FSU International Programs Valencia 2005

 

 

The style in 2005 might be different, but Valencia, Spain is the same now as it was then- incredible! Check out this video to learn about some of the excursions from 2005 that this program continues today. This is a great blast-from-the-past video that shows so much of what Valencia has to offer. For more information about the Valencia program visit http://fla.st/1G0h54Z.

A Year of Adventure

By Claire McCleskey

As the end of my senior year began to approach, I knew two things: I wanted to go to Florida State, and I wanted to study abroad at some point in my college career. I had heard of FSU’s First Year Abroad program on my very first visit to the school but I never imagined I’d be able to spend my entire first year away from home in a foreign country. I’ll never forget the day I received one of the International Programs brochures in the mail. As soon as I started to look through it, both my parents and I knew there was no way I would be able to say no to the FYA program. A few months later, I packed my bags and headed to London.

London is a great city because it has something to offer any time, any day, for any interest. The Study Centre is located close to many theatres on the West End (London’s Broadway) and we learned early on that you can get discounted tickets to shows if you go the day of, so many students took advantage of that. I took Intro to Theatre during my first semester, which had us going to at least one play a week for class, but many of us expanded our theatrical horizons beyond the class. One of my favorite shows was The Woman in Black, which I saw four times in London, and attended a screening of the film introduced by none other than Daniel Radcliffe himself.  Because London is such a central part of the European entertainment industry, many movie premieres are held there. In fact, most of them take place in Leicester Square, which is about a five-minute walk from the Study Centre. One of the coolest events to ever happen there was the red carpet premiere for The Dark Knight Rises. My friends and I camped out to get spots along the carpet and managed to see all the stars, and even get Anne Hathaway and Tom Hardy’s autograph! But it wasn’t just movies and theatre surrounding our home in the world-renowned Bloomsbury District—a million things would be happening every day in every field imaginable. One weekend could be a relaxing one spent picnicking in St. James’ or Hyde Park, the next could be the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee where one day you watch the Queen and company float down the Thames and the next you see Paul McCartney singing Let It Be in front of her Buckingham Palace home. Another week might be London’s Fashion Week, which I took advantage of in the fall and spring, and the week after you might head to Stonehenge and Bath. 

There were countless opportunities in London, but the most unique one I had was the chance to be in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics. My friend and I heard about the auditions and signed up immediately. Much to our surprise, we both received a callback. Even more to our surprise, we were both asked to be in the Ceremonies. I wasn’t able to do it because there would have been too many scheduling conflicts with the classes I was taking, but my friend did participate. While I wish I could have been in it too, it’s cool to say I had the opportunity to be in them. Watching the Olympics--which happened just days after I returned from London--made me homesick, but I was swelling with pride knowing that my friend was a part of the ceremonies. 

While in London, I actually completed all of my gen ed requirements except for one science class, and I ended up having as many credit hours as a junior by the end of my freshman year. The Broad Curriculum classes abroad are great, because they give you a really different experience than what you would get in Tallahassee. For example, if I hadn’t studied abroad, I probably would have taken a biology class with 300 kids as my lab science. Instead, I took an archeology class with 20 other students (my largest class by far) where we spent half the class at a museum or digging up the shore of the Thames. During one of the summer sessions, I decided to branch out from the typical Broad Curriculum courses usually taken by First Year Abroad students. I applied to participate in a program focused on documentary filmmaking in Britain, and the two courses I took as part of that program are the most interesting classes I’ve ever taken. Before the class started, I’d never so much as touched a real camera. By the end of the course I had made two commercial parodies and documentary about Abbey Road, filmed on location. That’s one of the greatest advantages to studying abroad—the city becomes your textbook.


When you study abroad, you form a unique bond with your classmates. No one will ever fully understand the experience you had together unless they were there. I made so many great friends studying abroad, but those of us who were together for a full year will always have an inseparable bond. It’s nice to look back at photos of us in London watching an FSU football game huddled around one tiny computer screen, and compare it to pictures of us at our first football game together in Tallahassee, or to see pictures of us on the London Eye at the start of our time in London and see that we took almost the exact same picture on our last day in the city together. Pictures like that make me really appreciate my friends from London because they show just how much we’ve been through together.

While I loved every minute I spent in London, it was also great to get out of the city and see the rest of the world! The Study Centre organized a number of day trips and weekend trips to places like the Highlands in Scotland, Liverpool, Bath, Stonehenge, and Wales. We also took advantage of how easy (and relatively cheap!) it is to fly from London to other parts of Europe. During my time there, I traveled to Venice (twice), Barcelona, Nice, Marseilles, Cannes, Paris, Amsterdam, Bruges, and more. And I got to do it with my closest friends. If there’s anything better than travelling the world, it’s travelling the world with your best friends.

My Favorite Spot in the City of Knowledge

By Quinton Campbell

When I landed in Panama after leaving from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to say I was looking forward to living in a tropical climate for eight months would have been an understatement.

