Monday, October 13, 2014

Don’t Tell Me How Educated You Are, Tell Me How Much You Have Traveled - Mohammed


Living like a local is the only way I can imagine experiencing Italy.  As such a world known culture many people witness the outside everyday tourist life, I want to venture into the deep in my stay abroad. I want to of course learn the language (first step in immersing into the culture).  I want to volunteer if I can I want to join clubs on campus and make new friends that can help me on my journey to the heart of the Italian culture.  Second step try not to act like the tourist I might want to be (never been abroad it might show).  Thirdly, I want to learn the ways of the Italian chefs because we all know food is central to culture.  Fourthly and finally, I want to make friends and become sort of an adoptive member of a family to witness and experience the respect and love they have for the family (I love my family and I want to have a symbol of family while I am abroad).
            Living like a local means to yes enjoy the new sights and adventure, but not as a tourist.  I want to meet an older Italian women who will teach me how to make pasta and to make the decadent desserts, I want to find a wine maker who will show me his love for the grapes, artists who love their work and show it proudly, I want to meet people who love their family as much as I do.  I want to see the good, the bad, the pretty, and the ugly.  All of it makes up the country and it makes up its culture.  It is important to live like a local being there for four months is not a vacation it is a section of your life that you are experiencing.  Why would you want to live on the tourist shell of a culture for that long?
            I want to join the international clubs they have on campus as well as others.  I want to make friends and take trips around the country and bordering countries to experience it all.  I want to experience the richness of the food that is Italy, I want to see all of the sights but also see the bad parts that make the country so great.  I would like to volunteer somehow in some way in the community in turn that will help me gain new friends experience and learn better Italian. 
            There are two big clubs for international student at UCSC. The two clubs are the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) and the Exchange Student Erasmus Guide (ESEG).  They organize group trips around Milan and surrounding areas, they assist with joining other clubs or sports and they also help you get to know the city upon arrival.  “Milan is a city bustling with events all year round, transforming the streets into a colorful playground. Don't miss out on being part of some of the most important events in Milan: Fashion week, Design week, MiArt, Milan Derby/Derby della Madonnina, Opera alla Scala.  There are many events and opportunities to explore and I am sure there are even more that I will discover once I am abroad.
            I hope to make friends in my classes and in the clubs and on adventures.  I am a generally outgoing person and can make friends pretty easily.  I am not sure if I will still be able to do that abroad where my self-confidence may be less than it is here.  I hope to overcome this obstacle soon or relatively soon after arriving there.  Hopefully they will be as nice as my friends here and not criticize me too bad.
            I imagine depending on my class schedule that I will hopefully be able to schedule to my liking.  I can schedule it to wear I have a Monday or Friday off to be able to make some weekend trips to different places without interfering with my studies.  I hope to enjoy my classes as well as the food and new culture I will experience.  I will eventually make friends and make plans with them, maybe venture out some into the night life or stay home and relax with wine and a good book. 
            I hope to gain new friends and a deeper understanding of the Italian culture.  I hope to make new connections for the future and to bring back something new with me even if it is how to make pasta.  I want to leave a good impression with them and vise versus.  I want to be able to look back and not regret not doing something that I could have done.  I don’t want to live on the shell I want to absorb the inner goodness of Italy. My experience will further my knowledge as to how the Italian culture is as well-known as it is as well as hopefully change the way I see other cultures.
 
You May Have The Universe If I May Have Italy!
 
 

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