CIS Abroad Semester Programs in Italy

This experience was unique because of the location. Sorrento is a small town unlike any other with the breathtaking views, and the community is supportive. I could walk to the beach every day before or after class and easily walk to the grocery store. It was my best pick to have the easiest transition from home to abroad. I felt safe as a woman even walking alone at night. The professors loved the classes they taught, and I got to take an Elementary Italian course which really helped me learn more of the language. One of the best moments of the semester was finally learning enough Italian to be able to order at a restaurant. I could tell the locals were happy that I was trying to fit into their culture. It was AWESOME! This program is great because it checked off all of my boxes. It is very easy to get around and had all the benefits of a big school with a small town authentic Italian feel.

Sorrento was one of the most beautiful and amazing places I have ever been. I am so happy that I decided to go there because it was a small, immersive town, where we knew all the locals, could practice Italian comfortably and got treated like family there. Sorrento was unique because a lot of people don't know it exist! A lot of my friends who studied abroad picked big cities like Rome or Florence but I think Sorrento was perfect for me because it made me feel safe and comfortable. The view outside your window is a million dollar view and makes you never want to leave. CISabroad was a very good partner program that provided me with a lot of support, especially being someone who has never left the country before and who has a lot of traveling anxiety. They were a great support system and guided me through my journey in Sorrento without being overbearing.

In the fall of 2018, I realized I wanted to study abroad. So, after researching a few programs, I decided to study on the Amalfi Coast in Italy! I went through a program called CIS Abroad, who helped me to plan everything - from a basic packing list, to information about the student Visa process, to financial planning!
I loved Sorrento, where Sant'Anna Institute (the abroad school) was located, as it was a very authentic Italian experience; bigger cities such as Rome or Florence tend to be more high-density tourist attractions, which hinder traditional Italian culture. For the semester, I lived in a dorm located in the same building as my classrooms. Sant'Anna provided very safe and clean housing as well as access to kitchen spaces and balconies. The staff helped with any travel questions we had, and the teachers cared deeply about our success as students as well as young travelers.

My decision to study abroad was one of best I have ever made; I challenged my comfort zone, gained a global perspective and learned how to become truly independent. One of the biggest contributors to my success abroad was the support system I had from CIS. There were negative and positive aspects to this program, but overall I am very satisfied with my choice.

Molly Bond was a great asset to have during the application process and was able to answer all of my questions and concerns about my visa! I also appreciated that CIS met us at the airport when we first arrived in Italy and arranged transportation to our apartments as it helped make that overwhelming day easier.

I ended up falling in love with the city of Florence instantly. I lived less than a 10 minute walk away from the breathtaking Duomo and the view of the Arno River from my classroom was incredible! I was able to travel to a number of different countries in Europe and cities in Italy such as Rome, Venice, Milan, Sorrento and Pisa and was amazed at the differences between each region! I also made it a priority however to fall in love with my host city and explore as much of Florence as I could. Studying abroad was a life changing experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

I truly cannot say enough about this beautiful city. Up until several months before I left, I had no idea Perugia even existed but I'm so glad I chose to study there. I loved that it was a smaller city which offered a break from the constant go go go of living in a larger city (although Florence isn't too far away). It is easy to walk almost everywhere and you do get a bit of a workout with all the hills! There is so much history and unique facts to be learned. Although I was excited to study abroad, I was also very nervous. Honestly, it did not come without it's challenges. The staff and faculty at Umbra could not have been friendlier, more helpful, warm or welcoming. They helped me through the rough patches and made the overall transition much easier. They helped me understand cultural norms, gave me insights into the best places to eat and do things and even helped with small things such as where to buy items I needed. The staff and faculty truly do care about the students and they are a huge reason why I had such a great semester. I really enjoyed all the classes I took. My professors were extremely passionate about what they taught which made me more interested in their classes and I gained something from every single one of them. My Italian professor was extremely patient and gave us lots of chances to succeed, teaching us not only the language but the culture. My history/sustainability professor was hugely helpful in understanding Italian cuisine and taking us on unique field trips and my photography professor changed the way I take photographs. I feel very lucky to have had such great teachers. I highly recommend taking the history and culture of food in Italy course, it's a lot of fun. The CISabroad staff was also very helpful, especially prior to leaving the US. My contact at CIS was always available to answer my many, many questions and was there to assist when I had trouble with my flight. They were also very helpful in the somewhat complicated and stressful paperwork process of things like getting a visa, prior to leaving. Perugia itself is amazing. There is an endless amount of great food spots (even as a vegetarian I never had an issue finding anything). There are lots of great spots to hang out (Turan Cafe, the steps in Piazza IV Novembre and the lookout at the end of Corso Vanucci are some of my favorites). Perugia is especially beautiful towards the end of the day, when the sun starts going down. It's a great place to practice Italian because English isn't spoken quite as much. The entire city has a very authentic feeling, exactly what I would picture a little Italian city to look like. The wifi can be spotty at times due to the city's infrastructure and it can be quite cold in the winter. I highly recommend warm clothes for sleeping at night because apartments can get very chilly. The first several weeks were intimidating, especially because I had very little Italian skills and didn't really know anyone. Being patient with myself was important because it took awhile for me to get comfortable with living there, but once I did, I fell even more in love with the city. Post study abroad has also been challenging because I got so used to the Italian style of living but I gained so much from my time in Perugia. I learned the importance of enjoying life and it also opened my eyes to a very different world than I had known. Studying abroad changes your view of the world and it's people. I have much more respect for people living in a new country where they don't speak the language. I also gained a huge amount of confidence and independence that don't think I would have found at home. I travelled a lot on my own (safely of course) but it really made me learn to trust myself. My best advice would be to be patient with yourself because it can take a while to get comfortable, it's okay to have hard days, try EVERYTHING you want, go after every experience. I tried to do this and I really have no regrets. From Perugia, I gained a new appreciation for life. I think the coolest part was, when I first arrived, I felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb. By the time I left, I felt like I belonged there. I definitely recommend Perugia, you won't find anything else quite like it. I can't wait to return to my second home in the near future and I hope you love it as much as I do!

