Program Reviews

I did my last semester of undergrad abroad in Rome with Arcadia. Honestly, it was the best semester of my life. I was really unhappy at my home university and found the change of scenery to be just what I needed. Overall, the program itself is great. The staff makes you feel welcome and comfortable, and since it is a relatively small program (there were about 60 students in my group), they know everyone. The classes are varied and interesting enough but not too difficult.
Rome was a really special place to live. There is a ton to do and see, and getting outside the traditional tourist areas is important. You can pretend that you're still in America and refuse to learn any Italian and stick to study abroad bars/tourist traps if you want. Or you can do it right and make an effort to learn Italian, meet local people, and actually see something other than main landmarks and tacky American bars.
Rome is a good starting location for travelling. Reasonable flights and trains to other cities/countries aren't too hard to find. I did some traveling within Europe and Italy, but not every weekend. I recommend spending time in Rome and not rushing your travels.
The area that they housed us (Garbatella/San Paolo) looks a little rough but is safe, charming, and in a convenient location. I definitely preferred living there over Trastevere. The apartments themselves are fine, not amazing though, but ours did feel like home. In terms of social life, there are a lot of bars, clubs, (coffee) bars, and piazzas where people socialize. The gay scene in Rome isn't the most vibrant (it's not Barcelona or Madrid), but it's not bad.
I was sad to leave and I plan to return to Italy, hopefully to live and work.

Random tips
-don't use TIM for cell service, Vodaphone seemed better
-figure our your banking arrangement before you leave (I have BoA and I used BNL ATMS with minimal fees)
-learn some Italian before you leave (it's not that hard)
-expect things to move slower
-watch your possessions (I was never pick-pocketed but I know people who were)
-do some solo travel

You're studying food in Italy in a historical city. You get to live in an apartment and make your place your home. The program is filled with awesome field trips, workshops, and tastings! Worth every penny and the memories you make are priceless! Highly recommend this program especially if you are majoring in either. Even if you're not, these courses are insightful and fun! The anthropology class is highly recommendable with full dinners every so often. Overall this program is fantastic whether this is your first time abroad or not.

I had a rather unique experience with the Arcadia KCL program due to the fact that at the beginning of the term one of my immediate family members died suddenly and unexpectedly. Had this not happened, I think I would have had a much better experience with the program, however given the circumstances they were largely unhelpful, especially when I was trying to figure out how to drop a class in an attempt to stay in the program. One Arcadia staff member reached out to me immediately following the event, however beyond that email I didn't receive any other support, which was difficult. Again, had I not had a death in the family I think my experience with the program would have been perfect.

This trip has by far been the best trip of my life thus far. While I've had minor travels to Canada and some of the tropical islands south of the United States, I've never gone incredibly far. This experience allowed me to move outside of my comfort zones in social, technical, emotional and mental ways. This study abroad was centered around environmental studies, but the majority of the students on the trip were not majors pertaining to this field. This study abroad is nice, because while my group only had about 20 students there is never more than 30, so you can fully get to know each student on the trip. This study abroad felt more like a vacation for the greater part of this trip and over the 5 weeks there were about 10-15 lectures. This trip had the students extending out into the environment through hiking, kayaking, unique tours and more. I think no matter a students field of study this trip can be extremely useful to all. It's hard to beat waking up to sunrises on the beach where you see seals and crocodiles, or stargazing at night in the mountains and bush. Push yourself and study abroad in Australia and New Zealand where you'll not only change as a person, but make life long friends!

I've had an amazing time here in NZ the last couple months. I've had the opportunity to see some of the most beautiful places on earth, take part in activities like skydiving and bungee jumping, met people from all over the world, and had an all new set of perspectives to see the world. The classes in general are much less challenging than at my school in the U.S. and are much larger. I do like the difference though because I go to a smaller school. I like being able to shop for my own foods and cooking them, keeping up with electricity bill payments, and other more independent/adult things. Overall, I'm loving it here and I'd recommend this to anyone!

I absolutely loved every part of studying abroad in Perugia. It was amazing to get to live in a very real part of Italy where tourists were few and far between and you could get to know your local shop owner. I wish I could be back there now eating at my favorite restaurants and having an afternoon gelato. The city of Perugia is absolutely beautiful and filled with so much history, I loved walking around in the afternoon and exploring all it had to offer.
My classes at the Umbra Institute were also incredible. I learned so much about Italian history and culture, wine, sustainability and even felt comfortable speaking Italian before I left.
I highly recommend this program to anyone who wants an authentic Italian experience and is passionate about food. I wish I were there now!

Through UCC I met a bunch of Irish friends which was amazing! They were such genuinely nice and funny people. One of my Irish friends invited us over to her house in Killarney for the weekend. Her father drove us around the Ring for seven hours (generally how long it takes to drive there). It was incredibly nice of them to do and they showed us places that the tours don't usually stop by. It was just an incredibly fun day for me and my American friends to be taken around by the locals. Later that night we met her Irish friends out and it was such a fun and unique experience. It would have never happen if I hadn't met her through UCC or where I lived. It brought me closer with some many cool and interesting people I will never forget. Arcadia allowed me to met Americans to start out and feel comfortable, but it also brought me closer to the people of Ireland and their culture. I am forever grateful for this wonderful experience.

The best part of Umbra's program in Perugia is the city itself. It's beautiful, charming and historical but isn't dangerous like bigger Italian cities can be. By the end of my four months, I was recognizing different people on the streets. The program itself is great, with one of the highlights being the weekly, hour-long tandems to improve our Italian and also make friends. One of the downsides washow late some of the cultural immersion programs startes and a lack of clarity about the language levels that were offered. Overall, I loved my time here and all the opportunities to connect with the community that Umbra offered.

As a Black person (from America) I admit I should have been prepared to learn more about myself through an experience in an African country, but nothing could have prepared me for the cultural exchanges I was influenced by. One of my close peers an African-American Studies major stated that she chose South Africa for its deeply rooted and controversial race history, but me on the other hand I was fascinated by the scenery Cape Town could provide me. One day while in a terribly long line at the University of the Western Cape while waiting to print I struck up a conversation with one of my local peers. Granted this man was a stranger but something motivated me to want to speak to him in this moment. I asked him something about campus or what his major was and he automatically pin pointed me as an "American" my North Carolinian accent gave me away. He then did something that completely took me off guard. He asked me if I thought being a Black person in the United States gave me more credibility than being Black in South Africa. I responded quickly babbling something to the effect of "no I still feel just as Black or authentic here in Cape Town. If I could go back to that moment I would have told him the truth that I had never before been faced with questions of my identity more than I did while in South Africa. That while interacting with Black people from so many different walks of life and experiences I desired to know a tribal language and be able to trace my lineage back to one specific area, other than the plantation that my fore-parents were born. So thank you mystery man and Cape Town for making me formulate questions to deeply rooted areas of my identity I am not sure I will ever fully understand. I am so grateful for this city and I wish that before I started my program I would have been more prepared to change.

Studying abroad with Arcadia and having the resources to go on excursions with my "Arcadia Family" was something I couldn't find anywhere else. At first I wanted to go to Cape Town because I knew it was beautiful. It is, but it's so much more than that. There is a very complex and complicated history in South Africa and I learned more in this program than I would've anywhere else. It has left me curious to explore the rest of the world, have a very unique and undying place in my heart for South Africa, and I will never forget the people I met.