I will will only have 3 weekends to travel, will be in class during the week.  I plan on travelling outside of Italy after the program.  Any advice on mode of transportation Train vs Plane is also appreciated!
129580
First of all, don't go out of Italy. there is SO MUCH STUFF TO SEE JUST IN ITALY!! Make it an Italian experience, and screw Germany. It just hasn't been the same since the fire bombings...\n\nFor the plane, I would go to Best Fares. There's a small annual membership fee, but the money you save will make up for it. USAir is a good airline for Venice, but they are really expensive. And it may be cheaper to take the flight to Milan and then take a train over.\n\nAlso, if you're in Venice, definitely take the train over to Verona. The city is just beautiful to walk around. Ravenna is an extremely old Byzantine city.  Milan is beautiful and convenient. Ferrara, Padova, Vicenza, Modena, Parma, and Mantua are also in spitting distance from Venice and they each have historic centers.\n\nAlso, definitely go to Florence, spend at least two days there, and from there you need to take a day trip to Lucca and Pisa by train. 45 minutes from Florence on the inter-regionals. Then, take the bus the next day to Siena and San Gimignano. The expresses only take an hour. With the exception of Pisa, these towns are incredibly gorgeous and are frozen in time. Pisa's not bad either, but people mainly go there to see the tower, the baptistry, and the cathedral.\n\nOn the west coast, hit Cinque Terre bewteen Genoa and La Spezia or go south and hit the Amalfi coast south of Naples. \n\nand of course, ROME!!!!! How could you go wrong in Rome?!?\n\nI have attached the Ferrovie website. That's the train.  the bus info is really just good for Tuscany. \n\nRemember, no country is more beautiful than Italy!!!
213338
Whistler is amazing for boading. THe courses are A LOT longer so less time is spent waiting in line. I would try looking under expedia.com or priceline.com to see if there are any packages.
325429
All I can do is tell you how I learned Italian, on the streets of Italy, being immersed in it I picked it ups in no time, (forgot it because I haven't used it in decades.)\nI would say if you want to learn a language then go to the country and pick it up off the streets.\nWhen I learned Italian I was only 8 y/o at the time.
514690
well... it all depends on your weekly schedule. Do you work everyday? Do you have kids? Maybe it would be better to condense the classes into one day a week, although it can be overwhelming to be sitting in class for 3 hours or so. But at the same time you have other 6 days in the week "free". It leaves you time to do other activities. It can always save you gas or bus money going once a week. It's totally up to you, you can choose whatever fits your schedule and your physical/financial situation. In my case, personally, I would choose the one day a week, and be done with it! :-)
300284
why dont you go with him...they have great colleges.(The American University in Cairo).the country is very cheap you'll have alot of fun...There is alot of americans and europeans there...it's nice..
7996
I personally reccomend the Rosetta Stone language education software. It's specifically designed to teach people fast. My father was at conversational italian after an hour a day for six months, and was reading and writing it by the end of the year. I'm going to get a copy before I go to Japan. It comes in almost every language, too.
328061
It is customary for visitors in Europe to bring a small gift.  I have found that 100% real maple syrup is good because it is uncommon in Europe and they like it a LOT more than any other American food product.  Other than that, something particular to your region, city, or college might be good.  Something that identifies it as being particular to you is great.  Don't go too overboard though.\n\nA thank you card would be a nice additional touch.\n\nYou don't HAVE to eat meals or attend religious rituals or whatnot, but you ARE there to learn about the culture (I hope!), so it makes sense to experience some of these things.  You might be surprised to learn that some of these "mundane" things grant greater insight into your studies or they might just be interesting experiences.  Still, I'm not saying you need to convert or anything.  Just learn about the people you are living with.  It's polite and educational.  If, on the other hand, you want to offend your hosts, demand that they change to your ways and belittle their own.\n\nDealing with culture shock:  Set reasonable goals for yourself.  Don't try too hard or set unobtainable standards.  In fact, set low expectations for yourself at first - easily obtainable goals that will allow you to have some early successes.  For example:  instead of expecting instant language mastery, set a goal of learning a set number of new words each day.  KEEP A JOURNAL!  This is great because it allows you to record your progress and look back and recognize your accomplishments.\n\nStay in touch with people back home.  For example, I realized too late that if I wanted to be an RA the next year I would have had to know when the application process was happening (January!) and arrange a telephone interview.  I learned this in March...  Yech!\n\nA sure sign of culture shock is forming a cultural clique where you just hang out with people from your own country.  One step down is just hanging out with expatriots - other foreigners.  I'm not saying beat off all potential fellow citizens or fellow foreign students, but it is important to work on making friends from the country that you are visiting.\n\nMake sure you pay attention in any cultural briefings or locale briefings.  They provide important information like where not to be wandering out alone at night or whether it's safe to drink the water.  I had some friends learn some of these things the hard way.
