GO: Why did you decide to study abroad with LinguaViva in Florence, Italy?
Nicole: Back in 2006, I went on a family vacation to Italy. We stayed mostly in Rome, but went on a few day trips to surrounding cities, one of those cities being Florence. I cannot explain the feeling I got when I toured Florence, other than one of complete awe. I was so drawn to the architecture, beauty and charm of the city. I could not believe that so many great works of art could all be within ten minutes of each other. I knew that a few hours in Florence would not suffice and I told my parents that I needed to come back.
Sophomore year of college was when I began researching study abroad programs because I already knew that I wanted to go abroad the spring of my junior year. I only wanted to go to one place, Florence. Unfortunately for me, my college seemed to offer study abroad programs in just about every other city around the world, except for the one place I wanted to go. That was not going to prevent me from going to Florence, so I researched for a while the programs offered through other colleges. I found one that went through LinguaViva and applied as early as I could. I was immediately drawn to the LinguaViva program because it is a small school that attracts students from all over the world and offers so many excursions.
Nicole with other LinguaViva students on an excursion in Florence
GO: What made studying abroad a unique and special experience?
Nicole: My study abroad experience was unique because I went through an American college's program to LinguaViva. There were about 25 students in the program, and while we were housed with students within the program, we attended classes with other international students. The first person I met and ended up befriending at LinguaViva was from Venezuela and another friend I made was from Sweden. I would have never imagined that the school would have been so diverse. What made it even more interesting was that we learned the Italian language and culture together. The staff at LinguaViva was incredible. All of my teachers were excited to teach us Italian and always gave us advice on things to do around the city.
