This past summer, I was given the opportunity to participate in the Materials in Milan study abroad program through the Tickle College of Engineering. During this program, I took Introduction to Materials Science, which was a 3-credit hour course focused on materials used in bicycles. Throughout the program, we went on numerous business visits, we touring the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Milan, and we went on an overnight trip to Vicenza to see the Giro d’Italia bike race! The business visits allowed us to see all of the engineering and materials processing that goes into crafting a custom bicycle, and helped us apply the concepts we were learning in class. During our visit to Rossignoli, a small custom bike shop, we watched as the employees assembled a bicycle from start to finish, which was such a cool experience!
Since our weekends were free, we made a couple local trips to other parts of Italy. The first weekend, after our trip to Vicenza, we travelled to Venice. We had two days to explore the city and see all of the tourist attractions. The first afternoon we explored the main island and saw some beautiful views of the sunset. The next day, we took a water taxi to a neighboring island, Murano, that specializes in glass blowing and custom glass art! It was such an amazing experience to be able to see the difference in culture between Milan and Venice, and the views over the water were incredible. The second weekend, we travelled to Lake Como. We explored the city of Como, went up the mountain to Brunate, and took a ferry to Bellagio. Como was very different from what we expected, but it was great to be able to experience a bunch of different areas on the lake!
The most surprising part of my experience was how easy it was to navigate public transportation. The metro system within Milan made it so easy to travel around the city and see so many different neighborhoods. Additionally, the train system across the whole country was so easy to navigate, and the tickets were very easy to purchase. It was such a shock to see how easy it was to travel to a different part of the country in just a few hours!
I am so glad I participated in this program! This experience has taught me so much about the differences between our culture and others, and has allowed me learn all about them. I will forever be grateful for my time in Italy and the friendships I made along the way!
