Spending a couple of months in Italy has truly been an amazing experience even though I had definitely a culture shock at first. Italian culture is very different from Finnish culture, and it has been very exciting to get to know the southern Italian culture deeply during the past months. The most different things are definitely appreciating the schedules and personal space. Of course, I already knew that these things are very different than in Finland but actually living in this culture and facing these differences every day is sometimes challenging, and it requires adjusting and understanding towards the new culture.
We spent a lot of time exploring Italy with my friends. Of course we visited places in Amalfi coast, such as Positano and Amalfi that were extremely beautiful. We also visited other places, like Bari, Matera, Florence, Pisa, Milan, Naples and many others. Even though we explored Italy a lot, there was still lectures in the university and some schoolwork to do so it wasn’t just vacationing.
The school culture differed very much from Finland. The requirements were not as strict as in Finland and there was less lectures and overall schoolwork. Additionally, the professors were very impressed from the Erasmus students. It has been very interesting to see and experience the school culture here.
Mostly our everyday life consisted of travelling in Italy, school, hanging out with friends, and of course different parties and events provided by ESN. Salerno is relatively small city but very safe, cozy, and beautiful. Also, the climate is great, you can be at the beach until the end of October and even after that it’s not really cold compared to Finland. Still in December there are many sunny and warm days and it’s hard to believe that it’s actually winter since the weather is so warm and nice.
While actually living in a new country and studying there, you get to know the culture totally differently than just during vacation. During Erasmus I also got to know so much about other cultures as well through my international friends. It has been truly an amazing opportunity, and I have learned a lot during this experience.
Comments