A Week in my Life at NYU Florence
BY elena huang
Taking the huge step to apply for study abroad can be an exciting - but daunting - experience. At least for me, it was… I always knew I wanted to go abroad, but I didn’t quite know what that entailed, or what my life would even look like. How would I balance coursework with my social life – and on top of that, traveling? Two months in, and I think I’ve got it down. Welcome to a week in my life at NYU Florence!
Monday - Thursday:
7:20 am: Wake up – Yes, I know, 7 am mornings abroad might sound a little tough. But – I get almost all my classes done by 1:30 pm every day! More time for homework in the afternoon and free time at night.
#25 Bus to Campus!
8:00 am: I’m usually running out the door at this point. Depending on how much time I have, I either walk to school (which takes about 45 minutes) or catch the #25 bus to campus, which takes me right to the gate.
8:45 am: Coffee. A must. When I get to campus, I walk on the bridge to the other side where most of my classes are, and I stop by Café Villa Ulivi for my daily caffè latte con latte freddo (cold coffee with milk).
Pro tip: Iced coffee doesn’t exist here!
9:00 am: Classes! Here’s what my schedule looks like:
Italian Class!
Monday
9:00 am – 10:15 am: Italian
Tuesday
10:30 am – 1:15 pm: Texts and Ideas (Children & Childhood)
3:00 pm – 5:45 pm: Operations Management
Wednesday
9:00 am – 10:15 am: Italian
Thursday
9:00 am – 10:15 am: Italian
10:30 am – 1:15 pm: Introduction to Marketing
*Pro Tip: Plan out your potential classes with your academic advisor ahead of time – NYU Florence offers a few functional business core classes and the Texts and Ideas class. I saved those classes to take abroad, which saved me a lot of time and stress!
Lunch!
1:30 pm: Lunch. Even though I’m not on the dining plan, I eat lunch on campus almost every day. The food here’s great, and it costs about 10 Euros per meal. Lunch is the best time to get to know people outside of my classes - I’ve met so many of my friends and planned many weekend trips during lunch ☺
2:30 pm: Homework time! Yes, contrary to popular belief, we actually study during study abroad! Our campus is insanely beautiful, and I find any excuse to sit outside to work. You’ll usually find me sitting at Café Villa Ulivi or in the courtyard outside of Villa Natalia almost every day.
4:30 pm: Leaving campus – I usually walk home from campus every day with friends, and we either hang out at one of our apartments, further explore the city (especially near the Arno River), eat some gelato, or do some more homework depending on the day.
8:00 pm: Dinner! Favorite part of my day. Unfortunate for my bank account, but fortunate for my appetite. When my friends and I aren’t cooking at home, we’re trying new restaurants around Florence. I’ve made it my personal goal to try not to eat twice at the same restaurant in Florence. Here are some of my favorite meals in Florence so far:
La Giostra and Golden View — highly reccomend checking them out when visiting or studying abroad here!
11:00 pm: Time to head home, unwind, and get some rest before another travel weekend.
Thursday Afternoon (Travel Day After Classes):
1:30 pm: Right after Intro to Marketing ends, I’m usually rushing to the Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station for my weekend travel.
*Pro Tip: Since the Florence airport is a little smaller, we typically train to the Bologna/Rome/Pisa train stations to catch a flight somewhere else. This way, we have more flight options that are usually cheaper!
Check Omio/Trainline for cheap train options, and check SkyScanner for cheap flight options.
My friends and I typically stay at Airbnbs over the weekend.
Friday - Sunday
Here are some of the places I’ve traveled to so far!
Amalfi Coast, Italy
Interlaken, Switzerland
Lake Como, Italy
Split, Croatia
Munich, Germany
Ibiza, Spain
Tuscany, Italy
Venice, Italy
Cinque Terra, Italy
Sunday Evening (Travel Day)
Depending on the weekend, we typically travel back to Florence in the afternoon / evening. By the time we get back, it’s usually late and I’m exhausted. I relax, unwind, and prepare for another exciting week of classes and travel.