Back in the States

Upon my arrival back into the States yesterday I was greeted with open arms from all my family members. I was then grilled with 101 questions coming from all angles. While I'm usually not the type who enjoys entertaining tons of questions I thought it was the least I could do seeing that my family was the main factor that enabled me to study abroad. After the Q & A session was finished I decided to make a list of do's and don'ts covering everything that I experienced while abroad. This list will be very beneficial to all of those contemplating taking the same program next year. So here it is...



DO's
Indulge in Italy's cuisine. Italy truly knows how to prepare and use fresh ingredients. I can't say that I went to any restaurant and was displeased with my food.
See as much as the city you can. It's fine to just walk around aimlessly because Florence isn't that large of a city and with the location of the duomo its very hard to get completely lost.
Go out at night. Florence offers great night life with a large variety of night clubs/bars to choose from.
Make sure to visit all lof the historical structures each city has to offer. And while your there don't just be complacent that you came and saw. Actually read up on the structures because majority of the historical structures have interesting backgrounds to them.
Get mosquitoe repellent. I'd actually put that as the number one thing to remember. The bugs over there are relentless and they dislike Americans as much as some of the natives or so it seemed.
Brush up on the common phrases in italian. It will do alot for your experience and also show the italians that your not trying to push your language on them.
DON'Ts
Don't be complacent. You only have three weeks and I advise you to squeeze as much as you can into that time.
There is no room for arrogance while abroad in a country that isn't particularly fond of Americans. So be humble.
Do not tip. It's not necessary.
That's all I can think of for now BUT i'll be updating my blog while gathering things to write my final paper. So anymore advice that I can remember i'll throw up here.