(1) Academic Course on Corporate Social Responsibility
After arriving in Milan earlier this week, we had our first class with Professor Gupta. We picked up where we had left off from our last class before we left by watching the second part of a documentary on Adam Smith, which focused more on his book The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Additionally, we also talked about how the class responded to the survey questions that Professor Gupta had given last class, and it was interesting to see the results. Personally, I realized that some of the answers I gave contradicted themselves so I did some reflecting on what caused me to answer the way I did and changed my perspective on the reasoning behind my answers.
(2) Practicum in Milan with an Italian Company
On Thursday we had our first meeting at Gen-USA, an Italian company that helps businesses expand into the US. I am working alongside 2 other Lehigh students, which is nice as it means that I will have some company at the internship. Based on what was said in the meeting, it sounds like the majority of the work we will be doing revolves around market research, as well as various other projects that the company has as well. I am excited to gain experience by working with a business such as this one, and also to get to know my co-workers better by going out to eat with them which is customary in Italian culture.
(3) Social and Cultural Immersion through travels in Italy and Europe
As I have never been to Milan before, I have spent this week trying to get acclimated to the city by trying to do as much walking as possible. It has been great trying all different types of restaurants, and I think that I am beginning to get a feel for which spots are my favorites that I will go to frequently. On Saturday there was an IES-led trip to Lago Maggiore, however I overslept my alarm and had to figure out transportation to Stresa on my own. While this was a good learning experience for getting around Italy and using the train system on my own, I will be a lot more diligent in making sure I don’t miss an early wake-up like this again. When I did get to Lago Maggiore, I was amazed at the natural beauty of the islands and the mountains behind them, and am very glad I decided to try and get there on my own instead of just calling it a day.
