Fun in Florence with Cailin Enser

I decided that I wanted to partake in the Lorenzo de’ Medici's (LdM) Florence summer session for a number of reasons. Firstly, I fell in love with studying abroad during a trip with my high school where I was able to spend time with a host family in Bolzano in between trips to Florence and Rome with my classmates. Not only did this experience change my perspective on travel, but I was also able to witness LdM’s cooking classes taking place in the Mercato Centrale in Florence. I remember watching the students and daydreaming about one day being able to take such a class in Florence myself. I found out about this particular program through browsing on UB’s education abroad website.

I was beyond excited to have had the opportunity to study abroad in Florence. Through this program, I was able to take a class on Italian culinary and cultural traditions in the Mercato Centrale. This program also stood out to me as it is one of the longer summer sessions, taking place over an entire month as opposed to a couple of weeks. With this, I took two classes for a total of six credits during my time there.

Receiving the Gerace Dean Innovation Fund Scholarship helped to ease my concerns about the financial aspects of studying abroad and has inspired me to apply for additional opportunities in the future.  Studying abroad for myself is unfortunately very often reliant on financial factors.  So, the Gerace Dean Innovation Fund Scholarship reminded me that UB and UB's donors continue to support students in our pursuit of experiential learning opportunities such as education abroad. 

Having the financial assistance from the Gerace Dean Innovation Fund helped me enjoy my time in Italy because I had less to worry about in terms of finance.  This scholarship reminded me to embrace all aspects of this opportunity and inspired me to take advantage of additional resources that I may not have before.   

The most important takeaway that I had from this experience is that the only thing holding me back is myself. Travelling across the world fully aware of the fact that I was alone going into this was terrifying. However, I did not allow this fact deter me from this education abroad program. Instead, I was able to make friends, cross-cultural connections and ultimately a home in Florence. With this, I have grown more confident in my abilities to take advantage of any and all opportunities presented to me.

During this experience, I was able to take two classes for a total of six credits.

Class One: "Not just Italian Food: Culinary and Cultural Traditions”
We spent our time learning about the origins of a specific dish, its cultural significance, the importance of ingredients and the process of making it. Each cooking session focuses on a specific region of Italy, for example Tuscany or Lombardy. After learning about the dish and its significance, we crafted the dish that we learned about. We worked in pairs to create the dish and once completed we ate together in the classroom.

The foods that were created range from desserts to pasta and meats, providing us with a wide variety of culinary skills by the end. Pasta, sauces, cookies and other elements of dishes that could very easily be purchased are made completely from scratch. We continued to learn cutting, kneading, mixing, piping and other cooking techniques with every lesson. My fellow students and I both used and learned the importance of fresh and expensive ingredients such as truffles or saffron.

My favorite dishes that we made were the Gnocchi alla Bava eTartufo, Tiramisu, Cannoli Siciliani and the Cacio e Pepe. This particular course is one of a few cooking classes at LdM that actually takes place in the Mercato Centrale, which is truly an indescribable thing! As members of this course, students are given recipe books online to keep so that all recipes can be recreated at home.

Class Two: “Introduction to Cross-Cultural Communication: Bridging the Borders of Difference”
This class was one of the many more “traditional” courses that takes place in a classroom setting through LdM. Here, other students and I learned of basic communication principles, then were taught to apply them through a multicultural lens. With time, the concepts learned became more abstract, as we learn about the very unconscious things that people do on the daily that have very strong cultural ties. This class is very conversational and students were invited to share their own cultural experiences. In order to better understand these concepts, students will role-play, go “people-watching”, or simply discuss concepts with the class. Not only has this class improved my cultural awareness, but the ways in which we discuss culture has helped me to better adjust to living in Florence for an extended period of time.

Outside of the classroom, students are given plenty of opportunity to explore Florence and the neighboring areas. Classes only take place Monday through Thursday, giving students the long weekend to travel wherever they please. During these weekends, I took trips to Cinque Terre, Bolzano, Pisa and Lucca. LdM offers school field trips where a bus service will take a group of students to a nearby city for tours and exploration. My roommate and I chose to participate in the Cinque Terre trip through LdM, and I am very glad that I was able to do so. The other trips that I took were booked independently, something that I found was very simple to do using Italy’s train system. Florence is a beautiful city with rich architecture, art and history, so outside of both trip and class time there is no shortage of things to do.

I am a commuter to UB, so this experience was my first real opportunity to live in close quarters with other students my age. Most of my peers attended different schools across the U.S. and this experience allowed me to network and connect with students in various fields of study.

As someone with a minor in Global Affairs, the importance of understanding cross-cultural communication cannot be understated. Not only was I able to take a class on this subject during my time in Italy, but simply interacting with various locals and other tourists has increased my confidence in terms of cross-cultural communication as well.

