Jon Trzaska’s Blog Post #1: Week Ending 05/29/2022

Thus far, arriving in Milan has been quite a humbling experience, as expected. For my first time abroad, I think more than anyone else I have run into the biggest challenges navigating the new environment while at the same time, gaining a lot more in regard to exposure to a new setting. My first week has been an immense give and take, as my unfamiliarity both makes simple tasks more trivial and introduces me to different thoughts and behaviors. In all, my first week has only left me more excited for what comes my way as our Lehigh in Milan program continues.

It started off as one might expect in a trip to Italy, an immediate espresso shot as I walked out of the airport gates. Exploring the city of Milan has been very fun and every time I start to feel as if I know where I’m going or I know what routes of transportation to take, something else opens up for me to visit. So far, highlights have included my first visit to the Duomo during the AC Milan parade, the various new foods and drinks, and a surprise takeover of the city by Netflix to promote the new season of Stranger Things. The first time our Lehigh group visited the Duomo downtown we were surprised to have walked right into a massive parade celebrating the soccer team’s recent victory. The streets were packed with fans and we were lucky enough to have walked right passed the bus with the trophy and all of the players. Of course, the food and drinks have been amazing as one would imagine. From gelato to espresso to even “traditional American food” I have yet to find something that I don’t enjoy.  More recently, a Stranger Things convention has popped up in the Duomo square. As a fan of the show, it was something I was very excited to find out about and some of the pop-up exhibits are truly clever.

 

 

Emma Visioli’s Blog Post #1: Week Ending 05/29/2022

When arriving in Milan, I had very little clue as to what to expect. Upon arrival from my flight from Newark Airport, I was able to learn much about the culture and certain “norms” visible in the city. We were greeted by IES representatives after getting our luggage, who took us on an hour long bus ride to our accommodation. When on the bus, I was able to get an idea on what living in a “town” in Italy looked like. Houses were very close to each other, and there were many hills within the landscape. After arriving at Aparto (our living accommodation), and viewing my living space, I set out for my first meal in Milan. At this restaurant, Mescusi, they make their own pasta, and you can order a pre-made combination, or customize your own dish. To get between restaurants, Aparto, and other areas, I had to learn how to navigate Milan’s well-developed public transportation system. There are trams, buses, and the Metro, that make getting around the city accessible.

One of the first large cultural differences I noticed occurred when I attended the welcome reception for the IES in Milan program. It was a dinner reception, but it only had small plates that we in the United States would consider appetizers. I soon learned that in Italy, lunch is the big meal of the day, emphasized by the fact that work offices take a full break for at least an hour for this meal. After this reception, some friends and I walked to the Duomo, which was filled with celebration since a Milan soccer team had recently won. 

On our second day in Milan, we had orientation to IES. We visited some of the buildings we will have to frequently use during our stay, including the IES center and our classroom for our course on corporate social responsibility, as well as the internship seminar. After this, we had dinner with our IES representative Francesco. I find having Francesco around to be very fulfilling, since he can help me better understand the life of an Italian student vs. the life of a student from the United States. 

This summer, I will be working at Clarkson Hyde, a firm that includes accountants and lawyers. I started work there on Wednesday, where I was greeted by the employees, only a few who speak English. The employees were very interested in my background: where I was from, what my education is like back home, but to even be able to ask me these questions, they had to first ask one of the employees who could speak English, going through a sort of translator system. While I have not yet received my project assignment at Clarkson Hyde, I spent at least the first day learning about the difference in regulatory accounting rules between the United States and Italy.

My first days in Milan were mostly devoted to acclimation. I wanted to adjust to living in a new country, understanding the area I was in, and learning about cultural differences that I will have to adapt to. Now that I have the fundamental tools and background to explore Milan and engage with the culture, I am excited for the coming weeks, where I can make the most of this opportunity I was given.