I knew that I’d have some of the most coveted surfing locations located a matter of hours from me, but when I realized that students had access to an Olympic sized swimming pool located a block from the student housing after a tour of the facilities on my first day, I couldn’t have been more excited.

Spending Some Time by the Pool

Not only was it a great way to relax after a tough exam or a long week, but it also served as one of the only public pools in the area, so it was also a place where many locals from the community would spend time.


You could always count on there being an event at the pool, whether it was a diving competition, a swim meet, or even a birthday party, and all of this added a cultural experience that made what seemed like just another day at the pool something I loved doing regularly. 

The Swimming Pool in the City of Knowledge

As a matter of fact, I visited so often during my two semesters there that when the staff found out that my time in Panama was coming to an end, I was given one of the staff shirts worn by the lifeguards since they knew how much I enjoyed spending time there!

Sports in Panama

By Quinton Campbell

When I arrived in Panama, I arrived with the general assumption that soccer was the national sport. That all changed once I saw the variety of options for activity that the residents of the surrounding community took part in within the City of Knowledge! 

Within a matter of minutes, I could walk from the student housing to not only soccer fields, but baseball fields, tennis courts, and a basketball court as well. In addition to the soccer and basketball teams that were created by students at FSU–Panama, there were constantly pick-up games being played by locals on both the soccer fields and basketball courts. This provided not only an opportunity to take a break from my studies, but it was also a great way to get involved and get to know international students my age, an opportunity that I truly value to this day.  

One event I particularly enjoyed was during my spring semester when the softball portion of that year’s Central American Games was held on the City of Knowledge’s athletic fields. Not only did I have the opportunity to watch national teams from countries such as Nicaragua, Belize, Panama, and Costa Rica play softball, but thanks to the athletic facilities located at the City of Knowledge, the three days of these competitions were held in my “backyard.”

Softball Game Between El Salavador & Belize

Changing Innings 

Seeing these events such a short distance from my house wasn’t only convenient but truly helped me feel integrated into the community as I sat and watched among other residents from the neighborhood!

First Year Abroad in Florence

By Christine Lacayo

My freshman year of college I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad in Florence, Italy, for an entire year. Because of this memorable experience, I now work for International Programs to help give students the same opportunity I had.

I was originally going to be a South Carolina Game Cock but once I received a letter in the mail from Florida State stating that I could go abroad for my freshman year and receive in-state tuition upon returning to FSU, I forgot all about being a Game Cock and starting thinking about where life outside of America would take me.

Me with Friends in Arno

Here are only a handful of memories, nights, and friends I met that I miss everyday:

I miss getting lost in a beautiful city, I miss trying to figure out the word for ice for a swollen ankle and then realizing they don't sell ice in Italy, I miss eating gelato everyday and going to Venice 5 times, I miss going out and meeting Italians with my best friends Ina and Annelle, mi mancano Valeri e Gordon, I miss hearing "ciao bella" when I walk down the streets and meeting a guy named Matteo, I miss hearing that obnoxious ambulance siren every 20 minutes, I miss waking up to church bells and tuna and apple pasta picnics on the Arno, I miss walking down abbey road and meeting interesting British boys on the metro, I miss sleeping on a 16 hour bus ride to Prague, I miss getting stuck in a mini bus for half an hour because the Swiss snow was too intense for those tires, I miss getting hit on by a crêpe vendor, I miss being cordially escorted by Parisian policemen to my hotel and visiting Jim Morrison’s tomb at the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise. I miss that life. My only regrets are for calling it a night too soon.

Living and studying in Italy as a freshman allowed me to mature in so many ways. I lived in the cradle of the world’s greatest art, which helped me gain an appreciation for Art History and Architecture that I never would have expected. I realized I wasn’t just a car ride away from home: I was on another continent and I had to become more independent. I traveled to many beach towns near Florence on my own, like Cinque Terre, which stands for “Five Lands.” These five villages on the Italian Riviera coast are located about two and half to three and half hours from Florence. While changing trains about three to four times, I remember getting on the wrong trains and getting lost, but that is how you learn that missing trains and getting lost in a foreign city is what traveling is all about.

Michelangelo's Tomb with Statues

Studying in Italy for an entire year, straight out of high school, helped me grow into a more global citizen. I learned I could integrate within different cultures easily, I could adapt to cultural differences quickly, I learned to modify my behaviors in ways that were more appropriate with the Italian culture, and I learned to interpret different behaviors and values that I was unfamiliar with before traveling to Italy.

Venice with my Mom

Upon returning to Tallahassee, students like the idea of having “two freshman years.” When I came back to FSU I had already established my group of friends in Italy that were like family to me. Many of them were older so they helped me get acclimated to the FSU campus. Going abroad as a freshman was a great way to transition from a high school student into the college life, and I believe everyone should have the opportunity to study abroad as early as possible.