Additionally, I find that food is an amazing way to bond with people. By learning Italian culinary traditions, their cultural significance and creating these foods, I hope to be able to bring a taste of Italy home with me. Coming out of this experience, I feel more confident in my ability to adapt to unfamiliar situations and take on intimidating opportunities. 

I am a Buffalo native, so growing up I was always aware of the opportunities offered to students through UB. Additionally, a number of my family members attended UB, including my father and a few aunts and uncles. By attending UB, I am given the opportunity to live at home and commute, saving money on food and housing expenses while also being able to maintain my part-time job. The money that I save by living at home has given me room to take on experiential learning opportunities such as the First-Year Global Experience in Costa Rica.

Being able to do these experiential learning opportunities is something that was very important to me when choosing a school. UB has no shortage of educational opportunities abroad that take place across various continents and times of year.  This paired with UB’s extensive major/minor catalog, class options and Honors College ultimately influenced me to attend UB.

I chose to be a Political Science major as I have always been captivated by political/other governmental processes both domestic and abroad. My department remains connected to governing bodies (local or not) in ways that I don’t think is typical for other departments. For example, it is not out of the ordinary to have a former/current congressman speak during a Political Science lecture. I enjoy the ways in which my department has allowed me to understand the chaos of the political world at the moment. My professors have done a great job creating space for my fellow students and I to network within Political Science communities outside of UB.

I hope that with my degree, I am able to find a career that can counteract some of the political problems that are running rampant domestically and abroad today. Outside of my career path, I hope that I am able to be a kind, open-minded and productive member of society. Experiences like studying abroad, clubs, coursework and communities have helped me grow into the best version of myself.

I am a born and raised Buffalo local, so I am no stranger to the culture here. From the Bills to the crazy winters, I love it all. To me, being a UB student means learning what path you are truly meant to take. UB is such a large school and does so much to ensure that every kind of student has access to additional experiential learning opportunities, club opportunities, internships and more. With this, students are given so much freedom in deciding what we truly would like to accomplish while working towards our degrees.

UB is unique to me due to the sheer number of opportunities that are presented to the student body. It is no secret that UB is a big school, however, unlike some other universities, the extracurricular learning and club opportunities offered to the student body truly reflects the size of the school. There is a plethora of educational abroad programs, clubs, sports, alternative break programs and small college communities (e.g. the Honors College, CAS, etc.) at UB. For me, I wasn’t expecting to find a place in smaller college communities so easily at UB, but the accommodating nature of the school has allowed me to do so.

I would advise students interested in this opportunity to apply and see where that takes them. An application is not equivalent to agreeing to do something, and the application process itself will answer a significant number of questions that one might have regarding an educational abroad program. Additionally, I would advise students to not fear doing things alone. A large majority of students studying abroad at LdM will take weekend trips, whether it be with friends or roommates. Students also spend large amounts of time exploring the city of Florence through just wandering or museums and tours. If there is something that is on your bucket list, I would advise that students prioritize that over sticking with a group (oftentimes people who you just met weeks or days ago at the beginning of the program). Finally, I would remind students to educate themselves fully on what they are signing themselves up for. Some situations require figuring out train or bus stops in a foreign language, contacting cell phone or credit card companies to resolve issues, avoiding scammers on the streets and ultimately flying across the globe alone. Allow yourself time, money and mental space to be fully prepared to take on these challenges!

With the increasing costs of higher education in the U.S., I believe that students can relate to having to choose between the traditional dorming experience and being able to partake in experiential learning/educational abroad opportunities such as this one. I have found that within bigger state (SUNY) schools such as UB, commuting is fairly common. With this, though, it can be more difficult to partake in on-campus opportunities such as clubs or events, and it can be more difficult to make friends both inside and outside of the classroom. I hope that my story could push students in a similar situation to make the choice that is best suited for their wants and needs, whether that be choosing dorming or education abroad (or whatever they may be choosing between). I also believe that other commuters can relate to the difficulties that I have had in making on-campus connections due to my living at home. With this, though, I find it important to mention that these educational abroad opportunities have helped me substantially in making connections during my time in college.

I would advise future UB students to do the things that scare them. If you see an opportunity that is of interest to you, take advantage of it even if it seems frightening. Not only will UB support you throughout your endeavours, but you will also probably meet and bond with other UB students in your same situation. Additionally, I would advise all UB students to remain aware of what assistive programs that UB facilitates for students. From tutoring services to the scholarship portal, there are a number of ways in which UB works to help students through general coursework and additional educational opportunities. Taking advantage of the resources and opportunities presented to me by UB has had an enormous positive impact on my education.