Savona, Italy, *Samuel Raffaillac (from France)

Where did you study abroad?
I study abroad in Savona, Italy, just before Genova in the north.

For how long? (and why did you choose that length?)
I choose to study in Italy, because I am half Italian (my mother's Italian), so I went to the Italian consulate and they told me, “If you are half Italian, you can have a scholarship to study during the summer in an Italian university”. So I also received a scholarship to study during three weeks.  

Which program?
The program, I choose to study’s, was Italian Art History, all lesson were in Italian.

Pre-departure preparations
Before the departure, I look for a place to stay during the entire trip. After that was ok, I try to find different place to visit, because my trip was short.

Beginning experiences and feelings upon arrival?
When I arrived in Savona, I went to the place I would be staying in “Lavagnola” very close to Savona, and it was a very big apartment, it was close to a church and our neighbor was a cool priest. I had five French roommates and it was fun to live in community.

Information about Savona
If you want to study, in Savona you can go at the Savona university campus, if you want to party I recommended you to go to the port, there are some pubs. If you want to watch opera, or concert you must go to the Priamar. If you like to surf go to Varazze. And if you just want to go to the beach, there is wonderful small beach just after Bergeggi.

What did you learn?
I learned how to leave in community, with people I have never met before. To study abroad, with all lessons in Italian was really interesting and make me learning faster the small difficulty’s of the Italian. Like I said, I’m half Italian so I need to learn the story of my half origin.

Any advice you’d give to a prospective study abroad student?
Like everybody says, studying abroad was the best experience of my life. Even if I’m European just the fact to have a change in language made me feel like I was in an exotic country. So if you study in Ligury, you must go to “Cinque terre”. And you can go easily from Savona in Corsican. So enjoy your time, and live the moment.