Abbey Road High School Summer Program in Italy

My daughter had a fantastic time with the Abbey Road high school summer study program in Florence. She did the three-week option with a focus on Italian Language and an Art History elective.

Her favorite thing about the academic side of the program was the experiential nature of the classes--learning spoken Italian by ordering in cafes and art history by seeing the art and architecture in person. This was her first exposure to Italian language, and she is now taking an Italian course for high school credit to continue the learning process.

Outside of class, she particularly enjoyed exploring the city independently (students are required to have a friend with them in order to do this), and having the freedom to wander through shops (Santa Maria Novella, the world's oldest pharmacy, was a favorite) and take in the gorgeous scenes of Florence at her leisure. She is now eager to pursue study abroad in Florence during college. She also loved the excursions, which took them to locations like Cinque Terra, Lucca, Siena, and San Gimignano.

The other kids in the program seemed great. My daughter was also fond of almost all the staff members, and my communication with them regarding her lost luggage and alternate departure flight was very friendly, easy, and accessible. The apartments the students stayed in were centrally located and spacious. At one point, the AC in my daughter's apartment failed, but Abbey Road staff worked hard to ensure it was repaired and allowed her to stay in another apartment in the meantime.

I think this type of program is a great experience for a teenager in terms of giving them practice exercising independence and self-sufficiency before they venture out into the world. In addition, while it is a learning experience, it is also fun-filled and relaxed, so for my daughter it actually served as a bit of a respite from the pressures of everyday high school life. Would absolutely recommend.

I learned so much on my trip to Florence with Abbey Road! This was not my first year abroad. I spent July 2018 in a home stay in Salamanca, Spain, which was incredible. However, apartment living in Florence really helped me gain a sense of independence. Living in an apartment comes with a need for responsibility, which is an important skill to foster especially before college. We had to do our own dishes, take out our trash, and maintain our rooms, and I definitely feel more confidence in my self sufficiency. Although it may be daunting, I highly encourage prospective students to recognize the importance of the values of responsibility and independence, and how they will help you in the future. Don’t think for a second that you will be fending entirely for yourself in a foreign city, though. The Abbey Road staff was incredible and supportive, and we always knew that they would provide us with pretty much everything we needed to be happy and comfortable. I think that this combination of trust in their students and general reliability is what sets Abbey Road Florence apart, and why I so eagerly recommend it. You’ll definitely feel independent, but never on your own. You’ll learn so much about how to live abroad, and about the rewards and challenges that come with it. It’ll be hard sometimes, but I cannot stress enough the importance of learning to face adversity for the sake of opening your mind. Travel to Florence with Abbey Road, and I can basically guarantee that your perspective will broaden and grow, all for the better.

I loved this program so much. My residency was a beautiful apartment right in the heart of Florence. I got to experience life with roommates (some of my now best friends) and enjoy becoming a local in the city. There was a great balance between structure and freedom which allowed for me to really get to know the area on my own but have the safety and organization of the program. I studied art history and Italian and I found both incredible. Art history was my main class, so I got to learn it every day. My instructor was extremely qualified, prepared, and professional, and even finished her dissertation in Art History at Cambridge. I learned so much and got to see so many unique sites. I also enjoyed Italian as my minor class. Even though I only took the class 3 times a week, I went from someone who knew no Italian, to being able to form basic sentences and preform everyday conversation such as greetings and ordering in a restaurant!

I signed up for this program in order to fulfill my italian language credit at school, and ended up having the best summer (and overall experience) of my life. Not only are the staff extremely accommodating (Arthur Kian could not have done a better job making sure everyone was comfortable and secure), but there has been unconditional support from almost every staff member at abbey road. The italian teacher (Angela) was phenomenal and my language skills have been stronger than they ever were from taking language at school. All of the students were friendly and I’m happy to say I made friendships that will last a lifetime. The weekend excursions were always so fun and it gave us a chance to explore the country, while also being able to call florence my home. Though there are other Abbey Road programs that offer more traveling, there is something very unique about spending (almost) a month is one central location, and feeling like a local. Despite all the freedom we were given, safety was always prioritized and my parents were constantly being updated. Overall, I could not have chosen a better program and I would 100% recommend this to anyone who is looking to spend their summers abroad.

What I discovered was that learning to be independent wasn’t as hard as I had thought, at least, with all of the helpful program staff it wasn’t. It felt like learning how to ride a bicycle for the first time- you teeter off on your own, but there are always arms there to catch you if you fall. The Abbey Road staff gave us just enough independence to try and learn how to live on our own, how to budget money, and how to do our own laundry, but they were always there to help us as well. Things like grocery shopping on Mondays or having cooking groups on Wednesdays taught me skills that I took home with me, like preparing a healthy meal and budgeting.

Abbey Road also improved my people skills. When living in apartments with 3 or 4 roommates, conflicts are inevitable. Throughout the program the staff was always there to sort out major issues, but they put a lot of emphasis on dealing with personality conflicts in an independent, mature positive way. It’s likely that I will have a lot of roommates in my life, and the Abbey Road staff taught me valuable communication and problem solving skills so that I can fix small issues and avoid conflicts with people in the future.

