Kylee Wargo, Global Business Institute: Florence Fall 2024
I live in a beautiful apartment on the ground floor just nearly a ten-minute walk from the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. We have an electric door that opens automatically when we turn our key, and the second door opens with it. We also have a concierge Monday through Friday. It is very secure and safe, and homey to be greeted. The apartment is full of charm and character, with its high ceilings, paintings, and oriental rugs filling it. It is also filled with beautiful pottery. One of my favorite rooms has a built-in bookshelf from floor to ceiling, with Italian books filling each shelf. The location is convenient, and just outside of the high tourist traffic that it still has its authentic charm. Including myself, my apartment houses eight girls, all part of the CEA CAPA program. There is one room that is occupied by two girls, and two rooms occupied by three girls. I live in one of the triple rooms. We live right next to eight CEA CAPA boys, whom we share the same power supply. At the beginning of the semester, one of the biggest challenges we face was managing the power for all 16 of us. Both apartments are on the same circuit, which is in our apartment. The power would go out frequently and we had to reset it constantly. Another challenge just within our apartment was coordinating when to do laundry, especially after weekends when everyone returned from traveling. With eight of us, we had to figure out logistics and be patient. Aside from these small hurdles, living in this apartment was one of my favorite parts of studying in Florence. Our apartment was quite spacious, which allowed us to live comfortably and host often. The layout allowed us to take part in Italian tradition and share our spaces with our neighbors and friends. Every Thursday night we would host “family dinner” in which we would host our neighbors and any and all friends were welcome. We would share stories and conversations over dinner, dessert, and drinks, embracing the Italian lifestyle. My apartment was more than just my housing for 4 months, it was a cornerstone of my study abroad experience. The friendships and memories I made there will last me a lifetime. I will always treasure this experience and the people who helped make it so wonderful.
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