Hard to come on this trip if you aren’t coming with a friend or two pior
Very few trees in the city
Everything is walkable, so you don’t need to use public transportation. Bring comfortable shoes!
Really small airport, so it can be pricey to fly in and out.
The vouchers they distribute to you count as a sort of meal plan so you can save money on groceries and some meals.
The city is very small and really safe!
Upper level Italian classes are taught entirely in Italian. If you have taken Italian at Elon, the classes here may be significantly more difficult than the ones you have taken.
The temperature is pretty warm until November, but the winter is relatively mild.
It rains a lot–bring a rain jacket.
Laundry is free once you buy your own detergent but there are no dryers–you will have to dry your laundry by hanging it up on a clothesline or a drying rack.
You will have access to tampons (Tampax brand only) and some brand name toothpastes and deodorants, but not DayQuil, NyQuil, or Advil (you can find aspirin).
Italian Netflix is different than American Netflix
Not all of the food you find will be incredible. Avoid tourist areas and menus that have pictures on them.
You’ll get 100 Euro worth of vouchers at the beginning of every week. They can be used at many cafes for breakfast or little places for lunch and can even be used some places for dinner. If you’re using them for dinner be sure to check with the restaurant that it’s ok to use them before sitting down. Vouchers can also be used at the grocery store – but not for items like toothpaste, laundry detergent, and deodorant.
While you’ll be in class with other Elon students and will be living with other Elon students, not everyone at the school goes to Elon. The school, AEF, is an international school with students from all over the world.
The men are a lot creepier than most men in the US. Italian women think catcalls are a compliment so don’t be surprised and try not to take it too seriously. Italian men are famous for wooing women with romantic words, but are also notorious for having many lovers…
The mosquitos are AWFUL. They put a small section about this in the info packet, but it’s not nearly enough to prepare you. Especially in the warmer months, be prepared for dozens of mosquito bites every day. Carry around bug spray – you can buy Off at most grocery stores.
Everything at the grocery stores is labeled in Italian so look up a few phrases before you go (we accidentally bought softener instead of detergent, twice).
About Abroad 