University of Florida (UF)

At the beginning, it was a little bit hard, specially during courses because the vocabulary is more specialised and people speack fast and interact eachother. But the oral comprehension improved very quickly and at the end of the semester, i saw a big improvement in the langage. Now, I am fluent in english!

There is alot of cheap stores for food, clothes like "Savealot", "ROSS"... and the best is cooking at home instead of spending alot in fastfoods! It is healthier and a lot cheaper!! and it is easy specially if you live near the university.

To travel in the state, it is better to rent a car (if you don't have one). Otherwise, there is a travel agency in the university where you can have good price for flight tickets... Gainesville is well located bacause you can esely go to Miami and south Florida, to Louisiana... A good tip: in January, the weather is not as warm as in Miami!! So don't forget warm clothes!!

A lot of night spots!! But my favorite was the "Twylow" on friday night (latin night). Otherwise, there is a lot to do but there is too much hip-hop and RNB clubs for me... Gainesville is a university town wtih a good nightlife, a lot of activities within the university: cinema, theater, sports... There is a lot of buses until 3 am (university/ downtown). All is very well organized! But there is not a lot to visit... If you want to travel, there is Orlando, St Augustin quite closed to Gainesville. Or there is a special bus for the weekend that goes from Gainesville to Miami, so you can spend the WE there. It is cheap and quicker than the Greyhound!

the apartment was nice. I lived with 3 other roommates. The apartment was a little bit too small specially our room. And it was quite expansive: $435/ month (because we stayed 4 months). But we had housekeepers every week,a laundy room, it was close to the university, and i met alot of people. I dont regret.