We are 2 days away from our departure, so we thought we would give a brief update of how we have prepared, and what we will be doing once we arrive.
By The Numbers
2: Leaders (one faculty member and one doctoral student)
14: Total undergraduate students participating in this year's program
6: We had six pre-departure meetings where the students learned and practiced new research skills and cultural competence
48: Days we will spend in Italy
30, 60, & 4: Through our research pursuits we expect to conduct approximately 30 in-depth women's health interviews, which will take approximately 60 hours to transcribe, in order to compose 4 impactful research papers!
Our Field Week Experience
We land in Rome on Sunday, May 6th. From there we will start our field week experience, where we will travel to many cities to explore Italian culture, history, cuisine, and beyond. Some highlights will include: touring the Roman Colosseum and Vatican, relaxing in a sacred wood forest, exploring a whimsical tarot garden, a visit to an Etruscan Necropolis, going deep into a marble quarry, and hiking the beautiful coast in Cinque Terre
Finally in Florence
We will make our way to Florence on May 13th, where we will check into our apartments and get settled into our living spaces for the next six weeks. While in Florence students will be taking two courses: one Purdue University research course (instructed by Dr. DeMaria) and one Italian food/wine/culture/community course (instructed by a Florence University of the Arts faculty member). Things will be busy, but we will work hard and play hard.
Classes will run Mondays through Thursdays, leaving time for us to explore on the weekends. Some group trips include: a culinary tour around Bologna, visiting an ancient olive oil mill in Massa Marittima, a weekend getaway to the Amalfi Coast, a magical night in Venice, and a day trip to Parma to learn about Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano Regiano cheese.
We also have two free weekends where students can choose to stay within Italy, or travel beyond. You will have to stay tuned to see where everyone travels to!
Comment with Travel Tips
For now we are going to wrap-up our semester here at Purdue University and start packing for our whirlwind summer adventure. We would LOVE some packing tips, travel advice, and study abroad inspiration from all of our followers. Leave us a comment below to help us as we prepare to take off!
[This post was composed by Dr. Andrea DeMaria, Assistant Professor in the College of Health and Human Sciences and program director of this study abroad experience. You can learn more about her here: http://www.purdue.edu/hhs/csr/directory/faculty/demaria_andrea.html]