{"id":2598,"date":"2014-08-21T11:40:50","date_gmt":"2014-08-21T15:40:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/questromworld.bu.edu\/studyabroad\/?p=2598"},"modified":"2022-10-11T20:07:40","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T20:07:40","slug":"casey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/questromworld.bu.edu\/studyabroad\/2014\/08\/21\/casey\/","title":{"rendered":"Casey Marshella, Padua"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Casey<\/a>Interned at\u00a0Sit La Precisa.<\/p>\n

I studied in Padua, Italy during the Spring of 2014.\u00a0I interned at the headquarters of an Italian manufacturing company called Sit Group (or \u201cSit La Precisa\u201d) that makes gas valves and related components.\u00a0 At the start of my internship, the company had just acquired a new information system, SAP.\u00a0 As a change management intern, I worked closely with the controlling and finance departments to help implement this system.\u00a0 At the time, the headquarters was the only company within the group that had access to enter the master data into the system, such as\u00a0supplier and vendor information and orders.\u00a0 The other companies within the group would send their master data requests to the headquarters and we would input the data for them to keep the data entry consistent as we learned how to use the new system. I spent my time learning how to use SAP by inputting the master data that the controlling department gave to me.\u00a0 Towards the end of my internship (when I was fairly comfortable with the system), I wrote the procedure for entering the master customer data for the other Sit companies to use.\u00a0 Although for much of my internship we spoke Italian, the company had me write the procedure in English since I was the only native speaker presently at the company, which was pretty cool.<\/p>\n

I learned:\u00a0<\/strong>I learned a lot about international business, both from my internship experience and through my host family.\u00a0 You can learn\u00a0all about how\u00a0business is different overseas, but experiencing it first hand through a full-immersion program teaches you things that being in a classroom or reading a textbook can\u2019t.\u00a0 In my international HR course, we learned about several business and cultural differences among\u00a0countries, but everything made so much more sense each time I had an \u201ca-ha!\u201d moment once I was in the field.<\/p>\n

On a sillier note, I was surprised how much I learned from the Italian friends that I made.\u00a0 For example, I realized that everyone could tell that I was American before I even said anything.\u00a0 When I asked my friends how people know, they told me to watch the people around me next time I was walking through town.\u00a0 Soon enough, I figured it out: the shoes! Italians can tell if you\u2019re American, German, French, etc. based off the shoes you\u2019re wearing! At first I still didn\u2019t really get how they did it, but after living there for 5 months, I found myself staring at people\u2019s feet when walking in town.\u00a0 It became a game among\u00a0my friends and me, and I got pretty good at it!<\/p>\n

I was surprised by:\u00a0<\/strong>I went to Padua without knowing a word of Italian.\u00a0 I\u2019d spoken Spanish since I was 8 years old, but hadn\u2019t even taken a Spanish class since high school.\u00a0 But after living in Padua for 3 months, I became pretty good at the language!\u00a0 I\u2019d only taken an Italian language course for a couple of months, but among\u00a0my host family, my friends, the BU Padua staff, and living in a non-touristy area of Italy, I was really pushed to learn and use Italian whenever I could.\u00a0 The full-immersion program made the transition so much easier and faster than I anticipated!<\/p>\n

The hardest part:\u00a0<\/b>The hardest part for me was adjusting to the Italian school system.\u00a0 Coming from SMG, I\u2019m very used to working on group projects, writing papers, and working with other students from across the globe.\u00a0 After a couple of months, we learned that our Italian classmates weren\u2019t used to this sort of classroom structure of working with others and writing papers, which posed a challenge to me when it came to our group projects.\u00a0 The Italians were very focused on the exams, which were structured differently than the exams that I\u2019m used to taking at BU.\u00a0 However, we learned a lot from each other. The adjustment was just a challenge.<\/p>\n

The best part:\u00a0<\/strong>I can\u2019t explain the difference that having a host family makes.\u00a0 It\u2019s like having your very own personal resources, tour guides, and a supportive family figure there with you while you\u2019re away from home for 5 months.\u00a0 I feel like I got so much more out of the program because of my host family, and I got a very good feel of what it’s like to live in Padua, or Italy in general.\u00a0 I would come home from school and watch a word game on TV with my host mom (which helped improve my vocabulary) as she made dinner.\u00a0 The last few weeks she was having me cook, instead, as she taught me how to make a few simple dishes.\u00a0 I felt like a part of the family, and I could tell they were as excited to host me as I was to be there.<\/p>\n

My tips:\u00a0<\/strong>The school system at the university is much different from a typical American school system.\u00a0 The other Italian students in your classes are your best resources.\u00a0 They understand the grading system, how tests are normally structured, and the best ways to prepare for exams, which account for\u00a0a fairly large chunk of your overall grades.\u00a0 Get to know them, sit with them at class, practice your Italian speaking skills, let them help you improve, and most importantly, form study groups with them.\u00a0 It will make exam periods much less stressful, not to mention they\u2019re fun people to hang out with during down time or on weekends!<\/p>\n

Many people who study abroad try to go to as many countries as they can in a short period of time, sometimes a country each weekend.\u00a0 I stayed mostly in Italy, making only 2 international trips (London and Vienna), and I couldn\u2019t be more content with my decision.\u00a0 There is so much to see in Italy itself, from Juliet\u2019s balcony in Verona to the beaches and old-fashioned fishing nets in Sottomarina.\u00a0 Don\u2019t forget where you are– find those \u201cmom and pop,\u201d off-the-map type places for lunch, take advantage of your host family and let them take you around to surrounding areas with friends, make friends with the other Italian students, and don\u2019t forget to stay in Padua from time to time to do some exploring of your own. Get to know Italy really well.\u00a0 Who knows if\u00a0you\u2019ll get to live in Italy again for five months under these circumstances? \u00a0Other\u00a0destinations\u00a0will always be there.<\/p>\n\n\t\t