View from the window of my room in Aparto
My first meal in Milan
A very crowded Duomo on my first day here
My internship placement, Clarkson Hyde

Gina DeAnglis’ Blog Post #1: Week Ending 05/29/2022

Bellagio- city off of Lake Como
10 Corso Como Store
Me walking near Duomo after Shopping
Galleria

I arrived in Milan on May 17th and was able to take some time to engage in walking/shopping tours around Milan and Lake Como. The pictures above were taken around “10 Como Corso” which is an art/fashion shop in Milan that offers inspiration to some of the world’s best designers. This experience showcased the influence that the city of Milan has on the world of design. I found it impressive that high-end companies such as Balenciaga would choose to sell some of their most unique designs to this specific shop in Milan.  I  was able to get a much better feel for the Italian culture as I was shopping and browsing the city. One thing I found interesting was that all shops close around 7:30 despite being located in the epicenter of a huge city; this contrasts with the culture of New York City where shops stay open late at night specifically to attract the business of tourists. Essentially, Italians choose to prioritize the quality of life and family time more than some Americans do. The Italian lifestyle is much more laid back and slow-paced; this attitude allows for much more time to enjoy the small aspects of one’s day such as their daily shot of espresso. I have understood that success for Italians is defined much differently than success for Americans’. Italians are content if their basic needs are met and they are financially comfortable; Americans generally define success as gaining the largest salary possible and often desire much more than just basic goods. Therefore, I have started to notice the cultural differences in Milan and have begun to embrace a slower pace of work.

Alex Copits’ Blog Post #1: Week Ending 05/29/2022

My journey to Milan started at 11:00 am when my friend drove me to the Allentown airport where I caught a bus to the Newark airport where I would spend several hours practicing Italian and catching up on assigned readings. After arriving in Milan, we ventured to a pasteria where I had my espresso of many and tried a new kind of pasta called Trofie.

We then got settled into our Apartos and did a housing tour then went to meet up with the rest of the IES program. I actually reconnected with a friend I made my junior year of high school during a summer program at a different university, so it was great to see a friendly face I hadn’t seen in a long time. Small world! I learned to ask the bartender for their favorite drink because they probably like making it. He recommended a St. Lucia and it was a hit that almost everyone behind me ordered.

After meeting a lot of new people from different schools, we decided to go to the Duomo because AC Milan won their championship and the team was going to parade in the square. Everyone was decked out in red and black and there were chants, flares lit, and horns blasting all around. On our way back we had to walk all the way back to Aparto, but it wasn’t bad because we were able to go through places like the mall. It was even better when we found P1, Pizzeria 1, next to Aparto where we were able to get dinner for a very reasonable price and have since been back a couple times.

Tuesday we had orientation meetings and tours of facilities all day then Wednesday we were finally able to start our internships. Mine is at HERE Fashion Hub where I am working with the marketing team to launch their new brand Vado into the US. Vado’s prototype is a luggage organizer that you can customize to fit your needs and each piece is functional on its own. We ran through the plan of what the three of us would be doing in our 6-week experience and the team was wonderfully welcoming and helpful. After a long day we went to dinner then went to the canals and had a very fun time exploring around and talking to locals.

The next day was class again then we went to a farmers market on the street on our way home. Here, I bought some second hand clothes and considered buying some vegetables and fruits but decided against it. Definitely next time. We then realized after class the next day that we had a lot of work to do so a few of us went to the IES center to do internship work and classwork.

Our first stop where they hand made all these different shapes of pasta using a special combination of 7 types of grain #GlutenFreeIsNotForMe

Trofie pasta
First espresso of many
Duomo celebration for AC Milan
Mall next to the Duomo

Italian P1

First day of internship
Farmers market
IES Center

Patrick Brennan’s Blog Post #1: Week Ending 05/29/2022

The first week of my experience in Milan has been extremely eventful and interesting, as this is the first time I have been to Europe. The culture is vastly different than what I am used to in the United States. Upon arrival in Milan I was greeted with the utmost respect and friendliness which was relieving because of my built up nerves of my first time traveling to Europe. The first night I arrived, the wonderful IES staff brought us to a location where we were able to order a free drink and enjoy “all you can eat” antipasto. After the “wine and dine”, a few other Lehigh Abroad students and I walked to the beautiful Duomo in the center of Milan for a bit of sight seeing. Upon arrival, we ran into thousands of AC Milan soccer fans parading and celebrating their favorite teams most recent championship victory (Pictures 1 & 2). I am not a soccer fan in the slightest, however this was an awesome experience to see how important soccer is to the Italian culture and the overall unification of the community. Sightseeing and people watching has and will stay an important part of each of my days in Milan as I get to learn more about the Italian culture and different buildings and forms of architecture.

