Ciao Ragazzi! My name is Nico Lage and I am a Marketing major enrolled in Pitt CBA. Additionally, I aim to receive my certificate in International Business and a minor in Spanish. Because of my Italian heritage and background in Latin languages, Italy was the perfect place for me to spend my spring semester. In Italy, I am enrolled in the Global Business Institute, and while I complete my classes, I will also be interning at a touring company. Although it will be a challenge to balance work and school, I am up for the challenge.

I am enrolled in primarily business classes that include International Marketing, International Economics, and International Dimensions of Organizational behavior. Furthermore, I am enrolled in Italian 102. The classes are significantly smaller than the large lectures at Pitt. This leads to a more personalized approach when it comes to teaching. Italian teachers are fairly relaxed, and while they expect you to put in the effort, there are fewer guidelines when it comes to assignments. Classes are only once a week, but they are three hours in length. The workload is lighter, but the professors expect us to do a lot of research and work on our own.

I live in an apartment that is close to the famous bridge in Florence called Ponte Vecchio, or “old bridge” in English. I am located in a Piazza (square) that has a vibrant nightlife scene. I live we three other people, one of which is another Pitt student Nico Marino. My two other roommates attend Bentley University. So far, it has not been a major adjustment to the Italian lifestyle. I have traveled to Italy many times, and I can manage my way around the language. My three roommates also share the same interests as me, so we never run of fun things to do. On the weekends we try and do a day trip to one of the local towns, and when we return we go to the local market to pick up ingredients for dinner. One of the harder adjustments has been learning how to cook. It is more difficult to find quality ingredients in Pittsburgh, while in Florence it is cheap and easy to purchase quality ingredients.

I look forward to keeping you updated with stories and travels.

Ciao!