This spring semester, I’m studying abroad in Florence, Italy. My friend, Samantha, is in the same program too at Florence University of the Arts (FUA). She has a blog about her experience, too!

I’m very excited to share my experience with you. Thus, this DIY blog will go in a slightly different direction due to the limitations of studying abroad. I can only bring so many creative tools in addition to the things I actually need. (A surface and a marking instrument is all you need.)

Even though this blog won’t feature as many projects as it did last year, it’ll still revolve around the same themes of crafting, creating, and art. Some posts will be about these subjects:

• Classwork: Computer-aided design (CAD) for advanced pattern making and apparel design are two of the courses I’m taking here. I hope to further develop technical skills I need, and I’ll upload pictures of my work.
• Museum Visits: There are many museums in Florence that I want to explore. These posts will be about the sights I see and what I learned.
• Artisan Features: Italian craftsmanship is one of the reasons I wanted to study here. Depending on my language skills, I would love to interview Italian artisans and learn about their craft.

Since this is my first time living away from home without adult supervision in general (I stayed in my cousin’s house in Taiwan one summer), I’ll occasionally write about life and my personal growth. Surprisingly, I can cook more things than I thought I could. For dinner one night, I made spaghetti with sautéed oysters, napa cabbage, leftover cabbage, broccoli, olive oil, and garlic without a recipe. It was light, like how I usually eat at home. I’m going to use this opportunity to learn how to cook.

One of the things I love about Florence is how easy it is to get to places on foot. FUA doesn’t have a campus, but its facilities can be reached on foot in 5 to 30 minutes. The Oltrarno quarter is accessible by many bridges crossing the Arno. A walk from dinner at a trattoria or pizza place at Oltrarno is about 20 to 30 minutes.

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Talking to native Italians is an experience. I’m glad that I took a semester of Italian last semester because I have some grasp of the vocabulary and grammar. My most used phrases so far are “grazie,” “ciao,” “buona sera,” and “scusi.” I wonder how much my Italian will improve in three or so months.

I didn’t expect to get adjusted so smoothly. Perhaps living in an apartment with people close to my own age is a good change of pace. That doesn’t mean that I don’t miss my parents; I occasionally video chat with them but the Wi-Fi at the apartment is so bad at certain times of the day. Haha. My conversations with my parents had a lot of “I can’t hear you,” “the signal is bad,” and “say that again” from my end. Despite this, I look forward to the next three months!

Crafting into the sunset,
Virginia

If you’re interested in studying abroad, check out the Queens College Education Abroad office website.
To learn more about FUA, visit here.