One week in Italy and I think I have the hang of it all… almost. I arrived only seven days ago yet I feel as though I have been here for weeks based on how much I have already learned. I am so grateful to be in a place where they make every effort to aspire not only academic growth, but also personal growth as well. The professors and staff here aim to implement the importance of traveling and exploring outside of the classroom. This program provides a great opportunity to break away from an environment where you are told every instructional step to take and learn how to figure out which path to take on your own. Another takeaway from this week is the new-found perception of academics I have found. From a young age, I have been taught that grades are the most important thing, and I must do whatever I can do to appear successful. Well, succeeding in the eyes of others may not be succeeding to you if you are not growing yourself.
By taking Global Consumer here with my wonderful professor Molly Rapert, I am learning that as I grow academically and become more cultured, I am also learning a lot about myself. The knowledge I have learned may not necessarily give me the right answers to the GED, but it will and already has provided me with knowledge about what is going on in the world around me. It has come to my attention how unaware I am of almost all international affairs. Something interesting that I have learned in this class is that most countries outside of the U.S. do know what is going on in America, but rarely does America know what is going on in other countries. This is something I want to change and take back with me, learning for pure knowledge and understanding in nations outside of the U.S.
We are fortunate enough to have amazing professors who encourage travel and understand the importance of the role it plays in shaping this experience. I had so many incredible experiences outside of the classroom as well. The week consisted of Bassano (a beautiful town nearby) by day and by night, a tour of a pottery business where they sell to large companies like William Sonoma and Tiffany & Co. There were also walks to get the best gelato, and dinner nights out for pizza. Like I mentioned in my last blog post, we have the freedom to travel around Italy or even Europe after class ends at 1:00pm on Thursdays until Sunday night. This past weekend was our first travel weekend of the trip, and I traveled with a group to the beautiful city of Como, located on the Italian, Swiss border – a place where I encountered the friendliest and most welcoming people, amazing views, and don’t even get me started on the food. I will say, it’s a busy city and taxis are extremely hard to come by, so traveling between cities around Lake Como was very difficult. I recommend having a loose itinerary and taxis called way ahead of time. It’s hilariously contradictory to the typical Italian pace of life where things are slowed down and leisurely.
A successful first week to say the least, I can’t believe it’s only been one week. The days feel long (in the best way) and yet the first week went by in the blink of an eye. I kind of never want to leave!