Thus far, every individual I have encountered throughout Milan has been extremely kind, helpful, and understanding when I have questions at restaurants, directions, etc. Another important role of this trip for me was to try a wide variety of true Italian cuisine. I have gained a love for espresso (Picture 3)! This may be too much of an enjoyment as I find myself walking into random cafes and buying multiple double shots throughout my day. Coffee is a very interesting part of the Italian culture as well, where you are meant to sit in a coffee shop and enjoy yourself and the company of the people that you may be with. In Italy coffee is very inexpensive and readily available on every street and corner throughout the city. Another highlight of the Italian cuisine has been the gelato (Picture 4)! This has been one of my favorite foods so far on this trip because of my major sweet tooth and love for ice cream in America. This snack is exceptional and I plan on getting it frequently.

Upon Professor Gupta’s arrival in Milan, IES Abroad provided the Lehigh students with a traditional Italian welcome dinner at a local restaurant with a beautiful street view (Picture 5). This was a great experience as there were multiple courses to this meal. They started the meal off by bringing us water and wine for the table, along with baskets of fresh bread that were constantly refilled throughout the entire service. Next, they moved onto appetizers that included a calamari risotto and tortellini with red sauce. The main course was a fish and veggie dish that was cooked to perfection. At this point of the meal I was stuffed, but it was time for dessert. Immediately following the main course, Italian cheesecakes were placed in front of each of us. This cultural dining experience was a major highlight of the trip and extremely delicious!

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Will Kelly’s Blog Post #1: Week Ending 05/29/2022

My travel started early Sunday, getting to the Austin Airport at 8 in the morning. I traveled with relative ease until arriving in Milan Monday morning around 9:30. After making it through customs we met Francesco who is living with us and will be helping us to acclimatize to the new place. Francesco is awesome! After that, the whole group got on the bus and drove to the Aparto, where we will stay for the next 6 weeks. The jet lag was not too bad so I managed to stay up all Monday, walking around outside and finding several cute restaurants and cafes. We had a very nice dinner that evening where we got to meet students who are in a different IES program in Milan, which was a good time. After a couple of drinks and food, we walked to the Duomo, the massive cathedral in the city center, where AC Milan was having their championship parade, which was really cool to see. As I settled in to the new environment over the next day we had a long day of orientation where we learned a lot about the new environment that I found myself in. A fun part of that day was that we got to have a practice commute, where my group who are working at EdiBeez had to commute during rush hour to find where we will be working. After a successful trip, we had a nice pizza dinner with the rest of the program at a local restaurant close to the Aparto. On Wednesday we had the first day of our Internship seminar course, where we talked through cultural differences that we have noticed throughout our time in Milan so far. After a quick coffee break, my EdiBeez team went into the office for the first time to meet the owner and learned what we have to do. Stefania, our boss, was super nice and seemed excited to have us on board, which was reassuring to hear. For the work, we have to find a broad assortment of background information on investors/investment firms who have money invested in a wide range of Italian companies. The goal of this is to compile that information into a larger database that allows independent, private investors, to make more informed decisions when it comes to what companies they want to invest in. That evening the whole group met Professor Gupta, his wife, and the IES director for a really nice dinner just a 15-minute walk from our Aparto.

So far the trip and adaptation to the new culture have not been bad at all, and I am slowly starting to pick up bits of Italian. I am also slowly starting to learn my way around the city and the public transportation routes that we have to take to class, so I am hoping that this continues. I have also met several new people who have made this adjustment even easier. I have attached several pictures and a video of some of the highlights and food so far.

 

 

(Picture 1) – Pesto tagliatelle with pistachios that I had for lunch the first day in Milan.

(Picture 2) – Jackson and I eating the first pizza of the trip

(Picture 3) – Sean and I grocery shopping so that we could cook at the Aparto

(Picture 4) – My first gelato

(Picture 5) – Our welcome dinner when Professor Gupta arrived

(Picture 6) – The Duomo at night

(Video 1) – The start of the AC Milan Victory Parade at the Duomo