Milano: More Than Meets the Eye

In Spring of 2018, I had the unbelievably fortunate experience of studying abroad for four months in Milan, Italy. As a double-major, I wanted to take classes that I could apply to both. I was able to take music lessons, an intensive Italian course, and a course called "Media, TV, and Communication in Milan." The course included field studies to a TV station, magazine publishing company, and recording studio to gain understanding of local media production. My music lessons were both productive and fun, and I very much enjoyed lessons each week. I absolutely loved my Italian course, despite having no prior experience with the language. I lived in an apartment with 6 other people which was cramped, but we made it work. The planned IES field trips were my favorite part of the semester; there is no way I could have planned a trip as fun as the one we took to the town of Parma!
Over the course of my time in Italy, I learned conversational Italian language skills by communicating with locals in their native tongue. I had the chance to demonstrate independence and immersion in a new culture through living in downtown Milan and taking classes from Italian teachers. My music classes encouraged teamwork and cooperation in spite of language barriers. Overall, the experience has definitely changed me for the better!