Howdy y’all! My name is Wyatt Pickering and I am a rising junior finance major here at Texas A&M. I have been having the best experience here in Italy learning about the differences in culture between the United States and places abroad. I have been here since May 26th participating in a solo travel experience centered around the city of Naples and the many amazing places in the southern Italian area. Since then I have gotten to see the cities of Rome and Florence together with everyone on my study abroad and begin taking classes. During my first weekend of study abroad, we got the opportunity to travel to Assisi and Siena. Two very unique Italian towns that provided amazing views and cultural insights. I hope to gain useful knowledge about international finance during this time abroad and be able to apply this information to my future career. We are more connected to others around the globe more than ever before in our history so it is very important to me that I can understand how business works at the international level. One of the biggest pieces of culture shock to me was how restaurants operated. Many of the servers will not rush you and encourage you to take your time during the meal. It has been pretty common to stay for another hour after dinner talking to your friends and taking a moment to relax. I have also loved getting to know the area surrounding my apartment and taking my time walking around the city of Florence. I find it pretty hard to find a place like this in America that is so pedestrian friendly and encourages its residents to take their time and stroll around the historic city. I look forward to more adventures in Italy and I anticipate having the opportunity to get to know more about international business and finance after this trip is complete!
Center for International Business Studies Blog