My name is Joseph....

            ....and I studied abroad in Florence in the Spring of 2012. While I was a microbiology pre-med major at UMass Amherst, I studied cooking, wine tasting, Renaissance art, Italian, and History in Italy. For me, Florence was the perfect place to study abroad due to its great location (near the middle of Italy, so easy to move around the country and to Europe), its priceless Renaissance art, its well-known beauty, and its incredible food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            I never planned to study abroad, but because I took so many classes the first two years of college, it just worked out! I was somewhat nervous about having to live in a new place with “strangers,” but going through the program API (Academic Programs International) was probably one of the best decisions. They placed me in a gorgeous apartment where I could see the famous Duomo from my window, and I became very close to my roommates. In fact, we still always get together even today! API also made sure we were well oriented to the entire city by taking us on trips, teaching us how to make biscotti in local cafés in Florence, and even providing free admission to some of the most important historical sites in the city! In our apartment, we had 3 spacious bedrooms and 2 bathrooms – all pots, pans, utensils, bed sheets, and even books for classes from former study abroad students were in the apartment. It may not seem like a big deal now, but when you’re in a new city, all those small things make a giant difference (especially on your pocket).

            As a pre-med student, I wanted to find something unique in Florence that I could put on my application for medical school. With some help from my amazing Italian teacher at UMass (shoutout to Lucia Ducci!), I was able to go on rounds with a trauma team at a local pediatric hospital in Florence. I also worked with one of the physicians on a paper that helped to standardize pediatric burn treatment in all of Italy, and it was actually published {and I got 2^nd author :D}. I was even able to work with the Misercordia (Italy’s ambulance service) on their ambulances and transport patients all across Florence and some parts of Tuscany! The point is that unlike some smaller towns and cities in Italy, Florence is a larger city filled with opportunity, beauty, and history. While it has everything that you’d desire and is big in size, you are still able to walk almost anywhere you wish to go (saving even more money on trains and buses).

            My heart will always be in Firenze and my roommates and I are already planning our reunion trip for when we’re 30! I’m sure any student who voyages to this wonderful part of Italy will have an unforgettable time.