In class this week we watched the second part of the Corporation film. It covered more of the patenting and natural resources topics, which was interesting to learn about. As a behavioral neuroscience major, I am in labs a lot and never thought about the fact that some of the bacteria, strands of DNA, or naturally obtained resources we use could be limited or patented. It just never went through my mind because the availability of all of these materials is what drives innovation and without this there could be no advances in science. I also did not realize that different countries had different laws regarding that, so it was informative to research what the US laws were vs Europe and how they intersect and relate to one another.

In the internship seminar this week we did a self-assessment and discussed biases in both America and Italy. It was funny to talk about our encounters with American biases here because there have been some things said that make me laugh due to the Italian’s perception of Americans. There were many comments about our medical system and medicines saying they are stronger and that we go to the pharmacy or doctor for any minor inconvenience. What I have encountered most has been within the food industry because Americans love to put meat on their pasta, like penne with grilled chicken or shrimp, and the way the waiter looks at you when you ask for that is daunting. They think it is crazy to add meat to your pasta and that is too much food, feeding the perception of Americans being overweight.

In the past few weeks, I have gained more trust and responsibilities at work. They have assigned me more projects that are similar to my past ones, just with different devices. Last week I worked on a competitor list with my boss for one of our products, and this week I am doing it alone and have a PowerPoint presentation giving advice and suggestions on the product. I can tell they value my opinion and respect my work, which I enjoy. In the internship seminar, we discussed communication, which I picked up on at work this week. It is such a relaxed environment that no one communicates directly, there are just cues as to when coffee or lunch is. Everyone stands up and it is like you are just supposed to know what is going on.

Last weekend a group of us went to Nice, France. It was so amazing! We stayed near the water and could walk to restaurants along it very easily. It is very different from Milan as we stayed in the part of South France that was not city-like. The food was so good- I had fish for 4 meals in a row. It tasted super fresh because we were by the water, but it was very expensive. I asked my coworkers about Nice and the first thing they said was about the expenses. The train ride home was very nerve-wracking due to the strikes. We were scared we would not have a train to get on because some of ours got canceled, but thankfully we got on a train with only a few long stops on the way. 

Castel Plage- the beach we swam and relaxed at for the day.

The views right when you walk out of our AirBnb!

The fish of the evening at a restaurant on the water.

Swimming in the ocean… before we saw the “no swimming” sign.