Trip across Europe and time!
It??s impossible to write down what my life has been in the last years: in brief I must say that beside the place I have been travelling, visiting and above all experiencing, the difference has been done from the people I met? the personal and professional development I have gone through are, I believe, of inestimable value and, although I regret to be so bad in keeping in touch with all those friends (hopefully this web-blog will support me in this mission) , the memories of them and our adventures are still alive in me?
Said that, maybe I could give a try to a brief description of my last years:
After growing up for 23 years in Sicily I left my homeland for the first time in Feb 2002 to go to Crete, Greece, within the Erasmus project: meaning trying (without ANY academic success) to have a semester of studies abroad? yeap, good try!!
I lived 4 months there, 1,5 of which actually spent travelling in Thessaloniki, Istanbul and Athens? a short but intensive period made of a fascinating Istanbul, wonderful reception in Thessalonoki and too short but always brilliant experience in Athens!
Greece was my first cultural experience? there I got pissed by the Greek drink an Espresso coffee in 2 hours, by the danger of crossing the street (and I come from Sicily!!)? by the Crete alara, alara: something like take it easy, relax? yeap, it sometime did stress me!
In the beautiful Mediterranean island (in that not much different from my Sicily) I met amazing people not only local but also from Romania, Finland and Bulgaria? I was the only guy among 8 girls? and the 9 of us were the only Erasmus students around? an interesting experience that has given me the first inputs on what intercultural interaction means? how challenging and fascinating it can be!!
I left Greece to have a really impressive 2 months experience in Warsaw, Poland, where I still consider having had an intensive personal growth due to the challenging I had with the people I met! Ula, Igor, Olivka, Ian: so many people have had an impact on me?
Then straight away to Kiev, capital of Ukraine, for a month? it was already six month of constant and sometime stressful travelling, and although the memory I nowadays have about my Ukrainian experience are really positive, I believe I was in a personal condition of not getting the best out of that new adventure, though that particular mood should still be considered an important element of my overall 7 months of first cultural experience around Europe.
That month I met people like Didu, Andreas, Attilio, Simon, Amit, Roberto, and many Ukrainian of course, like Luda, Oxana, Nadya?
Back to Sicily with loads of learning, knowing myself much better, with an unbelievable experience behind, but without having had a single step forward in my University path, I decided to concentrate on my studies, though I never stopped to dream first and later plan my new adventures abroad.
My involvement in AIESEC, the organization most of you know, has given me the opportunity to apply to the National Board of AIESEC in Switzerland? I moved to Bern at the beginning of June 2003, two months before getting my graduation that eventually happened on the 29th of July 2003 while being briefly back to Italy to this scope.
The one year long Swiss experience has been the most complete one: from a personal point of view I had the opportunity once again to go through cultural involvement and shock that have taught me a lot about the Swiss culture (and not only, since I have spent most of my time with people from all over the world!) and above all about my own culture and myself too!
Also from a working point of view my time in Switzerland has been extremely reach: the team experience, the structured way to work, the effort to excellence put in everything: I believe few other places could have given me the same learning.
In January 2004 I decided to go on with my AIESEC career and I applied for a second term in a national board, but this time in Estonia, up north? I got the position and moved here in June 2004? currently I still work in Estonia, being the term one year long. I??m responsible for the development of members and the selection process of outgoing applicants to our international exchange? I found it a really interesting field of work, but I??m not sure yet if that will be the one where I would to specialize in the future!
And? about Estonia, or anything thing else, you??ll read, if you like, in my next postings?
Cheers
Said that, maybe I could give a try to a brief description of my last years:
After growing up for 23 years in Sicily I left my homeland for the first time in Feb 2002 to go to Crete, Greece, within the Erasmus project: meaning trying (without ANY academic success) to have a semester of studies abroad? yeap, good try!!
I lived 4 months there, 1,5 of which actually spent travelling in Thessaloniki, Istanbul and Athens? a short but intensive period made of a fascinating Istanbul, wonderful reception in Thessalonoki and too short but always brilliant experience in Athens!
Greece was my first cultural experience? there I got pissed by the Greek drink an Espresso coffee in 2 hours, by the danger of crossing the street (and I come from Sicily!!)? by the Crete alara, alara: something like take it easy, relax? yeap, it sometime did stress me!
In the beautiful Mediterranean island (in that not much different from my Sicily) I met amazing people not only local but also from Romania, Finland and Bulgaria? I was the only guy among 8 girls? and the 9 of us were the only Erasmus students around? an interesting experience that has given me the first inputs on what intercultural interaction means? how challenging and fascinating it can be!!
I left Greece to have a really impressive 2 months experience in Warsaw, Poland, where I still consider having had an intensive personal growth due to the challenging I had with the people I met! Ula, Igor, Olivka, Ian: so many people have had an impact on me?
Then straight away to Kiev, capital of Ukraine, for a month? it was already six month of constant and sometime stressful travelling, and although the memory I nowadays have about my Ukrainian experience are really positive, I believe I was in a personal condition of not getting the best out of that new adventure, though that particular mood should still be considered an important element of my overall 7 months of first cultural experience around Europe.
That month I met people like Didu, Andreas, Attilio, Simon, Amit, Roberto, and many Ukrainian of course, like Luda, Oxana, Nadya?
Back to Sicily with loads of learning, knowing myself much better, with an unbelievable experience behind, but without having had a single step forward in my University path, I decided to concentrate on my studies, though I never stopped to dream first and later plan my new adventures abroad.
My involvement in AIESEC, the organization most of you know, has given me the opportunity to apply to the National Board of AIESEC in Switzerland? I moved to Bern at the beginning of June 2003, two months before getting my graduation that eventually happened on the 29th of July 2003 while being briefly back to Italy to this scope.
The one year long Swiss experience has been the most complete one: from a personal point of view I had the opportunity once again to go through cultural involvement and shock that have taught me a lot about the Swiss culture (and not only, since I have spent most of my time with people from all over the world!) and above all about my own culture and myself too!
Also from a working point of view my time in Switzerland has been extremely reach: the team experience, the structured way to work, the effort to excellence put in everything: I believe few other places could have given me the same learning.
In January 2004 I decided to go on with my AIESEC career and I applied for a second term in a national board, but this time in Estonia, up north? I got the position and moved here in June 2004? currently I still work in Estonia, being the term one year long. I??m responsible for the development of members and the selection process of outgoing applicants to our international exchange? I found it a really interesting field of work, but I??m not sure yet if that will be the one where I would to specialize in the future!
And? about Estonia, or anything thing else, you??ll read, if you like, in my next postings?
Cheers
