May 16, 2007

Final Thoughts on my Trip to Florence, Italy:

The interviews and video clips of Florence are finally up! We were having difficulties getting the videos to work from my camera. Luckily, one of the boys I met in Italy, Josh, is a computer science engineer and was able to figure it out!! J

I hope you enjoyed the picture, interviews, and blogging of Italy!  I also hope that my experiences will generate interest in international studies of more student-athletes, and that recruits will recognize these opportunities UC has to offer as a huge advantage to the college experience. As you can probably tell by now, I had a great time and I learned A LOT.

It was fun being able to learn about something in a classroom and then actually see what I learned on the trip. Besides learning about the history and art of Florence, I learned how to find my way around a foreign place. I also learned how to speak some Italian, and that was a lot of fun actually being able to successfully communicate something in a different language. I got to learn about a different culture, and how different it is compared to the States. The U.S is so much more fast-paced than Florence was. It was fun to be in a more laid-back environment where people visit at dinner for hours, take short naps during the day, walk everywhere instead of driving a car, and walk down the street to the market to get the freshest fruit, meats, cheeses, etc for the day. I am not saying all Italians have this kind of lifestyle, but this is just what I experienced and what I learned from the local people.

The people were friendly for the most part, and had so much pride in their country. It was also nice not having a cell phone because it really took a lot of unneeded stress and time out of my day and my classmates' day. This allowed us to take advantage of more sights on our trip, and I think we got to enjoy each other more because there wasn't the interruption of cell phones. I also got to eat so much great food that I will definitely miss in the States. I got a taste of cultural competency and this is important as we move more towards a global economy.

Perhaps one of the greatest parts of the trip was the people I got to meet. The professors that went were great and were very engaging and helpful throughout the whole quarter and the final trip. I went into the class knowing a couple people more as just "acquaintances"; but by the end of the trip I had a really close group of friends. They made the trip and constantly kept the atmosphere laughing and fun. I had such a great time that I am looking forward to finding more opportunities to be abroad. One week just wasn't enough time!

Thanks for reading about everything and if my trip interests you, go and talk to your advisor, and check out the UC International Programs Website:

http://www.uc.edu/global/

There are multiple programs all around the world for different lengths of time. If you choose to do an international program, and would like to share your experiences to further promote studying internationally like I have, let Jeremy Martin know. All the programs are a great opportunity to enrich yourself in another culture, move yourself towards your degree, and make your college experience even better as a bearcat! J

Chelsea Kindschuh #15