For the past three months, I have lived in Italy, Florence, on an Art Apprenticeship called The Leonardo DaVinci Project. I am 17 and study Art & Design at College in England. When myself and the other pupils in my class were offered the chance to come to Italy, for me there was never a second option. I had wanted to visit the country ever since I was young, so naturally, I jumped at the chance.

Now, I am a week away from returning home and my boss has asked me to write this article to describe the experiences of my time in Italy.

Of course, I have seen the main attractions in the beautiful city of Florence. During our 3 week lesson course at the beginning of our trip, we visited the Duomo and the Uffizi Gallery. I would have loved to have visited other sites in Italy, such as having a weekend in Rome or a trip to Pisa beach, but unfortunatley i was not able to afford the fares.

For my work placement in Italy I have been working at a journalistic company called the D.E.A. They are a successful buisness with a broad variations of work places, for example, I have been minding thier Photography Gallery as well as writing articles (such as this one) for thier website. I have been lucky enough to have worked with very warm, welcoming people and despite the language barrier they have really made me feel at home here, for which I am extremely grateful.

Now I, along with the 9 out of 12 students that are left on the course, are one week away from returning home. Those of us who are left have become very close as a group and I am looking forward to returning home with the new friends that I have made.

I feel that in the short time I have been away, I have changed quite a lot as a person. I have gotten to know amazing people, seen their different ways of life and how they work. I have made new friends, grown up as a person and seen the part of the world that I longed to visit the most.

Although there has been difficult times; there have been fights, drama and homesickness, over all I am glad that I endured everything. It’s hard to imagine returning home, but I am looking forward to it very much.

Share