In January, several Wofford students took the dive into the college’s newest study abroad opportunity for the spring semester. In a previous Old Gold & Black article titled “Wofford in Milan 2024,” Managing Editor Cameron Carsten uncovered some of the principles behind the college’s founding of this new immersive abroad experience, including accessibility and the common desire to study among fellow Wofford students.
As such, this program has plans for activities with a cohort composed solely of Wofford students. In January, 11 Wofford students dove into a spring semester in Milan, including Abigail Fuentes ‘26 and Elaina Valente ‘26.
These two sophomores are complimentary of their weeks in Italy so far, with both citing the food as an unrivaled favorite aspect of their newfound cultural immersion. After a few weeks of Italian classes and European exploration under their belts, Fuentes and Valente had their first day of academic classes on Feb. 12.
In the weeks leading up to the official beginning of their semester, both have been discovering what Milan and the surrounding areas have to offer.
“I have been to Bologna with our program and did a pasta-making class there with (Fuentes),” said Valente, “We also went to Florence last weekend with some new friends, and I was able to see the famous David statue.”
In Milan specifically, Fuentes and Valente have taken to getting their bearings on Italian culture via trips to local shops and restaurants. Fuentes described a typical Milan day as consisting of both traversing the city and spending time in her dorm learning to cook, as students in this program are privy to a kitchen both in their room and in their building.
With the consideration of this new style of living and culture, Fuentes says her life abroad has offered her a newfound sense of independence. Fuentes believes the program to be unique in that “everyone is doing everything differently,” which gives students a certain “real world” feeling.
However, with these freedoms in living also comes a vast difference in teaching style and academic culture. Fuentes said her professors are understanding of her and her fellow American peers, but want them to grasp their style of university, which also includes much longer classes.
As far as their curriculum goes, Fuentes and Valente are enrolled in classes on a wide variety of topics, including business, politics, history, psychology and, of course, Italian.
According to Valente, the toughest part about being abroad is the language barrier in casual situations, though she says that she has been otherwise comfortable in meeting new people.
Fuentes expressed her gratitude for new friends and peers, though she also was quick to notice several clear social differences.
“People here are not as friendly, it’s weird smiling at someone and not getting a smile back, people here are kind of just their own person and not as social’” she said.
While both also said they deeply miss their friends at Wofford, neither appear to have any regrets about their decision to study in Milan for the Spring 2024 semester.
Valente said she had always planned to study abroad while at Wofford and decided to take part in this program relatively last minute, inspired by seeing the fun opportunities of her sorority sisters who had been abroad for the Fall 2023 semester.
“I wanted to travel abroad before I got more involved with things on campus, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity,” said Fuentes. “I had an open mind going to Milan, and everything has been amazing thus far.”
These attitudes and experiences from the first month reflect positively for the Wofford in Milan program and hopefully signal for an enriching and immersive semester.
