Istituto Lorenzo de Medici (IDM)

1) Everyone in Italy wears black, grey and white! I happened to bring lots of artistic, second-hand, retro-grungy sorts of american-college student colorful clothes that seemed a bit strange. 2)Learning a foreign language takes more effort than you might think - and everything goes so much more smoothly when you can communicate to some degree in the language of your host country. 3)Have very few expectations about your host country and host people - because they will be sure to change. 4) Know how to get over disappointments and frustrations. Living abroad can be tricky, but you'll always have a good story of it if you know emotionally how to stay flexible, patient and open-minded. 5) Don't go out alone at night in the dark in a foreign country. You're an easy target for any sort of danger or abuse, which is made all the more exaggerated when you don't speak the native language well. Therefore, know how to say a few phrases very well that let people know they shouldn't bother you - and be VERY firm when you don't want their company. 6) It's good to be friendly - but be wary of strangers. 7) Keep a good, communicative relationship with your roommate(s) and other students in the school. This is your support network! 8) If you get homesick, don't worry about it too much. It's natural, and if you don't dwell on it too much, the feeling will pass. It's easy to soothe this feeling by staying in good touch with your family and friends at home. I found email the best solution, because it's cheap and I love to write, anyway.

If you are interested in meeting many other Americans while abroad, attending a school that is not very academically challenging or expensive in order to spend more time and money getting to know your Italian environment and culture, then this school is a good choice. Also, the school does have a pretty strong fine arts program, with many well-trained teachers. This is really the school's strong suit, as opposed to the liberal arts studies they also offer.

I wish I had known who my roommates were before I went. I assumed all would be American but one was Danish and we had problems initially in terms of culture shock though not with Italian culture but with each others. Eventually it worked out but it would have been easier to learn more before I went.

Definitely give it a try if you are interested in visual art but the other areas are lacking and I am sure there are more schools with better qualifications.

That it is really hard to meet people at this school if you do not come with your university or with friends of your own. It really makes you grow up fast and become independent. Italy, while being one of the most magnificent places on earth, is a very difficult and bureacratic country to live in.

The University is great! Great courses and profs. But, it's spread out between like 3 small buildings with a few rooms and there is no campus. Also, it is hard to get stuff done b/c administration is not really helpful and very bureacratic.

No. It would have changed my experience.

The academics, overall, were not as challenging as my home university, however, I had a few instructors who were incredible. I definitely had a better experience, academically, my second semester because I knew who to take, etc.

That it costs extra money to sit and eat in a cafe, rather than stand and eat.

Great!

I wish I would've known that it was going to be a life changing experience and that it'd be the best five months of my life. I would've studied a whole year there.

I couldn't have asked for a better experience.