With our class beginning this week, I wanted to reflect on the differences between this course and other courses I have taken in the past. So far, I have enjoyed the debate and interactive part of the course. It made me think in a way I haven’t had in a long time. During our discussion on Wednesday, I was very reflective and thinking about what I wanted to say before speaking. Even after class, we were still discussing our opinions, and it was very nice to have an educated discussion outside of class. It was a very stimulating conversation in which all viewpoints were very different and strong. 

I also thought the internship seminar was stimulating and brought up interesting ideas. The debate about the Parable of Sadhu raised good questions about ethics and morals. It made me think about how far one’s responsibility for other human life reaches. Although it was a one-sided debate, I thought about questions in my head and tried to play devil’s advocate. In my opinion, I would have tried to save the Sadhu, but to a point where the mission is not sacrificed and no one gets hurt. From the hike we took last week, I realized it’s hard enough to get down a snowy mountain without carrying anyone, so the load of the Sadhu would be very difficult.

During my internship this week, I started to develop relationships with my coworkers. During my lunch break on Thursday, I talked to my coworker Mateo about basketball and the state of different sports in Italy. It was very interesting to hear that in European high schools, they do not play sports. He said that people need to pick either sports or school, and if they pick sports they are expected to go pro. Aside from that, I was working a lot with my boss trying to scout what companies we would help in Africa. I feel like I am starting to make a difference and help to start up important companies in Africa that can really make a difference.

This past week, we participated in a wine tasting. Before this, I would drink some wine, but I wouldn’t often enjoy it and I didn’t know the ins and outs of how to taste it. This little 2-hour excursion taught me everything I needed to know. I also ordered wine at dinner later that night, and in the nights after, and used my new wine-tasting abilities and actually appreciated a good wine. They taught me how to taste white, sparkling, and red wines and I learned the number one rule of tasting sparkling wine: never swirl the wine. This is because the intensity is measured by the size of the bubbles and not the legs of the wine.