Hello! I am Kendall Moore, a rising Junior majoring in Advertising and minoring in Communication Studies and Digital Consumer Engagement. I have wanted to study abroad for basically all of my life and finally decided to do it in Florence, Italy! Choosing a program was a little overwhelming at first, but after you decide where you want to go it is a lot easier. I chose to study abroad with the affiliate program API during Summer 1. I liked the time frame of the program and I would be able to take a class that would transfer to my degree! 

The first week in Italy was so exciting but a tad overwhelming! We had the first week free from school, but we had orientations and safety meetings we had to attend. I was feeling pretty jet-lagged the first couple of days, but it wasn’t anything gelato couldn’t fix! We had a couple tours of Florence and got to explore the city a little bit. We had a welcome dinner the first night and got to meet the other people in our program which was exciting.

Right away, I fell in love with Florence. Even though it was a big city, it felt small. I loved being able to walk everywhere, everything was basically within a 20-minute walk! Another thing I noticed during the first week was how many people spoke English. I didn’t learn much Italian before I left and was worried about the language barrier. Most Italians were very friendly and willing to help us out thank goodness! Overall, my first week in Florence was an absolute blast. We get to travel to Venice this weekend and I am so excited!

the Ponte Vecchio bridge
the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, also known as the Duomo
cute dogs seen on the streets of Italy