Before we arrived in Milan, I was super nervous and  unsure what to expect, going into the program knowing almost no one. My first day started off rough, after missing the bus to our apartment because my flight was delayed, and having to meet up with the rest of the group late. That night, we went to an ‘aperitivo’ hosted by IES, getting to enjoy some really nice drinks and food while getting to know other IES students. After that, we walked around the city, wandering over to the Duomo, where we were greeted by crowds of AC Milan fans, donned in red and black, who were celebrating their team winning the championship game. A few of us became separated from the bigger group and ended up right in the middle of the parade, next to a bus carrying the team, and this was an experience I will never forget.

The next day we had informative orientation activities all day planned by IES, and on Wednesday began our first day of our internships. My internship is at Phloema, a small consulting firm, where I am working with two other Lehigh students on a project researching methods of AI in drug development. We met with our supervisor who took us out for my first espresso, which though delicious, I couldn’t drink without putting sugar in. We went over our work plan for the next few weeks, then headed over to an amazing welcome dinner with Professor Gupta.

The next morning we had our first class, then stumbled upon a small gelateria, where we got the best gelato I have eaten so far. We went over to the canals in the evening to walk around and explore some more, then ended the night with doing some work together in the lounge in our apartment.

Overall, this has already been an incredible week getting to understand and appreciate Italy and its culture, and I am so excited for what the next few weeks will bring.

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