This week marks the third week of classes and my fourth week in Milan! While at first the experience is hectic with exploring the city, trying to understand the metro system, and finding classrooms on time, I feel like I have finally set into a routine of sorts.
My neighborhood is wonderful; it has a little bit of everything: restaurants, coffee shops, and even a historic church, the Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio! Since my arrival I have made it my mission to try all the different cafés in the vicinity to pick my favorite. I am proud to say that after careful consideration, my favorite is called Café Carducci! I love to wake up every morning and stop by the café to get a cappuccino and a “brioche” (what they call croissants here in Milan) before heading off to class. The workers are so sweet; they let me practice my Italian while ordering and are always very patient with me when something I say doesn’t make any sense.
The Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) is a great university. All my professors in the international program are native Italians who choose to teach international students rather than Italian students, so they are very passionate about hearing different cultural viewpoints on the contents of the courses. This makes my classes “Integration of the European Union” and “International Relations and the Middle East” very interesting and lively! We are able to have discussion-based classes due to the class size, with about 20 to 30 students in each class. Compared to some of my classes at Pitt, the classes are really small!
One big difference between UCSC and Pitt is the campus. UCSC has buildings scattered around Milan. While most are close enough to walk to between classes, there are a couple of buildings you have to take the metro to in order to get to class on time. This makes UCSC have less of a campus feel than Pitt, but the main campus building has two beautiful courtyards where Italian and international students hang out between classes like the quad at Pitt!
At Pitt, I tend to have a good mix of arts and sciences courses because I am majoring in both Economics and Italian, but here I am taking a lot of political science courses rather than economics. While this is not a subject that I usually find myself drawn to, I am loving the content! I am also taking a course about the Art and Architecture of Milan, which is amazing because we get to take field trips outside of the classroom to the actual sites and pieces we are talking about in class. Of course, I am also taking a course on the Italian language to help me with everyday interactions in Milan!
In this academic environment, I think it is essential to be an active participant in class, especially because the only at homework is readings. Through my study abroad experience I will practice speaking up in class and contributing to discussions.