Hi again! In Florence I am currently taking classes and doing an internship. My position is business & accounting intern at Accord Italy Smart Tours & Experiences. Accord is a tourism company that offers various tours around Tuscany. Their tour selection ranges from wine tours in Chianti, to museum visits throughout Florence. The thing I love so far about my experience is the flexibility and diversity in my work. Right now, I am helping with the social media team, but tomorrow I could be doing something different. As for my classes I am currently taking oil painting, Italian and international dimensions of organizational behavior. My favorite course so far must be oil painting. It is a great way to explore my creativity that I would otherwise not be able to do. My Italian class is also a great time. I am a fluent Spanish speaker, which helps, however Italian is more complicated than I expected. My professor, Jenny, is awesome and makes Italian class a great time to talk about cultural issues we have. 

Overall, the key skill that is needed to be successful at my work and class is adaptability. Being able to adapt to this new environment is the key to success. For my work, I must adapt to the language barrier and to the differences in workplace culture. Sometimes it is very hard to communicate with my coworkers and supervisors, however it has been overall manageable. I have learned so much about how important language is in expressing oneself. Because of the language barrier, I find myself perceiving others’ emotions wrong and vice versa. While for my classes I have been trying my hardest to juggle assimilating to this new environment and my work. Since I am busier with my internship, it has been hard to find time and motivation to do my work.  

There are so many differences that I have noticed between professional/academic culture. The main thing that stands out is the freedom that Italians give with every task. In the US we are used to being told very detailed instructions. In contrast, here a professor will give you minimal instruction and my boss will only tell me a general idea of what they want from me. It has been really interesting to see how this type of environment fosters creativity. One of my professors noted this cultural difference and explained to us how this philosophy is what gave birth to all the great art done by Italians in the past.