Last Week in Paderno

I can't believe these amazing four weeks are at an end. What a life changing experience. It has been a very busy and emotional last week.

Monday afternoon we had an Italian lawyer speak in our law class. It was very interesting, and I've enjoyed studying law in a foreign country because we've touched on many legal issues at the international level. Tuesday we took a trip to the Uniconfort corporate office and factory for my finance class. They are a private company that makes boilers for people to recycle their waste and make it into heat, steam, and electricity. It was a very interesting visit and gave great insight into how an Italian business is run.

Tuesday night we had our "formal dinner" at a hotel in Castelfranco. There is an opera camp here, and the students performed for us. We were then escorted outside to some big tents for appitizers and mimosas. We continued on to the dining room where Dr. Al Ringleb (founder and executive director of the CIMBA program) made a speech, toasted, and welcomed us. The program fee includes the cost of the formal dinner, but Dr. Ringleb treated each table to bottles of white, red, and dessert wines native to the Treviso region. The food and wine were FANTASTIC! We were served two pastas, chicken with walnuts and vegitables, an amazing dessert, and espresso. The whole ordeal lasted a long time and was a great treat. It was a perfect way to celebrate with new friends.

I'm not sure if this news made it to the states or not, but there was a tornado that hit Treviso a few minutes up the road from Paderno while I was in Rome last weekend. It completely wiped out a town that I have ridden through many times. We passed through on the way to dinner Tuesday night and it was so sad. Please keep the townspeople in your thoughts.

These last few days have been exciting but also sad. Most of us are traveling after, which we are all excited about, but at the same time we do not want to leave what we have established here. I have my two finals back to back in the morning and then I am making my way back to Marco Polo airport to meet my parents!! We will then head to our cruise ship and leave port Saturday morning. We head first to Split, Croatia then to Athens, Greece and then on to Istanbul, Turkey. We stay there for two days and then continue on to Mikonos, Greece, then Ephesus, Turkey, Santorini, Greece (ohhh boy), Katakolon, Greece, and return to Venice on day 12. We fly out of Venice and will be back in Dallas on the 24th. Internet is not free on the ship, so I plan to journal every day and update when I get back to the states. I am very excited to see my parents and share my time in Europe with them.

I have grown a lot in these four weeks. I think the biggest change has been my thoughts on communication. While in Rome we were having trouble communicating with the clerk at the hostel and that was the last straw. When I get back to the states I am going to learn Spanish. There is no reason for me not to... it can only benefit me and I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to expand my knowledge. I have a few friends who are fluent and can help me practice. After Spanish I may do French and German, and then after that probably Italian (for the next time I visit Florence!!)

Also, my mom keeps mentioning to me how many of you enjoy reading my blog. She says a lot of you have mentioned that I would be a great travel journalist. I am very flattered and think getting paid to travel and write would be a wonderful experience. We'll see where my travels take me. For now, however, I am just going to relax and enjoy my family on our cruise!

Ciao!