Another month down, and it was a month filled with all the adventure that I was hoping for! My roommates and I attended a lot of SAI-organized weekend excursions to awesome places in Italy such as Il Forteto (an organic farm in Tuscany), the Bardini and Boboli Gardens (which are right near our apartment), and the wonderful city of Siena (where we visited the Duomo, the Piazza del Campo, and even a vineyard in the Chianti region called Villa Dievole). These trips were all amazing and provided such a great opportunity to see parts of Italy that I might not have visited otherwise. I even participated in a pasta-making workshop, and I hope that I will be able to make the delicious recipes again when I get home!

Another trip I went on was with my roommate, Amy. We spend a wonderful weekend at the Santa Cristina Castle in Grotte di Castro, where we got to go horseback riding all day in the beautiful forests and farmland surrounding the historic castle. It was truly such a great time and so far is my favorite part of my study abroad experience.

Midterms were another big part of this month, and after some intense study sessions with friends, I was pretty confident about the exams when I actually had to take them. It was interesting to see how exams here at FUA differ from my exams back home, but thankfully they weren’t too different. There were no classes the week following midterms, and it was great to have a break from schoolwork to relax and enjoy my time here. A lot of my friends went on trips, but I had just as much fun on my own in Florence, getting things done and shopping for my family and friends.

November will surely be just as exciting as October was, (since I have some fun trips planned) and I can’t wait to experience another amazing month in Italy!

Gretchen – Carroll University