My first Macchiato
Author: Audrey Carr | Major: Accounting | Semester: Summer 2023
A day after I moved out of my college dorm, I hopped on a plane bound for the Marco Polo Airport in Venice Italy. I never could have imagined how incredibly challenging and rewarding the next month in Italy would be, but I set off to do it anyways.
CIMBA is a four-week program through the University of Iowa that welcomes students into a small town called Paderno del Grappa, which is nestled right beside Mount Grappa. I chose the CIMBA program because of the course options, the number of University of Arkansas students who attend, and the professors who teach at the program. CIMBA is highly recommended by some of my favorite professors, and I knew I wanted to study abroad as soon as possible.
For incoming sophomores who are wanting to study abroad, CIMBA has a wide range of courses that can count towards pre-business core or towards another requirement like language (for all you Honors students out there!). I took Introduction to Law with Professor Kim Petrone and Introduction to Marketing with Professor Rob Simon. Both of my classes were fantastic, and the professors really cared about your learning, but these classes are quick. As a CIMBA summer student, you only spend four weeks in Italy and that means you are only in classes for those four weeks. Professors have to teach a full semester in that time frame, so the content is fairly dense. Even though the time frame makes the classes a little more challenging, I learned more about my learning style and how to manage my time than I have while being on campus.
Along with the expedited classes, students also plan weekends of travel with friends that we potentially just met. Although this isn’t learning in the classroom, this is one of the most important things I learned from. Being able to adjust to what others want to do while also voicing your expectations is a great skill to have, and something that will be used in future endeavors.
Studying abroad is not just about the content of the classes, but also about learning everything you possibly can about yourself and those around you in a short amount of time.
Outside of classes, we have three travel weekends where we can go anywhere we want! I went to Venice, Florence, Rome, and Milan. There are some challenges to travelling with a group in a country you don’t know very well, but it was so worth it.
Traveling within Italy was lots of fun. The trains are easy to navigate, and once we made it to the bigger cities, we were able to do anything we wanted. Being flexible was a huge help while traveling, and I had some of the most fun doing things that were spontaneous. The culture in Italy is super laid back, so we were never really rushed to do much of anything except catch a train!
In Italy, there are a few things about the culture that are much different than in the United States. Water isn’t free and neither are most public restrooms. Siesta is a real thing, so most shops are closed in the late afternoon (unless you are in a large tourist hub). Restaurants don’t like splitting checks so bring cash or download Venmo! Traveling within cities or across the country is fairly easy thanks to a well-connected system of trains. Overall, Italy was easy to travel and learn as a foreigner. A quick Google search on Italian culture is a super easy way to learn the right way to act and kept us from being the rude Americans!
Before hopping on that plane to Italy (on Mother’s Day of all days! Sorry Mom!), I wish I had better prepared myself for how much I would miss home. It was wishful thinking for me to leave and think I would never look back. But I shouldn’t have been so discouraged because most people miss their mom! Especially if this is their first international experience alone. I am so thankful for my time in Italy and would never trade the experiences I had.
On a much less serious note, if you have a favorite snack… bring it. Gas stations and markets are few and far between sometimes and they don’t stock our favorite American snacks, so if you really love Reese’s, bring them. And don’t buy them while you are running through the Newark Airport like I did (because I was about to miss my flight, OOPS!).
For me, studying abroad was a rewarding experience inside and outside the classroom. It sparked my interest in international travel and has allowed me to look inwardly at things I can work on back on campus. I met new friends from across the country and challenged myself to go way, way outside of my comfort zone.
If you even have an ounce of interest in studying abroad, I cannot encourage anything more than to jump in with two feet and go for it!