My experience with Abbey Road was so amazing and made me so much more confident as a person that I would love to return one day as a staff member and give students that same experience.

For me as an anxious parent, the best part of Abbey Road's program was the "pre-trip" assistance from the Abbey Road's staff. Sean answered every question I had, and I had many- and they were all answered in a timely and honest manner. I truly appreciated that support. He went above and beyond to help me feel comfortable with the whole trip. When it came down to the trip, I was ready for her to embark on her adventure. (She was always ready!)
As far as the trip itself, our goal was not to have her fluent in Italian, or able to poetically describe Michelangelo's David. Our goal was to have her spread her wings while traveling with her peers. We wanted her to grow as an individual while absorbing a foreign experience. And she returned meeting those goals and then some. She came home; happy, safe and with a different view of the world than when she left. She came back with wonderful memories, new friends from around the world and slightly sick of Italian food. But she also returned with an appreciation of home; America, California and us. It was truly a bonus we didn't expect.
All in all, we would sign her up for another Abbey Road's experience. I had written to other programs, and researched options, but Abbey Road's organization and staffing truly caught my attention. Thank you for a great summer!

My experience in the Abbey Road Florence program this past summer was INCREDIBLE. I found Abbey Road on google and decided on a whim to go with this program. They were VERY accommodating to me, because I had a complicated summer schedule with existing plans and they worked right around them. For the month long program in Florence, I attended 11 days of it (due to existing other plans in the middle of the month of July). My 11 days there were AMAZING, but I will forever regret not staying the whole month. Here is a breakdown of each element in my experience:

THE STAFF: We had 4 staff members accompany us for this trip. Each one of them were extremely knowledgable about Italy and it's lifestyle. They were so helpful in getting us acquainted with Italy, without making us feel like tourists. They really wanted us to feel like locals and we did! I bonded with the staff very quickly. They were all smart, dedicated and truly caring for each on e of us. I still keep in touch with one of the staff members, because we made such a close bond.

THE RESIDENCE: We stayed in an apartment complex outside the main square of the city. It was the perfect distance to walk anywhere we needed to go. It was a very nice building, true Italian style. It was very safe with two locks to get into the building as well as locks on each individual apartment. The apartments themselves were well equipped with everything we needed (food, toiletries, water, linens, towels, etc.(. It was really rewarding to be able to live apartment style, because it gave a glimpse of what it will be like to live on our own. We were responsible for grocery shopping, taking out the trash, cleaning, etc.

THE PEOPLE: There were 20 other students on my program from all over the US. I went not knowing anyone who was going, a lot of the people came with one friend or relative, but there was a good amount who came alone. It took about a day for all of us to start to bond. I instantly became close with my roommate and apartment mates. The staff helped to break the ice with all of us and we all got along really well. One of the reasons I was so upset to leave early was because I was leaving people who I really loved and made a bond with.

THE EXPERIENCE: The entire experience was priceless. The classes were fun and entertaining, but the best part was exploring. We were given a lot of free time to explore, shop, eat and just experience Italy in our own way. This was one of my favorite things about the program. It was very structured, but at the same time it gave us all an opportunity to experience Italy in a personalized way. Each weekend we traveled to different cities outside of Florence. The weekend trips were some of my favorite parts of the whole trip. It was so awesome to see other cities in Italy and experience more than just Florence. Florence quickly became our home and within just a fe days, we knew our way around the whole city and we were speaking Italian to the locals. I also never felt unsafe, which is a big deal to me. We always traveled in pairs, if not bigger groups.

All in all, I had the most fantastic summer of my entire life. I would repeat it every year if I could. Italy inspired me and I wish to go back very soon. This program is truly amazing and I can't recommend it enough. There were a lot of people who had never traveled even outside of their state, let alone the country, and they had the most amazing introduction the the foreign world around them.

I loved studying in florence with Abbey Road! I had visited Florence before on vacation with my family, but this is a totally different experience. I didn't feel like a tourist, the staff did a really good job making us feel like we were student residents and showed us a lot of really amazing restaurants and tiny piazzas that mostly locals like to hang out in. My Italian really improved and I loved how the classes took us out to practice in real situations in the city, like buying food at the market. The art classes were awesome. I loved sketching in the museums. I made amazing friends that I will keep in contact with forever, and the residence where we lived was AMAZING!!! It felt like I was actually back in the Renaissance.

I had the best time ever in Florence during the program, it was my first time in Italy, and to see so much luminous paintings from the Renaissance got me dizzy in joy. Florence is such an elegant and sophisticated city. We had a great dinner near the ponte vecchio at night and went up the duomo, it is so beautiful you can feel the light of the great minds of the XVI century. The Offices gallery was definetly my favorite, to see raphael, da vinci, botticelli and michelangelo next to each other, i would have spent weeks sitting in front of those paintings. It has been a real immersion into art, we were staying in a Palazo in the city center with frescoes on the ceiling. I met some other students from my area and we kept in touch after the summer. We had 4 days in Rome when the program started, it was great, but Florence holds a special place in my heart :)