re under 26 make sure to ask if you can get the “young person” discount.
Mallory Bazan is an API student contributor to our Tumblr blog, and will regularly report on her adventures in Florence, Italy.
To Have and To Have Not
We have all been there. You are sitting next to the person who can do everything, because they have the money, because they got luck of the draw, because somehow, maybe, the universe just favored them.
And again we’ve all been on the other side of the scenario at one point or another; having to figure out how to enjoy something you CAN afford, got, won, or saved for, while another person can’t.
Welcome to studying abroad.
The good news is that there are things to do at basically ANY budget, however it does take time and effort to figure out what they are, and to resist going one way or the other simply because another person can’t or doesn’t want to.
We’ll start with the program—what isn’t equal? Well, basically anything to do with your apartment. Why? Simply because there is no way to find living space for 200+ people in a historical city with only minimal differences.
Everyone here has a decent workable apartment, just don’t expect them to be carbon copies. Apartments have different sizes of rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, different types of appliances all at different ages. Some have balconies some don’t. Some face monuments; some face the backside of hotels. Some internet is barely manageable, some is buonissimo.
The point is that they are all livable. But you may see apartments which have better attributes, or may deal with people see yours and now view their apartment as lesser.
Be prepared for this. And understand that you are not abroad to enjoy the confines of an apartment. You came here to study and enjoy this new country and culture you have put yourself into.
The second (and possibly more problematic) situation you will have to deal with is dealing with people who are either above or below your financial status.
The first thing to do is to know your budget and its flexibility (preferably before you even arrive at your designation).
The second thing to do is communicate what your budget is to your housemates and friends. Either make sure they know you have a lower budget, and then work together on how this will fit, or acknowledge your budget may be higher than theirs and offer to be flexible when it comes to group expenditures.
I will repeat the fact that no matter your budget, there are plenty of things to do in your specific destination.. Of course on a larger budget there are many travel booklets that will recommend you the top places for any activity of your wishing. For budgeted study-abroad you may have to dig a little bit more, or be a little more creative, to find activities in your price-range, but there are still many to be had. A few words of advice that have stuck with me and some favorite recommendations on free or inexpensive activities are as below:
1. Explore, simply walk around your new city. Pack a snack and a water bottle to save on shopping costs.
2. Go to museums. Many museums have discounts for students and some API programs may offer regional membership cards that will get you in for free (check with your specific program for details).
3. Have a five course meal…..at home. Or if you want a restaurant experience without the 5 course price tag, try aperativo—usually a 8-10 euro price tag that comes with a drink and a buffet of tapas-like food (do keep in mind the tab usually increased if you wish to dine seated).
4. Travel inside your host country. Bus fares can be minimal and day trips with a packed lunch (and no need for a booked hostel) can end up being quite inexpensive when planned ahead.
5. As far as grocery shopping, stay away from small convenience shops, as they will tend to be more expensive, and when in the “bigger” grocery stores make sure to stop and compare prices, check the lower shelves for cheaper goods, and buy bargain brands for what you can. This will give you the opportunity to make big, delicious, meals without a big price tag.
6. Really tight on cash but still want to enjoy the night life? The easiest way to save money when going out is simply to abstain from alcohol. This not only will keep you well in line with API’s regulations, but also your host country’s laws, and you budget will not be bled dry.
![theatlantic:
Picture of the Day: Snowfall Across Italy, From Space
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’a Aqua satellite captured this picture of Italy last week, shortly after recent snowstorms had blanketed much of the country. The Aqua satellite has been in orbit since 2002, collecting information about all aspects of the Earth’s water cycle, including evaporation, clouds, soil moisture, and fluctuations in sea and land ice cover.
See more. [Image: NASA]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m025uhz0pu1qcokc4o1_250.jpg)
