IES Abroad Milan

IES Abroad Milan is a fantastic program that offers a wide array of opportunities for all kinds of students. Whether it be business, music, or an interest in the Italian culture and language you have the ability to dive deep all while living in the wonderful city of Milan. With being in the northern part of Italy, it provides you with the ability to travel very easily. T he staff are very kind people who will go out of their way to assist you at moments notice.

IES Abroad Milano was an incredible experience. I traveled to 18 countries and 54 cities during my 5 months abroad in the spring of 2016. I developed incredible relationships with the staff, my roommates, fellow students in my program, and local Milanese. I learned a great deal about the incredibly diverse world we live in and how blessed I was to be afforded such an incredible opportunity. I highly recommend IES Abroad as a program due to the incredible flexibility that the program provides you to enjoy your own unique time abroad and cannot speak highly enough of Milan as a host city.

My study abroad experience was bittersweet. I had amazing moments and it was an opportunity I am so grateful that I was able to have. But I also encountered a lot more struggles than I anticipated, which made the experience a challenge. To start with the positives, I loved my program. The center was great and the IES staff was wonderful. They were all fun and personable, and made the experience easier. I loved my classes and professors. I loved the city I was in and it was amazing to be able to travel. My apartment was beautiful and in an incredible location. There were so many wonderful moments during my abroad experience. While there were great times, there was also some hardship. I didn't make many close connections with the people in my program, which made it a little lonely at times. It wasn't the same as being at home. I didn't have consistent travel buddies, and I was on a budget, so I didn't get to travel as much as I wanted to. I wish I had an opportunity to meet more locals, but it was difficult since my program was for Americans and because there was a language barrier. Though not every single memory is 100% happy, I gained so much more from this than I could have imagined. I lived on my own in a new place and I learned how to integrate into a culture. I faced more challenges than I thought I would, and it made the experience not as much of the dream trip that I imagined. But I learned a lot about myself as a person, and what is important to me. I proved to myself that I can face troubles like these and still be okay. During my time abroad, I saw incredible sites and experienced amazing things that I will remember for the rest of my life. Study Abroad is such a unique opportunity and I am so glad that I took that chance.

Studying abroad in Milan was an incredible experience. Milan isn't as touristy as other Italian cities and it offers a great mix of history, art, and modern business. Being in a city like Milan means you will always have something to do- whether that is going to the Prada Museum, spending the afternoon at Piazza Duomo, or enjoying the city's nightlife. Its location is also perfect for traveling to other European cities throughout the semester.

As a business major and an Italian minor, I was able to find classes that fit my requirements through IES Abroad's Business Studies Program. In terms of housing, IES offers you the option of doing a homestay or living in an apartment with other American students. I chose to live in an apartment and really enjoyed it. On top of being located in a great area, I lived with some of my best friends. However, I also heard great things from my friends who chose to do homestay, which offers a better opportunity for cultural immersion. All in all, I had a great experience in Milan and I recommend it to any business major who is interested in Italian culture.

After one semester Milan easily became my favorite city. From its busy, vibrant streets during the day to the glitz and glam of the fantastic nightlife Milan definitely has it all. There are a lot of colleges in Milan that draw in students from around the world, not to mention all of the study abroad students that call Milan home, and you have a big city with a large number of college aged people, it is the best of both worlds.

Living in Milan as a student is quite easy. My homestay apartment was beautiful and it was easy for me to move around the city thanks to the cheap, effective public transit that the city offers. This allowed me to explore so many parts of the city that I would have never gone to if not for the great access of public transportation.

If you can handle the hustle and bustle of the big city and enjoy exploring you will fit right in and be welcomed into the community that I call my home away from home.

I think we all go abroad with expectations, whether lofty or minimal, and I was no different. I was hoping to live with a family and I imaged us sharing breakfast at the family table and going for hikes on weekends. I had just learned who my voice teacher would be and I imagined rigorous lessons and excitement. I guess my most far fetched idea was that I imagined that thing they call "cultural immersion" to just happen; all I would have to do is be in Italy and BAM, I'd immediately be immersed in Italian culture.

