Ciao! We have been in Italy for about two weeks and it has been amazing! We started in Rome and learned about the history of the city through a guided walking tour, and visiting historical sites. Overall, I loved the architecture and history of the city. After Rome, we arrived in Florence (our main home for the trip) and started class and got settled into life here! It has been so neat learning about the way international business is conducted and being able to see it in real life at the company visits. My group for the consulting project is working on the St. Regis Hotel in Florence, and it has been neat seeing how a multinational corporation can have a big impact on a sector that is typically family oriented! Other companies in the consulting project are mushroom, wine, and leather businesses. We got to experience unique things at each of them; a wine tasting, mushroom croquettes, and making our own leather wallets! Each of the businesses have been very enthusiastic and one of my favorite parts so far. It has been an adjustment to get used to the pace of life here, very dragged out and life is meant to be enjoyed rather than rushed. Writing this, I am sitting at a coffee shop where you order and the owner asks you to pay later! Life is meant to be enjoyed and not business oriented, which is a stark contrast to the US. I’m looking forward to this weekend when we take a group trip to Milan. I hope to see how the fashion industry/capital of the world operates! We also have a group trip to Cinque Terre, which is an area on the west coast of Italy. It will be a beach town, which will be so fun to see all the beautiful colors in the architecture.
