In the first week of my study abroad here in Milan, I have experienced so many new things already. To start, in the Corporate Social Responsibility Class, we watched a video about Adam Silver and Ideas That Changed The World. It was a great exploration into the ideas of free market and what has came out from that idea. For example, we were about the creation of Whole Foods. Whole Foods is an enormous corporation with a very large customer base who sells healthy groceries and ready made food. Their main purpose from creation was to provide healthy food to everyone. The Creator’s have not changed their direction since they started and do not have any plans to do so in the future. While they could easily change up their motto and start selling foods that aren’t considered healthy but sticking to their roots, they decided to continue selling only healthy foods. I believe this to be a great example of a company who cares from its customers and wants to continue their mission of helping people to stay healthy.
Outside the classroom, I’ve also begun my internship at Tempocasa with Jon. Tempocasa is a real estate firm here in Italy. While their are hundreds of franchisee offices spread out throughout the country, we will be working at their main office in Customer Care. Customer Case is a branch who is responsible for responses to to reports, survey, information, and much more. They are also help to maintain communication with their franchisees and their customers. Our tasks this internship cycle will be split into three parts. The first part is a comprehensive review of USA vs Italy Real Estate and include Customer Care departments and anything. The second part an analysis of the current and future work flow for Tempocasa. The final part is a benchmark review of Italian Real Estate using Trustpilot, a review website similar to sites like Yelp. When I walked into the office for the first time, I was slightly overwhelmed from everything going on. People were fast walking throughout the office, the founder just happened to be there and was one of the first people we met, and just the overall atmosphere was a lot to take in at once. However, everyone was very welcoming so that overwhelming feeling went away quickly. I am very excited to continue working there over the next 5 weeks and hope to get a lot out of the experience.
When I am not in class or interning, I have been exploring Milan. I’ve been to other parts of Italy before but Milan is nothing like the others cities I’ve been too. The food here is incredible and affordable. While the public transportation system is easy to use, I’ve spent some time walking to my destinations to see as much as I can. I think what’s surprised me the most is how the locals handle their meals here. The idea of 1 hour lunch break outside of your own workspace is a cultural difference I wish America would have. For dinner, usually people will eat between 7:00-9:00 PM which is later than I am used to. The adjustment to these times took some getting used to but I’ve come to embrace it. In the end, my first week here has been nothing but pleasant experiences that I hope will continue for the remain of my time here.
