Ciao! With basically three weeks left to go until Florence, it is crunch time to get everything done!
Although I am a student at SUNY Oneonta, I am not studying abroad through my school specifically. One of the great things about the SUNY system is that I can travel abroad using any SUNY school program-regardless if I go to that school or not. Granted, if I were to just go through my school I bet the process might have been a little easier but by using other SUNY schools I had access to hundreds of different possibilities!

If you are a SUNY student interested in studying abroad, see the numerous options on this website!
Since Oneonta does not have a program in Italy, I will be using Broome Community College's program to study at Lorenzo de' Medici. This means that I needed to 'withdraw' from Oneonta and become a temporary student at BCC. So technically, for this semester I am a student at BCC and my courses from Italy will become credits to BCC which will then transfer to Oneonta. Confusing right?!
That's not even the half of it. BCC does't really have direct connection with Lorenzo de' Medici. They are using the College of Staten Island's program for this study abroad program! So, through this whole process of filling out applications for Lorenzo de' Medici itself, my visa, and various other travel documents; I had to send different papers to each of these two schools! Although it got hectic at times, I'm so happy I went with this program. If you are a NY resident and would like to study abroad, I would highly recommend these two schools. They were constantly professional, always helpful and made this process as easy as it possibly could be. My visa was actually taken care of by CSI! They took the liberty to make an appointment with the Italian consulate and get my visa for me, while I was finishing my fall semester. Most study abroad programs make you take care of the visa yourself.

I digress... today CSI held an orientation for all students who are going through them to study abroad in Florence, 3 cities (another option offered by LDM, it is a semester in three different cities- Tuscany, Venice and Rome), Greece, Australia, and Rome. It was awesome to talk to other students to see what plans they had or similar emotions about this whole process. All in all, it was a very informing orientation. I finally got to meet all the people I've been in contact with in CSI study abroad office and they took the time to explain great tips for being abroad. We covered cultural shock, safety tips and even had a great discussion with two students who just came back from Florence. I'm grateful I took advantage of this opportunity because it was so informing. The breakout session with the students was probably the best part because they offered the best advice considering they just got back from Italy! Here are the best tips I got from them:

• Do not over pack! Only bring 1 luggage filled with the absolute necessities. (This is going to be the toughest one to learn)
• Have fun, but remember you are in Florence to learn. LdM is not an easy school, there is homework daily throughout the semester with attendance taken regularly. Get out and explore, but school comes first.
• For cheap train travel use: Italotreno This website was highly recommended, you can get a round trip ticket to Milan for about 22 Euros!
• For cheap airfare use: Ryanair Only catch is you can not bring a luggage, only a carry on- but when your traveling for a weekend, how much stuff do you actually need?
• Need a place to stay? Try Airbnb Now, this site sounds iffy at first because when you use this site you aren't booking a room at a hotel but a room in someone's apartment. You can rent out their house when no one is home or when there are people at home. My personal tip- read the reviews of specific houses and travel with people just in case!
• Register with S.T.E.P (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) this is a site through the U.S department of state which allows travelers to submit information about their trip to ensure safety while abroad. Also, if there is an emergency the US can better assist you and will notify you about any important information.

I hope you find this information useful, and if anyone has any questions about anything please do not hesitate to ask! I will definitely be taking advantage of these sites and I hope they come of use to you as well. Xo