Following Byron: Daniel Eide III on Two Semesters at Valencia and Florence with FSU International Programs

I am from Jupiter, Florida, and I was drawn to history through my own family’s story. My mom’s grandfather was born in 1920 in Philadelphia. When his parents could not find employment during the Great Depression, they moved to Florida, where he lived until he passed in 2022. As a kid, my great grandfather told me anecdotes from his life, and I would try to make sense of them in the wider scheme of things. You could say It was connecting these personal episodes with broader historical events that got me interested in studying history. This was especially the case after I tried to uncover the histories of my other great grandparents, whom I did not have the benefit of knowing firsthand. In high school I discovered my grandma Ellie Eide (née Meyer) had saved hundreds of newspaper clippings, letters, and documents about the family. I have since cataloged and annotated Ellie’s collection from 1917 through the 1970s, though I have a few documents from the 1800s as well. The experience of doing the project brought history to life for me; it made it more human and material.

I decided that I wanted to study abroad during my second semester at FSU. My roommate – a friend from high school – and I had come to FSU in the summer, and by the middle of the fall semester I realized I needed a change of scenery. We had been living in the same dorm complex, and I did not want to spend a further semester in the same room. I heard about Study Abroad and decided to apply. I chose Valencia because of Hemingway. I had read his "The Sun Also Rises," and that made me want to go to Spain. In the end, we did not actually read any of Hemingway’s books that are set in Spain; we read A Farewell to Arms which takes place in Italy during WWI. However, in Dr. No’s class we had the opportunity to read and learn about the Spanish Civil War.

I enjoyed the study abroad experience so much that I decided to go for a second semester. This time I went to Florence. I had not yet been to Italy, and Roman history is one of my favorite subjects. The thought of being able to visit Roman sites was very appealing. While I had had no literary connection to Italy before I went, in one of my classes at the study center, taught by Professor Cuddeback (who also teaches an archeology course) I learned about English-language literature set in Italy and fell in love with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writings, especially "The Marble Faun."

Having been on a study abroad trip before, I knew that this time I wanted to spend more time exploring the country I was living in. When I was in Valencia, I spent more of my weekends traveling across Europe and North Africa and did not get to see so much of Spain itself. During my semester in Florence, about half the weekends there, I went on trips to different Italian cities. My friends and I would take a train early in the morning to places like Rome and come back late at night. That gave us a full day of exploration, and we did not need to spend money on a hotel. Not knowing Italian was not a barrier to our excursions. Almost everybody spoke English. Only one of my friends was fluent in Italian, and while he often ordered meals etc. in Italian, the waiter would inevitably turn to the rest of the group and speak in English.

I took both broad curriculum courses and more specialized classes at the study centers. The best thing in my eyes was taking history classes that covered local histories. Being able to touch history and sit – or stand, in the same place as the people you are studying is a very moving experience. In Italy, I took a class on the 19th century, which touched on Jewish community in Florence – a topic I knew nothing about. The professor took us on outings to see landmarks from the Jewish history of Florence including the new synagogue and spot where the Jewish neighborhood once stood. Unsure of whether they should copy the architectural style of the Florentine dome, the Jewish community drew on Moorish architecture instead for the synagogue. While I had been in Valencia, we did an excursion to look at Moorish, Islamic, architecture in Spain. For me it was striking to see this architectural style transplanted to Italy.

In both my study abroad experiences, the most valuable lesson was learning to say ‘no’ to people. To spend my time in a way that was meaningful to me, and to not feel pressured to partake in things that go against my beliefs. I learned to say no to simple things, like not skipping the gym, but also more sensitive things, like taking pictures at holy sites.

My day usually started at 7 a.m. with coffee and breakfast in the apartment with my roommates, and then we all went together to our first class which on most days was psychology. Some of the courses were offered as block classes, which meant that there was no break between them. For me that meant going from political science straight into Italian Short Stories. I selected classes which demanded a serious amount of reading and writing because that is what I like. But students who wanted a less heavy schedule could choose immersion classes in, for example, Italian cooking or painting.

One of the more memorable events happened in one of my smaller classes. It was a day on which attendance was low and one of the students who did attend was wearing pajamas. Professor Waas suggested that if we took school more seriously and dressed for it, we might have a more committed attitude toward our schoolwork. That stuck with me. I am pretty committed to learning, and I believe in adopting the role of what you are trying to accomplish. Therefore, as a student, I should dress like a dedicated student. I have been dressing deliberately for class ever since.

For food, we had meal cards that we could redeem in several restaurants in Florence. That meant that whenever we went on a trip outside of the city, we made it a habit to find the cheapest but most highly rated restaurant and then eat there. In Sicily, we found this tiny restaurant down a back alley, and the food was outstanding. These moments were always amazing. I discovered some new foods and new ways of preparing food; for example, pesto sauce made with pistachios. Since I can’t find it in Tallahassee, I am making it myself now.

Outside the classroom and traveling, I went to the gym a lot. I decided to train in an Italian rather than an American-style gym. They place less emphasis on machinery and more on free weights and similar aids. It was interesting meeting local people there and hearing them commemorate past Italian sports victories like that of bodybuilder Franco Columbu who won Mr. Olympia for Italy in 1981.  

My advice to other students is "Go!" It is such an eye-opening experience. If you have any interest in studying abroad at all, then do it. While it might seem expensive, your student grants often transfer to paying for taking classes at the FSU study centers. You need to check it out. For me, it helped that I could spread my study abroad stays across two academic years.

If I could do it all again, I think I would take more time preparing for the trips. Read more books about the places I was going to visit. But on the other hand, this way, I am reading about all the sites I saw afterwards … and that is fun too.

I am going on a very different study abroad experience this summer; I will be helping on an archeological dig of a Roman theatre and cathedral. I am looking forward to learning something more about archeology and Roman history!