Verona Studies Program

1
Verona Studies Program Spring 2006 Debbie Bynard

• The Basics
• Verona, Italy
• Spring Semester January 6th -May 14th (about 4
  ½ months)
• Travel We took a group flight that was set up
  for us by SAO (allowed for flexibility for return
  flight date)
• School Idea Verona, a school for U of I students
  and other international students that offers
  courses in language, culture, and art studies.
  (only 5 minutes from the citys largest piazza!)
• Courses I took
• Italian language I and II
• Art History
• Business
• Painting

Background pictures are of the sunset in
Florence, Italy.
2

• Objectives
• I choose Verona because the program is affordable
  and Verona has a perfect location if you want to
  travel all over Italy and Europe! Also, all
  courses are approved by ACES and you dont have
  to know ANY Italian beforehand.
• My expectations
• To meet people from all over the world
• To learn some Italian
• To immerse myself in the culture and really
  understand what the people value
• To travel all over Italy
• To have a fun semester!

Statue in Verona
Piazza Bra
(I would choose it again in a heartbeat)
3

• My Unique Experience
• I lived in an apartment with another U of I
  student and a girl from Estonia
• Our apartment was the furthest from the city
  center, school, etc. But, the bus system is VERY
  easy to use and a bus pass good for the entire 4
  ½ months is paid for with the program.
• The teachers are amazing! Most of the art
  teachers are very talented and well-known. The
  Art History teacher, Andrea, was one of the best
  teachers and most interesting people I have ever
  met.
• I learned enough Italian to get by and to hold
  conversations with locals.
• Everything was so new and interesting and I
  learned something every single day I was there.
• A couple months into the program, I felt like
  Verona was just as much my town as Chicago or
  Champaign. We all became a little Italian by the
  end of the trip!
• I took over a thousand pictures, met a ton of
  amazing people, and will hold Italy and all of my
  memories close to my heart for the rest of my
  life!

San Zeno
A Sidestreet
4

• In Conclusion
• I am/was exited ... to meet people from all over
  Europe. I met people and made friends with people
  from Scotland, Croatia, Ireland, England,
  Albania, Spain, Brazil, etc.
• I am/was pleased ...that I made so many friends
  with the other U of I students in my group.
  Everyone was so excited to be there and it was
  fun forming such strong friendships over just 4
  1/2 months.
• I am/was surprised ...how easy it was to travel
  around Italy. I went to numerous cities in Italy
  and spent a week visiting my aunt and cousin in
  Copenhagen, Denmark. The trains and low-fare
  airlines are very easy to use.
• I would recommend this program to anyone. It
  truly is a life-changing experience!
• I wishI could go back!

A small canal in Venice
A marina in Bardolino (Lake Garda)
Giardino Giusti (a garden in Verona)
A Sunset in Cinque Terre
Carnevale in Venice
5
Due to the experience of living and learning
overseas, you will have changed. Your
perceptions, attitudes, patterns, preferences and
more will have grown and stretched into a new
"you."