Shayan Chetty
As a first generation American, I already had some exposure to different cultures and knew I wanted to explore more in the context of my college experience. Studying abroad was part of my plan even while applying to colleges in high school. I chose Italy because of a childhood Italian friend who showed me the beauty in Italian culture, so I'd taken 3 semesters of Italian for fun, and was excited that I could finish Econ requirements abroad. Then, I chose Prague for global internships because I wanted to step further outside my comfort zone and continue the international exploration.
One of the most exciting and fun cultural experiences I had was attending Carnivale in Venice, Italy. The costumes, shows, art and events all around Venice were incredible and so vibrant, and it was such a chaotic and invigorating experience to walk around the canals and see crowds of people with elaborate costumes and makeup rushing around you.
The biggest challenge of my study abroad experience was the cultural barrier in Prague. As an Indian woman, I was observably out of place in a pretty racially homogenous city and truly felt my place in the outgroup at certain times -- for example, when on my morning commute to work on the metro. For me it was a growing and learning experience to stand out no matter what and I responded by owning myself more and growing a new layer of confidence and acceptance in the face of open stares and curiosity.
A typical day for me in Milan was to get ready for my day, walk to a cafe around the corner from the Bocconi campus and get a cappuccino and croissant, and head to an Economics lecture. After class I'd usually cook lunch at a friend's or head out for lunch from class and attend more class or walk around the city a bit for errands/shopping. At night there were usually exchange students meeting up for dinner or drinks and Milan had a very lively nightlife that I enjoyed 2-4 times a week. In prague, a typical day started waking up and having a quick breakfast at the dorms before getting on a bus and metro down to the main city where my internship office was. Some days I'd grab lunch with coworkers and then after work usually head back to the dorms and hang out with other program friends and head out to a park or bar in Prague.
In Bocconi, I took Markets, Organizations, and Incentives (equivalent to Econ 121 - Industrial Organization), Climate Change Economics, and Global History. The Markets class was comparable to Berkeley's level of rigor at times but overall much easier to catch up after missing class for any reason. The other two classes were far less work than Berkeley classes in my experience but rewarding experiences nonetheless to learn with students from all over the world. In Prague the courses were 1) a Professional Development/Experiential Learning course and 2)a Cultural/Historic class about Prague. They were also pretty easy in comparison to Berkeley courses, as they were courses less meant to test our knowledge of something and more meant to assist us in professional, academic, and cultural growth while abroad.
The most meaningful aspect of my time abroad was definitely the connections I made internationally and with people who go to Berkeley and had kindred adventurous spirits. There's kind of a ripple effect that happens with a lot of these connections; due to the friendships I made I went to Lollapalooza music festival in Paris, visited the Tulip festival in Amsterdam, and have a friend coming to stay with me in Berkeley all the way from Buenos Aires.
Personally, studying abroad made me a much more confident and explorative person and encouraged me to take more initiative in my life. Also, by meeting so many people on different paths in their lives, I was able to apply a new perspective to my own future plans and hone in on what I really want to do post-grad.
For Bocconi, I would recommend that they are ready for an extremely social program and a less academics-focused semester due to the nature of the program. For Prague, I'd recommend students be really adventurous because it's a really different culture and the setup of the program requires you to be really comfortable getting around independently.