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Perugia, Italy
I studied Italian as a beginner, so after my first year I decided
that I’d like to do a private language course so that I wouldn’t
forget all that I had learned. I chose a famous language school in
Perugia. It was a month long intensive course. I had never been to
Italy before, and it was an excellent introduction to the country
and it gave my Italian a great boost. The only problem that I found
was that, when on holiday in France immediately afterwards, whenever
I tried to speak French, Italian seemed to come out of my mouth! |
Salerno, Italy
Salerno, a town just south of Naples, was a completely different experience
altogether. The North-South divide was obvious to me from the beginning.
However, being situated right next door to the beautiful Amalfi Coast,
Salerno is a unique town. While there I took advantage of all the
tourist attractions including Mount Vesuvius, Pompei and of course
Naples. The cost of living out there was unbelievably low, and with
delicious pizza restaurants everywhere I turned, I found it difficult
to justify not to eat out every night! The weather out there was mixed,
hot weather followed by snow, but I was there during the winter months,
and by all accounts the summer climate is hot!!! I tried to travel
while I was there. I found the train system brilliant. Trains were
almost always on time and not expensive at all. Rome was only 3 hours
away so cheap flights were easy to get, but the closest airport was
Naples. |
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Pizzeria with friends in
Salerno |
Nantes, France
The second half of my year abroad was spent in Nantes. This is a very
lively, student city, a similar size to Cardiff. Accommodation was
difficult to get, so I had sorted a place to live the summer before.
It was a great flat right in the centre of town and I was sharing
with a mixture of nationalities (though unfortunately no French).
However, I noticed the cost of living increase dramatically, as I
was paying more than double the rent that I had paid in Italy. Getting
around Nantes is easy due to the Tram system. I also traveled a lot
around the country. With Nantes being one of the TGV stations it was
simple just to jump on a train and get to almost anywhere in the country,
and fast! I went to Paris for the 6 Nations final match, I went to
Provence, Brittany, and of course to La Baule, a fantastic beach,
once the summer months arrived. I was never short of things to do
in Nantes. There is an international cinema that shows all the blockbusters
in their original language, a local football team that regularly plays
at home, and I was fortunate enough to be there for the annual street
carnival! Nantes is not a difficult place to get to, with its own
international airport, and other regional airports nearby (e.g. Tours),
and of course Paris is only 2 hours away! |
| My year abroad was a life changing experience.
My languages improved a great deal and I met some life-long friends
from all over the world. It changed my outlook on life as I appreciate
different cultures and ways of life a lot more now. I no longer have
fears of traveling alone in foreign countries. It was also a lovely
break from uni and I was fresh and enthusiastic coming back to my
final year. I would recommend to anyone to go on a year abroad, the
only problem being, you might decide to stay out there! |
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