In March of 2022, an NYU student Stacia Datskovska wrote an article about how much she hated her time abroad in Florence, Italy. After the article went viral it sparked much controversy from those who are currently studying there.
The study abroad experience is a once in a lifetime and one that many do not get the chance to experience. While on social media the semester-long adventure looks like blue skies and chocolate-filled croissants, there is still real life happening behind the screen.
Moving thousands of miles away from the only country most students have ever called home. There can be a lot of lessons and challenges when taking on this life-changing step.
Simona Michelotti has worked with American Institute for Foreign Studies for 25 years and has found for many students one of the main adjustments students often struggle with is finding similarities to the states.
Students leave behind the comfort zones that they have known for 20 years.
“They expect to find similarities with the US. The same food, housing, or classes. This can be a problem. But of course, the majority of students that come here want to find the Italian way,” Michelotti said.
Seeing the differences and embracing them is what many students seek to do.
Datskovska wrote about how the Italians were hostile towards her and how everyone was traveling too much. Many current study abroad students felt she wasn't trying to embrace the culture.
“I was convinced my peers were doing it only to freshen up their social media profiles and make their friends back home jealous. I, on the other hand, wanted to travel to learn more about myself and explore ways to shape my life after graduation,” Datskovska said.
She sought out many negatives with her time abroad. If she were truly embracing the culture then she might not have felt this hostility.
While most students subtly look for similarities in classes and daily life it can be difficult due to some major differences in education tactics compared to the states.
Evelyn Deal from AIFS found that in the United States, teachers do not give as much grace. Everything is very structured and students are taught what they need to accomplish down to the bones.
“[In Europe] studying is more subjective and individualistic of what we need to write. I feel like that's a little harder for Americans to adjust to because we're not given as much direction as home, so it's harder to know where we are going wrong,” Evelyn said.
On top of going to classes there is also an adjustment to learning how to balance school and travel.
Students normally will start to come off the travelers high around 3-4 weeks. And the reality that this isnt an average vacation begins to set in.
After a short lull, this opportunity is embraced again because of all the wonderful adventures students have ahead of them.
“After 3 or 4 weeks students start to feel a little homesick. But then they become used to the culture and piece of life we have in Italy,” Michelotti said.
Students can choose to stay in Italy for the semester or venture off on weekend trips.
Trip planning is one of the many learning lessons from study abroad. The best takeaway from a traveling malfunction is to absorb it, find a solution, and move on. The trip will still be a success and is not completely ruined by one bump in the road.
Another AIFS student; Paige O’Connor, went to Amsterdam with four friends for spring break. When they had arrived at their hostel, they became aware of the scam that they had purchased.
“We walked into a cigarette smoke infested building. And then we went up to our room, and there was a man there when we paid for an all female room. It was a huge lesson to all of us to look at reviews and do research. It was an experience that I think we needed to have during our time abroad,” O’Connor said.
Without prior knowledge of a destination, scams and misrepresentations can often be a common occurrence for traveling students.
As foreigners, students stick out more in Europe which can mean that they are targeted more frequently for scams.
Since many students are in Florence for the whole semester they want to adapt as much as they can to the culture around them.
AIFS student Kyra Dewey has loved learning about the culture and has embraced it but also found that it is important to stick to your roots.
“It is definitely important to assimilate as much as possible, be aware of the cultural differences and be respectful but don't change what you do regularly just to try and be more Italian,” Kyra Dewey said.
There are 15 thousand American students per year in Florence. Majority of the citizens have learned English to accommodate tourists and students.
This can be seen as a positive but also as a negative for students staying long term.
“You do not have a lot of chances to speak italian. You meet people that know English, and when you try to speak Italian with them, they speak English,” Michelotti said.
Studying abroad is an eye opening experience that changes students for the rest of their lives.
Many students come to find new meaning in their lives or learn to appreciate a culture and a world they didn't before.
Unlike Stacia Datskovska, most students take the time abroad to find the positives in the lessons they are learning along the way.
In order to grow we need to do things that make us uncomfortable. Deal has done that and grown immensely during her time abroad.
“I came to study abroad by myself. I knew it would be the best way to break out of my skin and put myself in situations to meet new people. And from this I have met so many people that I never thought I would. I created a community for myself when I thought I would be all alone,” Deal said.
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