Midterm week is upon us in Milan, making this a perfect time to look back at all the skills and knowledge I have gained in my study abroad experience so far. At an international school like Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, students come from all over the world to take classes here. My classes are full of students from Mexico, Australia, other European Union nations, and more. This means that for a lot of them, English is not their first language. So, when communicating with these individuals, not only is there a cultural difference, but we have to work a little harder with verbal communication. I have learned through my experience to not get frustrated, and just to take things slow. It’s also kind of like a fun puzzle. When communication is not clear, we have to try to explain in different words what we mean. Of course, my cross-cultural communication skills have also grown. I feel like I better understand not only the Italian culture from my time here, but also the cultures of my classmates. I have also become more flexible. The first time you miss a regional train on a trip, you really have to be!
These soft skills will definitely shape my future interactions with people in the rest of my schooling and in my future career. Further, they will impact my everyday life.
In the realm of hard skills, the main one I wanted to develop here is my Italian language ability. And so far, this experience is definitely strengthening my confidence and ability. Between my Italian language class, which is taught entirely in Italian, and interactions with locals, I have a lot of opportunities to practice. My comprehension is definitely better from the first day I was here, and I can more often speak up in Italian than at first. I am excited to continue to develop this particular skill in the rest of my time in Milan.
Lastly, I am taking my first political science classes here, so I am gaining a lot of knowledge in that area. The theories and concepts are very interesting, and tie in closely to some of my economics coursework back home. While it is obvious now, I hadn’t realized how closely tied together these two subjects could be! I hope my new political science knowledge can help me in my future economics courses and my future career.
