- What is your name?
Sylwia - Please write a short intro about yourself
I’m Polish. I’m PhD in Chemistry. I was 6 years ago in Florence on Erasmus. I met here my boyfriend and after 3 years I won one grant for working in CNR. I’ve been living here for two years. - Why study or intern abroad in Florence?
I wanted to gain experience working in laboratory in another country, get to know the culture and met new people. Besides getting to know myself. - Is Florence a safe place to study abroad (perhaps mention also some nice/cool neighborhood to hang out) ?
I was living close to the center. One time I had a bad experience, because one Moroccan guy followed me to the shop and he was waiting for me outside. I had to ran and took another way home to lose him. - Cultural differences (food, family, work, etc..)
The culture is completely different than my. When I need some documents I need to wait here much longer. The time is here relative. I’m looking for work, but this is also heavy. I’m working in institute f. I have scholarship, what means that I’m working like a student. It’s sad, because I’m 33 years old women and I cannot find here normal work. - A fun story to share
Here is a lot of student from another countries. I met one guy from Iran and he didn’t speak English but he spoke Italian. In this time I didn’t speak Italian only English. But you know what, the language wasn’t important, every time when we met up on the street we spoke each other, I English, he Italian, it was very funny 😄 and another people laughed at us. - What to pack before travelling to Florence?
It depends on the season. In summer: sunglasses, good shoes, but no high heels and a hat. In winter: a warm jacket, a scarf and warm slippers for the house - Must do weekend trips (ie. in Tuscany, Rome, Milan, etc…)
I love Cinque terre. This 5 villages are like from the postcard. I recommend to go by feet from village 4 to 5. The views there are amazing. - Any advice to the newcomers?
For the students this is amazing places. I recommend to sign up to the Erasmus organizations like Erasmusland or ESN. They organize a lot of trips or parties.
Study Abroad Florence: Sylwia from Poland
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