While in Florence, I made an effort to go to stores away from the city center, as that's where the "tourist traps" are. In doing so, I was able to enjoy higher quality (and cheaper!) food and products. I also participated in a language exchange program with University of Florence students. I was paired with a couple Italian students around my age and we met several times at coffee shops to practice our Italian/English with each other and try to understand more of each others' cultures. It was such a positive experience!

My favorite class was definitely The Policies of Organized Crime: Mafia and anti-Mafia in Italy! I learned about the framework and inner workings of the largest mafia groups in Italy and how they've adapted throughout the years to become globalized. This was the class that I was saying, "Guess what I learned today!" to my roommates every day. We even visited a few locations in Florence that have been impacted by the mafia, which was interesting to put into perspective just how real they are.