Orientation & Meeting your Host Family

Mandatory Question and Answer Session
There will be a mandatory Q/A session during Orientation for all students who will be living with Hosts. The housing staff will go over the general rules regarding your homestay experience. There will be a group of hosts available who can answer your questions regarding your homestay and who will share their advice and stories regarding past students.

Meeting Your Hosts
In the afternoon of the third day of Orientation, you will meet your Host and go home. There will be a schedule of meeting times listed in the foyer of the Villa Rossa. Consult this schedule for your appointment time. Meetings include about 30 students with respective hosts. We will briefly welcome everyone and then begin calling on students one by one and their respective Host. At that time you will be asked to sign a letter written in Italian that your Host has already signed. This letter does not bind you in any way to your accommodation; it is only a formality that we keep on file in agreement with the Comune di Firenze (Municipality of Florence). You will receive at this time a Bilingual Food Check list which we recommend you go over together with your host during the first Full Immersion Weekend.

Gifts for Your Host Family
Past students have told us that they would have liked to bring their host families a small gift from their hometown. Other students prefer to buy flowers or candies when they arrive. Please note that bringing a gift is not mandatory but will always be appreciated.