This week’s classes taught me much about corporations and their functions. We learned about the different theories of corporate governance and how much power certain corporations give their CEOs. The video we watched in class helped me better understand the problems with corporations and how many have been sued for unethical practices. I was intrigued by the video’s comparison of corporations to psychopaths, especially since corporations try to claim personhood under the law. Additionally, I was deeply disturbed by the part of the video about the underpaid workers by large corporations like Nike. I was shocked when the video revealed that the corporations went into impoverished and desperate communities and gave them jobs with small wages. Then, when that community was no longer desperate, the corporation moved onto a new area. While the corporation does give community members just enough money for food, their actions are still unethical and continue to cause harm.
Our internship seminar class this week talked about social norms and understanding how Italians connect themselves to regions. I found it interesting that these regions are very different from each other, even when they are in the same state. For example, different provinces claim different foods as their own, and people only get that food in that province. I was also shocked that Italians do not have a strong sense of nationalism, as we do in the United States. We talked about how, in Italy, you rarely see flags hanging, which is extremely different from the U.S., where flags are hanging everywhere. I also enjoyed when our class tried to explain certain U.S. phenomena like wearing a bunch of school gear. Reflecting on this made me acknowledge our cultural norms and how they are different from the ones in Italy.
My internship continues to interest me, and I still enjoy my autonomy. I realize my employers give me autonomy with my work as well as my time. For example, I updated my boss on my progress and showed him that I left some things blank in order to get other tasks done faster. He thought this was a good idea and was thankful for my work. I found it interesting that when I updated he said thank you. This made me feel valued and like I was working as a part of a team. I also went to lunch with them, and they told me some fun stories about their childhood and how they grew up together. They continue to recommend travel and ask me how my weekends were.
Last weekend, a group of us went to Florence. I absolutely loved being in Florence and had so much fun navigating the leather markets. My favorite part of the weekend was when Kate and I got into a horse carriage and took a miniature tour of the city. It was an incredible experience, and the man driving the horse was very funny, even though we felt like the information he gave us was fake. Additionally, our Airbnb host was able to get us a reservation at a restaurant famous for its cheese wheel and truffle pasta. It was delicious and fun to watch after a long day of travel. One of the restaurants also gave us matching t-shirts that we wore as we went to the bar.
