Author: Katie Fowler | Major: Marketing

Hey, I’m Katie Fowler, I’m a marketing major in the Sam M. Walton College of Business and I studied abroad in Florence, Italy through AIFS during the Spring 2022 semester! I decided to study with the AIFS program (the American Institute for Foreign Study) because they offered courses that would work toward my major as well as courses specific to the culture in Italy. Not only did the courses line up with what I wanted to achieve academically, but AIFS also included many perks that ultimately made me choose this program over others I had considered. Some of these perks included field trips that corresponded with what we had been learning in class as well as others I will go into later. It was such a neat experience to take marketing courses on topics that are very distinct and local to Italy. For example, I took the Marketing of Wine in Italy and the Marketing of Italian Luxury Fashion. This allowed me to take what I learned in the classroom and view the effects on the market and consumers in Italy as well as how to market to niche consumer bases. This advances my academic and professional goals because of the real-world experience I obtained.

I have lived in Arkansas my entire life, and while I have traveled in the US, this was my first experience traveling outside of my home country and getting to witness and live with a different culture. More than anything else I may have learned abroad, adapting to new cultures will prove to be a valuable skill. These courses were some of my favorites that I have ever taken. It helps that the professors and AIFS staff were wonderful. I was able to develop great relationships with all my professors and learn so many things from them inside and outside of the classroom. My classes were set up a bit differently than my UofA courses. In Italy, we only had classes Monday through Thursday, so that means each class lasted an hour and forty minutes. That was honestly tough getting used to that schedule. School days were long, and I was exhausted by the time I would get done with classes. However, it was so nice getting to have three-day weekends because it gave students plenty of time to travel and experience Italy and Europe on their own. As far as the setup of our school, it was fairly similar to the UofA. AIFS had their own building in Florence where we would take all our classes.

I think it comes as no surprise that my favorite memories come from outside of the classroom. I have always been an avid fan of traveling, so getting the freedom to go out and experience the world on my own was incredible. The public transportation in Europe made that so easy. It was a little daunting at first to use the train and bus systems, but once you tried it, it was super easy to continue using the rest of the semester. Learning and adapting to the culture in Italy was a lot easier than I had expected. I spoke little to no Italian when I arrived, but I quickly caught on. A little goes a long way, just by putting in the effort to speak the language you gain so much respect from the locals. My friends and I even became close to the staff at our favorite restaurants simply by showing them kindness and respect by speaking their language and learning about their culture. Speaking of food, one of my favorite things was trying the local cuisine wherever I traveled. Many different parts of Italy are known for certain foods. For example, Florence is known for their Florentine steak, Rome is known for spaghetti carbonara, and Verona is known for risotto. Being open to new experiences, food, and cultures was an integral aspect of my enjoyment while abroad.

I would 100% recommend this program to others. The AIFS Florence, Italy program offers interesting courses that suit many different majors. Included with this program are a plethora of cultural activities such as cooking classes, soccer games, and museum tours as well as group trips to Rome, Venice, and Siena. One of the best things included in this program was the meal plan. Students were given vouchers at the beginning of each month, and we were able to use those at select restaurants around town.

My advice for students wanting to study abroad is to do it. It may be a lifelong dream or maybe just a spontaneous decision to study abroad. Either way it is a lifechanging experience. Hold nothing back, try everything, push yourself outside your comfort zone. This is where growth happens. I can tell you that I am not the same person I was before I studied abroad, and this is for the better. Getting to travel and experience so many different cultures has expanded my view of the world. This will help tremendously in my future career path and goals. I wish I would’ve known many things coming back from my study abroad experience rather than what I wish I would’ve known going into it. I was fully prepared for the changes I was going to go through while abroad, I welcomed them. However, I was scared to come back home and fall back into my old life and erase all the growth from the last three months. It’s a lonely feeling coming home to so many people who will never understand what you went through. It makes it easy to appease their discomfort and act as if you didn’t have the most lifechanging experience of your life. My advice is to give yourself time to readjust and learn how to adapt your new self to your life back home. I wish I would’ve been more upfront with my family and requested some time before diving straight into my experience abroad. You need time to process everything once you’re back, so it doesn’t just feel like a fever dream.