Italy: Ava Caballero
Program: UW in Florence, Spring
Ava’s Major: Journalism
What is your most memorable experience from your program?
The most memorable experience from my program was visiting the Santa Croce with my class. At UW in Florence, you have the opportunity to take a course with a UW Professor who comes to Florence. My professor, Lee Palmer Wendel, taught Traces of Past Lives, which discussed Florentine history. Each week, our class would take field trips to different landmarks in Florence. Our visit to the Basilica of Santa Croce was particularly memorable because every day on my walk from my apartment to my classes, I would pass Piazza Santa Croce. It was a large part of my memories of study abroad, as I lived close by and would attend sporting events or markets that the Piazza would hold. However, before this specific class trip, I had not gone inside the Basilica yet. Upon entering, I was immediately blown away by its beauty. It is one of the largest churches I have visited in Florence and also holds significant importance in Florentine history, as many famous figures are buried there. Individuals such as Galileo, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, and many more are laid to rest in the Santa Croce. After visiting, I decided to make the Santa Croce my focal topic in my final paper for this course.
I am very proud of myself for going outside my comfort zone to live in a new country with a new language, new people, and a new routine.
What is the moment you are most proud of?
The moment I am most proud of is deciding to study abroad in Florence on my own. I am originally from San Francisco, California, and before going abroad this past semester, I had never traveled outside of the country. I had not been to Florence before, so I could only receive information about what the next few months would be like through photos, videos, and reading about past students’ experiences through reflections and blogs. I was also living with random roommates, who went to UW-Madison, but I had not met them until I arrived in Florence. I am very proud of myself for going outside my comfort zone to live in a new country with a new language, new people, and a new routine. Throughout the months, I was able to adjust to living my life in Florence and creating a set routine around academics, traveling, and social life. I was able to create strong connections with my roommates and other people in my program that I will take with me when I return to Madison. I am incredibly grateful for this experience, and that I have immersed myself in a new experience.
What is a custom, food or tradition from your host country that you are taking forward?
A food from Italy that I am taking forward to the United States is pasta. During my semester abroad, I participated in four cooking classes with my program and on my own. In these classes, I was taught how to make pasta from scratch. By creating the pasta and sauce with homemade ingredients rather than using pasta from a box, it not only tastes better, but is also a great social activity. In these classes, I was able to create connections with new individuals, as we were all going through the cooking steps together. Learning how to make pasta also gave me a deeper understanding of the importance of food in Italian culture. It is a way to bring people together by making good food, learning something new, and then enjoying the finished meal at the table. During my time back home in the US, I am excited to take what I have learned from these cooking classes and share it with my friends and family.