Well, let me say now that I was clueless. Going abroad taught me that although expectations can foster excitement and anticipation, they come nowhere close to ones actual experience. I didn't just eat breakfast and hike with my family; I learned how to make pasta and I went to my homestay brothers rugby games. My voices lesson pushed me to a new vocal level and showed me what it really takes to be successful in the performance field. Finally, through meeting incredible friends and traveling all over Italy, I was blessed by Italy's culture. But, as you can see from all of my experiences, it took me venturing out and embracing my circumstances, no matter how foreign they appeared to me, to exceed my own expectations. The most important thing (as cheesey as it sounds) is to get out there and make your experience happen. (example: You'll never get to marvel at the crystal blue waters of the Cinque Terre if you never buy the train ticket)

The one thing I did not expect when I went abroad is that my life would change forever; no joke! Now that I'm back, I know that all cappuccinos are not treated equal and you should never pay 1 euro 40 for one, that wifi is important and you should check if restaurants who advertise it actually have it before you sit down, and that you only stir bechamel in a clock-wise motion or else you'll ruin it (per my homestay dad). Back in America, I see life though a different, more relaxed lense and that's all because I went abroad.

Studying abroad in Milan was one of the best experiences. There was a little bit of old Italy and new Italy, and lots of gelato. If you didn't know Italian you were still able to get by. IES does a wonderful job with placing students in beautiful apartments so close to the center of the city and to the program center. The staff was super helpful and was always offering different excursions in Milan to get us to know our host city better. One of the best parts about this program was having an Italian roommate who was the same age as us who worked for IES. She helped us with our Italian, getting around the city, and told us all the best places to go for aperitivo, shopping and all other things. Traveling from Milan to other places in Europe was also very easy because we were in close proximity to 3 international airports and had the train system that brought you almost everywhere in Italy and to many other neighboring countries.

My favorite part about being abroad was staying with my host family. La mia mamma, il mio papa, e la mia sorella. They were wonderful! Even now, back at school, I find my mind wondering about their actions. Oh, I bet papa is cleaning about the house right now, and mamma is worrying over another lost object, while mia sorella is singing the tunes from Moulin Rouge...I was a part of a family, a sister, daughter, and a friend.
When things didn't go my way (travel plans), my mamma would tell me 'we must change fate!" and suggest to me other places to visit, help me purchase my tickets and send me off with a smile. When I missed my family, they made me dinners inspired by my family's traditional meals, gave me sweets to 'sweeten' my life. We sang songs around the dinner table, worked on my Italian as I helped with their english-- As they attended my performances, I attended the 50th anniversary part for i nonni. I was home.
Even now, at my American home, I still think and miss my Italian home and family.

I often shared stories with the other homestay students and we had come to one conclusion: IES offers amazing homestays and kind families. In Italy, I found a family, friends, and a cat (the Family Cat, Tigro). In Italy I had found a purpose and the continuation of my childhood dream.

If you long for a feeling of home, to learn more than you have ever imagined, then I highly suggest being a homestay student in Milano.

As for the courses, if you are looking to experience culture, to live in the center of history, and to be surrounded by music, then this Milan program is for you. The classes within this music program offer an excellent insight into Italian culture and history through the use of music.

I chose this program due to it's courses. As a music student, my fellow students raved of the Viennese musical program for it's musical courses. However, I am not just a musician, I am an artist and a performer. I had found that the classes offered in Vienna, Austria were not tailored to the musical artist, simply musicians. And that is great for those who wish to pursue a life in the orchestra or musical education. However, if you are like me-- a musical artist, someone people don't understand often due to your artistic tendencies (i.e. painting instead of essay writing, performing instead of simply reading) than this program is for you. Unlike the Viennese program, this program in Milan offers courses tailored to the artist. Simply because, that's just how the Italians are. Free to do as they please and free to live. This 'artistic' mindsets lives within every professor and is met within every course. You don't just study a subject, you live it.

My favorite course, and example of this thought, would be Professor Mellace's course: Verdi and Italian Identity. In the course, we did not simply study Giuseppe Verdi's music and his influence over Italian politics and history-- we lived it. Our fingers were able to touch Verdi's original opera libretti, we were able to cast our eyes upon a spectacular performance of Verdi's opera Falstaff at il Teatro alla Scala-- we walked the very steps Verdi had walked from his home in Milan to La Scala.

In Italy, you're not just a student-- you're an artist. It was my favorite part about that country and Milan. If I told someone I was an opera singer, people were amazed-- compared to if I told people I'm an opera singer back in the states, I get questions like: "why?" Well, why not? And that is the Italian way.

If you are looking for more than music-- more than just a cultural experience, better than wonderful--- Milan is for you.