Italy has always been my dream country to visit. It’s the home country of my beloved grandparents and the site of many of the most influential pieces in art history. Being given the opportunity to live and study in this country for an entire semester was truly a surreal experience. I was so excited when I heard that I would be taking a traveling class (Cultural Introduction to Italy) around Italy before actually settling into Florence for the semester. As I had anticipated, we saw so many incredible monuments, gardens, museums and art. My favorite portion of the traveling week was visiting the region of Umbria. From Orvieto to Assisi, I was continuously humbled by the sheer beauty and history of every city that I visited. The traveling week was the perfect way to get acquainted with Italian culture and to experience life in various areas of this country. I was immediately pushed to step outside of my comfort zone and visit unknown places. Studying abroad was the first time I had ever been outside of the country, and by the time everything was said and done, I had visited a total of 8 countries and been to over 30 cities across Europe. Florence was the perfect city for me: it allowed me to immerse myself in the culture and history of Italy and the Renaissance and gave me the opportunity to explore my ancestry on-site. If you love art, food, exploration and adventure, CISAbroad's Semester in Florence is definitely the program for you.

Going abroad was something I never imagined in my life. I have always considered myself a "home body," loving being comfortable and knowing everything around me. I am very close with my family and often times have struggles with leaving home, even for college. It took a lot for me to actually step outside of my comfort zone to do something like this. My experience was unique because I was very unsure, even on the plane, if I could physically go through with this. It was something that was definitely a challenge for me at first. I began to create a routine for myself that really helped me get comfortable in this new place. For the future, I want people to know that it gets better. No matter how scary it might seem at first, it will always get better. This experience is what you make of it so you have to make sure you keep yourself busy and do everything in your power to make this a positive experience. For me, it taught me so much about myself as a person, living with people you might not know so great at first, being independent, and so much more. This impacted my life in a really big way. During this semester, my older sister moved out into her own apartment, my little sister committed to college, and I went through a very messy breakup. Even though there were up and down emotions throughout the semester, it really taught me how to deal with big life events like this. My favorite memory was being on Piazza Di Michael Angelo with my new 6 roommates, not realizing we would all become best friends, we looked out to our new city and realized this is what we were going to call home for the next 4 months and we can't waste one minute of it. Leaving was very bittersweet for us and we still are adjusting back to America but this experience really taught us so much about being an independent adult being able to take on anything that comes our way. I think studying abroad is something very important to experience and if you have the chance to do it take it. You have a lot more support than you think as well. I ended up getting my passport stolen as well which was a stressful time but it allowed me to take initiative to something very important with the help of the right people and ended up teaching me a lot of things about how to handle issues and about myself.

Honestly, in the beginning of this process I was very stressed out and thought that the guidance through the process could have been better. Molly tried her best to support me and help me as much as she could but I do think that she had a lot on her plate which meant that each student didn't get enough attention (a lot of students that dealt with her felt the same way). when I got on the plane I didn't think I was fully prepared to begin this journey but at the same time, who is prepared to live in another country for 4 months?
One of my biggest concerns about going abroad was how would I set up a phone once I get there. CIS sent us emails and websites that were meant to help us prepare for our semester so I was sure to look through it all and take every advice they had for me. One of which was going through a service known as PICCELL. that was by far the worst recommendation they could have given me. this service didn't work anywhere and charged me over 100 dollars a month when my friends were going through services that costed much less. I think that CIS should recommend an actual service they know is good and reliable or recommend nothing at all. that was a very frustrating aspect.

BUt, overall I will say that CIS was the best choice I made. after hearing what all the other students were saying about their programs I know I picked the right one. my favorite part was the mandatory travel week, I met some of my best friends during that week. I heard nightmare stories about other people only being friends with their roommates because they never had te opportunity to meet other people besides in class. this three credit travel course was a great place to learn about Italy, see amazing places, and meet amazing friends. Also, the group dinners nd trips were a great place to meet up with friends we made during the first week but weren't able to keep in touch with. The support from CIS was amazing and I look forward to recommending them to all my friends choosing to study abroad