6434
Ohh, i was actually considering that in high school, some guys from it came to talk to my AP physics class last year to get us to enroll.  I really like physics, but wasnt sure of a stable career in it so that program was kind of appealing.  If it's the Nuclear Power Program that they came to talk to us about, basically you control the nuclear reactors on submarines, so yes, you have to go out to sea a lot, but you won't really be in direct battle, you'll be working with the nuclear power that makes the sub work while the other people on the sub shoot missles at things.  You'll travel a lot to other countries and stuff.  They pay for your college, and you can go anywhere you want that you get accepted to, then you go to their college, i forget where to get the nuclear power training for a year.  Personally, I decided not to do it because you are always traveling and in strange places.  It would be nice to see the world, but it would be impossible to settle down because you are gone for weeks and weeks at a time and only get to be home a few days before you depart again.  That's all I know about it, good luck.
92482
You can have the adventure of your life teaching in Italy, but it is not the place to go to make money. If you want to make money in international teaching or if you want specific information about jobs in Italy, check out the following link:\n\nhttp://www.search-associates.com/
535689
Finally the UAE gets a sensible weekend that isn't unmanageably out of sync with the rest of the developed world:\n\n"According to the cabinet decision, federal ministries and institutions, local government departments, public and private schools will close on Fridays and Saturdays for the weekend . Saturday will therefore replace Thursday as weekend."\n\nAs noted previously, other Middle East countries had already set the trend.
496566
I don't think I would take that chance. We had ours mailed to us because we are military, but it was a long process. Maybe you can call them and talk to them earlier in the day although it is hard to get ahold of anyone. I would see if you can come in after your exam and sit and wait for an opening or cancellation. If you are coming to Italy and staying for a good length of time, don't foget your siggiorno needs done within 8 days of entering. I was supposed to pick mine up Thursday and forgot and needless to say am up a creek.
648648
Go to Italy and do it as soon as possible.  There is no sense in waiting around for someone who doesn't have you as a number one priority.  Two things are going to happen when you follow your passion/education.  Number one, your going to learn and experience so much that you will never get to do again for the rest of your life.  Trust me, life gets pretty busy as you get older so you need to grab on to these experiences when you can because they don't come around again.  The second thing that will happen is this;  your boyfriend is going to figure out very quickly wether he wants to be in your life or not.  If he does, and if he really means it, he will follow your butt all the way to Florence.  If not, he'll just call you from New York and whine about it.  He either wants you or he doesn't and, after 4 years, he's going to have to make up his mind.  Good Luck!
413581
By plain, I have no idea.  By plane depends on the route but direct would be about 11 hours.
632041
I recently was studying in Italy taking an italian language course and found that writing words on flashcards worked really well for me. Whether you sat going through them a few times a day or just picked up a couple when you had some spare time. I also stuck flashcards up on the walls and in places that i knew I would pass throughout the day, and before i knew it, I had memorized the words.
493398
I'm having one of those weeks right now. I was supposed to have a 3 day layover due to business (I'm a pilot). It turned into 8 days stuck in a hotel with the only things to do: have a jaccuzzi (having one alone it stinks), watch tv (only thing besides news shows is p0 Rn0 and they're all re-runs), or eat. So I've been eating a lot and watching tv because I don't know anybody here and there isn't even anywhere around to rent a car to go into the city to sightsee. This "international" airport is about 20 miles away from the city and they have like 2 car rental places and they each have about 2 cars to rent. \nSO I've been eating at the hotel which doesn't even have a weight room or a pool. I brought my trunks because my next few flights were supposed to be LAX to Hawaii. Instead I get stuck in Canada and it's freezing cold with snow, I have no winter coat. So I'm eating and sitting around for 8 days and now I have to leave tomorrow morning and now I find my work pants don't fit. I mean I can't get the zipper up at all. And my jacket is tight. I've been wearing sweats for 8 days. I've never gained weight so fast before and I'm S-rewed in the morning. What am I supposed to wear sweats and my dress shirt and tie and carry my jacket? I can't even get to a store to get a bigger pair of pants and I don't know any of the other airlines people at the hotel. The one guy I met the other day is a stringbean so I can't even buy his extra pair of pants.\nSOOO I know this is already one of these weeks for me. It's one of these months.
270847
I skied Kitzbuehel at the end of this season - ultra-lux hotel for 100 USD/night, and lift tickets were 50 Euro for 2 days. I'm sure prices go up around the World Cup, but it was surprisingly reasonable for being a destination resort. There's a town on the other side of the mountain (check a map - I forget the name) where I'm sure even cheaper lodging could be found.
649545
You can't get a degree in Figure Skating, but you can move to a fairly cold climate.  I know that if I had only two years left to live I would try to enroll in The University of the Science of Gastronomy, which is located in Piemonte, Italy (but courses are taught in English).  It's connected to the Slow Food movement, meaning a major part of your study is learning to use local, in-season ingredients and cook them in a traditional style.  I have attended some events sponsored by this school and they've been fabulous, plus the students are really friendly and diverse.  The area is quite close to the Italian Alps, meaning there are lots of winter sports in the area.