My first travel weekend to Lake Como
Author: Olivia Larson | Major: Agricultural Communications
While CIMBA wasn’t my first choice in program, it was definitely the program that I was meant to be a part of. After my original study abroad program got cancelled, I was discouraged, but I learned about the CIMBA business school in Paderno Del Grappa, Italy and fell in love. I recently declared a minor in marketing and CIMBA allowed me to complete six of my twelve required marketing hours. I knew that I wanted to further my agricultural communications degree by also learning about the world of marketing and CIMBA allowed me to do that in one of the prettiest places on earth. I truly believe that the professors at CIMBA are some of the most dedicated educators I have ever met. My experiential marketing/event planning course taught by Tracy Hufford of the University of Iowa has been one of my favorite classes I have ever taken. Tracy was an amazing professor that worked so hard to form relationships with us during our four weeks together. I loved her class and I absolutely feel more prepared to enter the workforce. I also took an intro to marketing course taught by Rob Simon and found all of the information very useful! My professors in Bumpers and my professors at CIMBA are both extremely relationship oriented, which I love.
Outside of my two classes, I got to explore the local area of Paderno Del Grappa, as well as travel each weekend across Italy! Paderno Del Grappa is about an hour north of Venice in the mountains. We got to find our favorite local pizza restaurant, Al Sole, eat at local bakeries for breakfast, and travel to neighboring towns such as Bassano and Asolo. The culture in this area is rich and the food is even better! Even without our amazing travel weekends, this trip would have been beautiful, but getting to go to Lake Como, Rome, and Cinque Terre on our weekends was absolutely breathtaking. Our first weekend was Lake Como, and it was definitely a weekend of trial and error. Learning the transportation systems, how to budget, and navigating the language was difficult, but it made our coming trips easier. In Lake Como, we had the opportunity to visit the villa that Star Wars was filmed in and it was beautiful! We had some of the best food and drinks and really made the most of our time in this area. For our next weekend we chose Rome, and if anything describes our weekend it would be the twelve miles, we walked in one day! Rome was exhausting, but it was the most fulfilling weekend! We did a walking tour that allowed us to see the whole city and then spent our time shopping and eating! For our last weekend travel we chose Cinque Terre and I can now say that this beach town holds a piece of my heart. From the cave adventures to the pirate ship dinner, it was the best weekend of my life!
If I had any piece of advice to give students it would be to make the most of every situation: good or bad, happy, or sad; it will all hold a special place in your heart! Some of the times I was sure I would look back on with a negative mindset I now look back on with fondness. Everything about study abroad is learning independence and it is one of the most rewarding times!