Study and Intern in Sorrento, Italy with ASA

I recently just got back from studying abroad in Sorrento, Italy and I couldn't recommend it more. It was the absolute best place to go abroad and I miss it every day. Sorrento is a small town in Southern Italy and has the best views of Naples and the Islands of Ischia and Capri. I had no expectations of what my experience would be like but it truly was the best thing I could have done for myself. One of the biggest things I did was become a Jetsetter through my program Academic Studies Abroad. As a Jetsetter, I had bi-weekly reflection posts where I had to dive deep into Italian culture. It impacted my experience drastically because I was able to be fully immersed in the culture and learn to appreciate it. Sorrento was the most beautiful place I've ever been to and couldn't recommend studying abroad more!

Studying abroad, in general, is a great idea. Sant’Anna Institute in Sorrento is a great fit for any student who likes small, safe, and spectacular cities. Though the closest public Italian college is in Naples, the Sant’Anna Institute teaches English, Italian, and other languages to local and international students in a specific branch of the school called Sorrento Lingue. SMALL CITY Sorrento has a population of about 15,000 people year-round. It is a bustling tourist destination in the summer and fall. The locals can speak some English, due to the tourism of the town. For me, there’s a local café that I go to every day and get an espresso at. The barista knows my order and what time I will probably be coming to pick it up. Other students have spoken about similar experiences. SAFE CITY Sorrento is a small town, and not really a risk for anything bad happening. Naples is the nearest major city, and as long as a person uses common sense, they will be fine in the city! Everyone knows everyone, so a person can walk alone at night and be perfectly safe, which is unlike how I grew up (and I grew up in a small town in northern Minnesota). SPECTACULAR CITY Sant’Anna overlooks the Bay of Naples, which is in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Naples is a train ride away, as well as Pompeii and Herculaneum. The Amalfi Coast is a bus ride away, and the beautiful towns of Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello are along that trip. A person can also go to Naples or Capri by ferry. The city itself is lovely and lined with small side-streets filled with vendors and quaint little shops that a student at Sant’Anna will learn within a week. It’s a great idea to study abroad. It’s an even better idea to study abroad in Sorrento. A student learns how to navigate the real world and earn college credits while staying in a small, safe, and spectacular city. I have several reasons that I chose Sant’Anna for my study abroad school. My only credit that I had left to complete for college was my internship, so I figured, why not do that in Italy? I started searching for internships through my school, and Sant’Anna was the number one school recommended to me. I’m not the kind of person to just accept that because it was #1, means I should go there. I researched it and found that Sant’Anna has personalized internships, locational-relevant classes, and is very near a UNESCO World Heritage site (Amalfi Coast) and Pompeii. All of these, plus the helpful and friendly nature of the staff I interacted with, made me choose Sant’Anna. Personalized Internship: I wanted an internship where I actually accomplish something. I didn’t want to have on my resume an internship that was just me getting coffee and donuts for an office. That doesn’t help me in the real world. My internship at Sant’Anna was customized specifically for me. I am an English major, so I write articles and proofread documents, I help with paperwork and run the social media for the school. Classes: Sant’Anna offered very specific classes that interact with the area that it is situated in. My classes this semester include many courses specifically focused on Italy, Naples, and towns including and surrounding Sorrento. Anthropology of Europe is taught from a European standpoint, which is something that I cannot easily access in the United States. Just having a professor who lives in Europe and has worked for the EU has given me perspectives on how Europe works on cultural, social, and governmental levels that is impossible to get from a textbook. Mediterranean Culture and History covers 5000 years of history in 15 weeks. It does talk about European history in general, but focuses on the Mediterranean and all of the empires that ruled in and around it. In one class, History of the Mafia, we discuss how the Mafia came into being in Southern Italy and why it is still a problem in the area. Archeology: Cities of Fire is focused on the eruptions of Vesuvius, specifically the one in 79AD. We discuss and visit Pompeii, Herculaneum, and some smaller villas. The unique part of the class is visiting the sites with the professor and having class at the sites and seeing what we have read about. I took Archeology at my college, but actually being able to visit and explore the sites in real life adds an entirely new dimension to the class. Homestay Option: Another reason I chose Sant’Anna is because it offered a homestay option. I decided that if I am going to study abroad, why not live with a local family as well? It has helped me have a better understanding of everyday life in Southern Italy and given me opportunities I could never have had in an apartment. My host mother helps me with my Italian homework, my host father makes his own wine, and I can have a family setting while 4,986 miles away from my home (but who’s counting). Location: Sant’Anna Institute is located directly overlooking Marina Grande in Sorrento. Sorrento is right by the Amalfi Coast, and is usually used for a great place to explore south to the Amalfi Coast or north to Pompeii and Naples. Sorrento isn’t a major city, and I personally am drawn to smaller cities where I can get to know the locals easily and feel safe all the time. It has quaint family shops and beautiful parks and is on the Bay of Naples, with Vesuvius overlooking the town. Sant’Anna was the right school for me to go to. It helped me immerse myself in Italian culture while also making me realize what my core values truly were. It gave me classes that fascinated me and professors that actually taught me not only about the subjects, but also myself and what I want to do with my life. It gave me a family to come visit the next time I am in Europe. It gave me friends who I know will last a lifetime. So thank you, Sant’Anna, and specifically thank you to the staff at the school.

Sorrento is the perfect place to go for a relaxed Mediterranean experience. Locals are welcoming and friendly, and Sorrento is big enough to be exciting, without being overwhelming. Sant'Anna staff is extremely helpful, and do everything possible to help you have the best experience. Class sizes are small and the classes are interesting, and give insight into the history of the area.