Throughout this experience of moving to another country and living abroad, I have learned many transferable or “soft” skills. In interacting with other people, I have learned that things in one culture that may be thought to be rude, are normal or accepted in other cultures, and because of that you can’t take anything too personally when interacting with different people. For example, in Italy, it is way more culturally acceptable to stare at other people than in the US. In the US, if someone is staring at you and you meet their eyes, they often look away or are embarrassed, and if they don’t, its generally considered rude. In Italy, it is very common for people to stare at you even if you stare back, and it cannot be taken personally at all, because it is so common.
Some technical or “hard” skills I have learned while being here would be navigating foreign media. Often when living abroad, the media you consume is in a different language, or roughly translated. Travel expenses are often not in your own currency, and Google often shows search results in only Italian. These things can be very frustrating if you are in a hurry to get something done, but in the end it only makes you understand the language and culture you are living in better.
Out of the three paths to distinction that Pitt Business highlights, (Healthcare and Life Sciences, Digital Transformation of Business, and Business and Societal Impact), I think this experience of studying and living abroad is most relevant to the Business and Societal Impact path to distinction. Living in a new country, I have learned so much about how different cultures run their businesses and how different societies have different perceptions around working culture. I think understanding these differences in cultural reactions to Business are crucial to entering the workforce. It makes you a more perceptive worker, and stronger in your understandings of international proceedings.
Navigating cross cultural proceedings in Italy and the other places we have travelled can be challenging, but in every place I have been everyone has been extremely friendly, patient, and understanding of the fact that we are in a new place. So far, I have been able to travel to Malta, Croatia, and now Spain, and I have not run into one situation where anyone has been impatient with my unfamiliarity to the area or culture. This has made me be a lot more confident in asking for help, and a lot more confident in my belonging in places where I have never been before.
