Internship Review

My internship with Deskmates Archtiects was amazing. My colleagues are all very dedicated to what they do and very passionate and knowledgeable, as well. They were very welcoming with me not only in their studio, but also making me part of the team. They invited me to their site visits in L'aquila and Gavignano. The also had intentionally planned the work that I would be doing, which made me understand the full scope of the work that they do. Lucy from AIFS was very helpful in Rome. She checked in with me a lot to see how I was doing, and was always prepared ti solve any problems. She was also very generous with her time in our organized activities, such as the photography activity, the beach trip to Santa Marinella, etc. I appreciated very much that she made sure to do the photo session with me individually, because i couldnt make it to the one with the whole group! She always had an energetic demeanor and readiness about her. I also appreciated that she would answer the phone when I would call for a problem, even if the problem wasn't too big!
As far as interning abroad goes, I HIGHLY recommend all the future attendees to already have a good and solid knowledge and practice of the Italian language (if they are interning in Italy). I don't mean being able to say "buongiorno" but to be at a solid B1 level. This will be extremely helpful to not feel lonely, out of place, or unaware of what is going on around you. Also in the office, even if your colleagues talk english to you, they will talk italian with each other, and being aware of the conversations around you will make you feel like part of the team and included.
Also, don't expect to have AIFS make you "immersed in the culture". YOU should immerse yourself in the culture. For example, apart from speaking the language, I also tried to do the same things in Rome as I was doing in the city I normally live: I went to boxing lessons and tennis lessons, I went to church and also their weekly meetings, instead of studying in my apartment, i went to the local library, etc, stuff like these. This even helped me create some solid relationships with the people I was doing these activities with! Again, i couldnt have done these things without speaking the laguage (i wasnt super fluent, either, but fluent enough to carry day-to-day conversations with limited vocabulary. Basically, don't just go there to finish your internship, stay un at night partying, and then get out.