Submitted by Tyler Wing on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Art…
At the time of writing this, I’ve been in Florence just a bit longer than 24 hours. The hourney began on Wednesday evening in the States, when my girlfriend (who is another UD student studying abroad with me) and I boarded our 8 hour and 30 minute flight from Philly to Rome. This was by far the longest flight of my life, and it was as uncomfortable and claustrophobic as I had imagined. When we finally landed in Rome, we immediately hopped on a bus to Florence for another four hours. This was one of the most exhausting travel days I’ve experienced, but it was well worth it when my girlfriend and I checked into our beautiful accomodatioms. So far, we have only had the opportunity to explore a small portion of the city, and I am so grateful that we have a month to spend here. Our professors took us out to an incredible four-course dinner last night. I am not used to this style of dining, so I was stuffed after the second course. The food was so excellent, however, that I pushed through the final two coursesl. Although we have been in the city for a very short amount of time, I can tell that being immersed in the Italian language will make it much easier to learn. Looking back on the fice years that I studied Spanish in high school and freshman year at UD, I wish that I would’ve had the opportunity to live in a Spanish-speaking country. I’m hopeful that by the end of this experience, I will at least be able to carry basic conversations in Italian. So far, I am impressed with how considerate the Florentine locals have been. I was concerned that they may be annoyed by my lack of speaking ability, but everyone I have interacted with has been very supportive and helpful. Overall, I cannot wait to explore the rest of my surroundings and familiarize myself with all that Florence has to offer!