Wendy Sandoval
Fall 2019 Engagement Scholarship Recipient
The PES Engagement Scholarship has helped me with my study abroad experience in Florence by learning how to budget while staying in a different environment for an extended amount of time. At home, I did not take notice of the everyday living expenses since I was gratefully supported by my family. I was surprised when I went digging through my suitcase and kitchen on how many of the small everyday things I never thought twice about I was missing which I had to go out myself to purchase and I was surprised at how much I spent when I first tried to get settled in. Luckily, after getting a feel and tracking my expenses for the first couple of weeks, it was easier for me to understand and adapt my spending habits in order to have funds into the future of my stay.
Being that I now independently buy my own groceries and necessities, which is a new practice to me, I now know how to best plan and balance my budget not just for the week, but for the months ahead. This is also my first time residing in a country for an extended period of time, therefore I have to be more aware of the currency conversion making decisions on purchases. Meaning I take the extra step to make the calculation of what the item's value at home would be in order to decide if the transaction is wise.