I greatly enjoy studying art history, as well as taking art classes such as painting, drawing, silkscreen, printing, enamel jewelry, metal jewelry, stained-glass, mosaics, and ceramics. In the past I have assisted at a camp and taught a variety of classes, and still personally take many classes. After last summer I knew I had sufficiently had my camp experience, and wanted to move on with a summer program involving travel.
Initially I was actually looking for a program involving language, specifically Spanish, because I took Spanish in school and wanted to improve my understanding and fluency. For a few months I was researching, and trying to find the program that offered in-depth Spanish classes, and potentially had the opportunity for a home-stay, as well as an enriching schedule. Then I came across the Abbey Road website, and was immediately intrigued. Their summer program in Spain sounded amazing, and I was instantly drawn in. Before I made the final decision I decided to browse the rest of the website, and understand the other programs. I then saw that they had programs to Italy, and I have always wanted to go to Italy, but wouldn’t have thought of taking a summer program there because I don’t speak any Italian. Then I noticed that they offered different majors and minors in a variety of classes, not just language. Once I saw they offered painting and drawing classes, where the students resided in Florence I was set; I was going to Italy.
I was overwhelmed by the amount of different classes they offered, because they all sounded phenomenal, but in the end I chose oil painting and drawing. The credentials of the teachers were all superb, and the program appeared to have a very strong staff of individuals that were passionate about their work. I was also drawn to the program because the students reside in apartments, or in a home-stay rather than in a hotel, and are better able to adapt to Italian and European culture, and have a better chance of having a genuine experience rather than that of a complete tourist. I think its important while in another country to respect their culture, and try to understand it and live in it, and the only way you can do that is to fully immerse yourself into the culture, and live among that people rather than in a fancy hotel, like some other programs I've looked at do.
There are many aspects of my trip that I am looking forward to. I am excited to meet all the other students traveling with me, because from what I’ve seen they all seem interesting and passionate, and I want to create new friendships. In general, I am very excited to be in Florence, and want to try to immerse myself in the culture as best as I can and participate in every new experience. I am particularly excited for the classes I am taking, oil painting and drawing, because I have a passion for both, and what better place to learn art than Florence.
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