For those daydreaming of a more tranquil environment than the biting winter weather in Charlottesville, making plans for a month-long study abroad program in Tuscany just might do the trick.
Christina Ball, Italian tourism professor and University faculty coordinator for the American Institute of Foreign Study Summer 2004 Florence program will hold an informational meeting this evening from 6 to 7 p.m. in Minor Hall, room 130, to discuss studying abroad in Florence.
Ball said this program concentrates on Italian arts, culture and language but all University students are welcome to apply. Knowledge of Italian is not required, as the courses are taught in English by Italian professors. The application deadline is March 15 and the program will run from May 29 to June 29.
"It's really a summer program, not meant to work you to the bone but to surround you in the beauty," Ball said. Students should "treat this as more of a general enrichment experience instead of a credit experience. Italians really know how to live!"
While this summer program may not focus as much on academic experiences as it does on immersion in the Italian culture, Ball said students can earn a variety of transfer credits if they choose courses that correspond to those at the University.
Ball has lived in Florence and lives in Tuscany every summer with her husband, also a professor of Italian at the University.
"I would love to bring a bunch of students ... I really know Florence and can share my favorite restaurants and the out-of-the-way boutiques, and the towns that I love," Ball said. "I would be able to help students travel on their own on the weekends."
Ball said the flat rate for the program is $5,600. This includes round-trip airfare, housing (students have a choice of living with an Italian family or in an apartment), cultural activities, a stopover in London, 12 meals a week, Internet access and up to 10 semester credits.
Cara Schwarz, a fifth-year Education school student and former AIFS student, will also attend this evening's meeting and share experiences she had while studying in Florence.
The program "offered a lot of opportunities to do things around the city and help you figure out trips you wanted to take," she said. "I made the decision to travel within Italy during the semester and took a month to travel in Europe afterwards."
Students in the program see each other fairly often, Ball said. Some may live together or be in the same classes, and others may opt to take weekend trips together. Schwarz said she believed the program size was very comfortable.
"It wasn't so small you got sick of everyone or so big you didn't know enough people," she said.
Interested students who cannot attend the meeting should contact Ball or visit www.aifsabroad.com for more information.
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