CEA Internships in Florence, Italy

I interned abroad with CEA in the Summer of 2018 and it was such a wonderful experience! I was a Marketing Intern for an International Cooking School called CheFactory. I experienced the life of local Italians, from being part of the local culture, to trying many Italian dishes! But, most importantly I found a family at Chefactory and learned so much from my mentor Francesco. The type of knowledge and exposure you receive interning abroad is unlike anything else, especially with CEA! Highly recommended! To learn more about my experience check out my blog post with CEA: https://www.ceastudyabroad.com/blog/mojo/2019/04/29/what-s-cooking-in-italy-interning-in-florence

It was an incredible. I learned so much about myself and what I want to do with my life. Being apart of the internship program and understanding the Italian working culture is something I will keep with me for the rest of my life. The administration is incredible here. We all got together and hosted a thanksgiving meal the day before thanksgiving. They also recommended several restaurants and places you must see while you are here. There are incredibly friendly and make you feel at home. I made sure to fully immerse myself in the Italian culture. I went to places that locals frequently visited and where there were a few Americans.

The point of a study abroad experience is to dive into the culture of the place you are in, right? CEA's internship program in my opinion is the best way to do that, hands down. First off, with CEA I got to live in an apartment in the city of Florence. I had Italian neighbors. I had to find the local bread shops, meat shops, cheese shops, grocery stores, wine stores, etc.. I had to walk through the city every day to get to my classes and my internship. I got to live the life of an Florentine, Truly! On top of that, all of my classes with CEA were culturally based, hence the name: Cultural Experiences Abroad! Every class had something to do with Italian culture! This was all so great and offered such a great opportunity to emerge yourself into the Italian culture. Unfortunately not all of my classmates did this though. There were people who still only hung around American establishments with their American friends. It was the internship for me that really made the difference in cultural emersion. I worked in a small Italian business with Italians. I learned how Italian business functions and I made friends and connections with actual Italians! This was the best part of my experience abroad and I plan to keep in touch and see the people I worked with out there again! Maybe this could also open up some job opportunities for me some day!