Taking in the canals in Venice!
Author: William Sanders | Major: International Business Economics
When I first signed up for the CIMBA Italy study abroad program, I had mixed emotions. On one hand, I was extremely excited to be immersed in a new culture and experience classes in a different setting outside of the United States. On the other hand, however, I was extremely nervous; I was unsure if I would be able to navigate the language barrier and was very afraid of getting lost or stuck during my travels. Now that I have finished my program, though, I can confidently say that embarking on a study abroad program was one of the best decisions of my life.
The CIMBA Italy program is a business-specific program that offers courses in areas ranging from international economics to thermodynamics. I selected this program because I felt that out of all the programs I was interested in enrolling in, this one fit my academic and future career path best and provided me the best opportunity to experience all that Italy had to offer. Each student chooses two classes to take during the program, and the two I chose to enroll in were the Global Consumer and Global Economics. Through the Global Consumer, I was able to delve into the recent rise of China as a global powerhouse and more thoroughly understand their “One Belt, One Road” initiative that aims to increase China’s economic influence across the world. Through Global Economics, we examined the Financial Crisis of 2008 and the subsequent European Debt Crisis, its origins and causes, and how its effects are still being felt today. As an international business major with a concentration in economics, these two courses were extremely relevant to my interests; I was able to learn much more about the economy on a global scale than I ever had in any economics course I had ever taken, and they provided me with a better understanding behind the inner mechanisms of the current issues facing the world economy. In contrast to classes at a typical American university like the U of A, the classes at CIMBA were much more discussion-based and encouraged students to actively talk about prevalent world issues for the entire duration of the class.
While the CIMBA campus is located in a small village outside of Venice, the program provided students several opportunities to travel and experience the different cultural niches across every part of Italy. Through my travels to Lake Como, Cinque Terre, and Florence, I feel as though I learned lots about Italian culture and customs. Life in Italy is all about family; businesses, school, meals, and even sports all place emphasis on the importance of familial connections. I can’t count the amount of times restaurant or shop owners told me their business had been family-owned for decades. Italians truly value the importance of family and will ensure that their families are truly taken care of. Another prevalent cultural value in Italy was the importance of mealtime. In contrast to the typical fast-paced, grab-and-go meals of America, meals in Italy are sacred; practically all meals are sit-down, face-to-face, intimate interactions between friends and family. I found this to be extremely charming and wish Americans valued meals the same way Italians do.
I would recommend this program to anyone pursuing an academic or professional career in business, but I would recommend it even more to those that want to experience a new country or culture. If you want to embark on a study abroad program, my one piece of advice to you is this: never say no. Every opportunity to travel, every night out on the town with friends, every time you get to taste a new food, say yes. You will look back on your study abroad program and remember it so much more fondly if you take every opportunity presented to you.