MaKayla Painter, Pitt in Florence Summer 2023
The academic culture at CEA CAPA is very different from the academic culture at Pitt, but I absolutely love the challenge of adapting to this new environment. I am currently taking no classes inside of my major, so this difference from my typical topics has been a big change. Many of my fellow classmates are experiencing something similar, as they are covering general education requirements while abroad, so I do not feel alone in trying to adjust to such a different schedule. Our school week is Monday through Thursday with many classes only meeting once per week. This schedule allows for a ton of flexibility and opportunity to reach out to resources if needed. I have also found that the other differences in the academic environment here at CEA CAPA really helps to combat any struggles students may have while taking classes outside of their normal studies.
All of my classes this semester have had fewer students than is usually found in a classroom at Pitt. For example, my Italian language class only has 5 students total! Though the idea of smaller class sizes may be intimidating, I think it really elevates our learning. These smaller classrooms allow for more discussion to freely occur. In the case of my Italian class, we are able to really focus on troubling topics and talk about topics which interest us outside of the curriculum, which just would not be possible with a larger class size. Therefore I’m gaining a more in depth knowledge of the Italian language because I am in such a small class. The teachers at CEA CAPA are also eager to get to know more about you and help you thrive in their home city. Our teachers give us recommendations on restaurants or events going on in the city they know we would be interested in, but we would never know about since we are not locals.
Another big difference to the academic culture here at CEA CAPA is that in all of the classes I am taking, we go on field trips during class time! The teachers all use Florence as a major part of our classroom. In oil painting, our professor took us to buy art supplies on our first day of class and later in the semester we will go to a real studio and learn from a professional local artist. The Italian classes here go on scavenger hunts or other adventures which take them to local libraries, businesses, and markets. One of my favorite classes is my Museology class. Every week we spend half of class in lecture and then the other half at a different museum in the city. A big worry of mine going into this experience was that I might be spending so much time in the classroom that I would be missing out on exploring the city and experiencing the culture, but this has been far from reality. Instead my classes have enhanced my exploration of the city and introduced me to some of my favorite places to visit in my free time.
Although the idea of leaving the amazing academic culture of Pitt may feel intimidating, I have enjoyed getting to experience a different academic culture found at CEA CAPA through Pitt in Florence.
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