Voices from Abroad: Alberto Zaffaroni
 Alberto playing in Grafton Street |
Dublin (Ireland) , Exchange Program, University College Dublin
Boston (USA), Exchange Program, Boston University
When I was as an undergraduate student in Bocconi and looked for the first time at the brochure showing the exchange destinations I really had the feeling that all the places in the world were in there, just waiting for my choice; all the world was at my fingertips.
But I already knew what was on my mind, at the top of my list: Dublin, Ireland.
I had gone there many times before, on vacation, with my parents, with friends, on study holidays with school; I was just waiting for the right chance to spend more than just a couple of weeks there. And there it was, the exchange program: an entire semester in my beloved city.
University College Dublin (UCD) was not recommended for my degree of study in Bocconi (CLES) but I wanted to go to Dublin so much that I spent days and nights checking all the courses available, carefully analyzing their syllabi and I finally found 4-5 classes that suited me.
On a cold but sunny day of January 2011, I landed in Dublin and just a few hours after my arrival I could already call that place home. I had the sweet feeling that a dream had come true.
Since my very first week there I started to feel the strength given by being independent, the pleasure of living on my own in a foreign country, the excitement of what was a true adventure to me and, above all, the enthusiasm for meeting new people, new friends, from all over the world.
The unique chance to live side by side every day with many other international students is definitely the greatest part of the Exchange experience.
Indeed, I learnt very soon that the Exchange Program is much more than a study experience, it's a true school of life.
 Alberto and other students in Boston |
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. Time went by so fast I could not believe it was already the end of my Exchange in Ireland and then came the hardest part: leaving the people with whom I shared great moments and say goodbye to what became my new "home". But that's a fair price to pay for living a dream.
Luckily, even if I did not know it at that time, my "international life" was far from being over.
I enrolled in the MSc in Economic and Social Sciences here at Bocconi and after one year it came time to apply again for a study abroad program.
After my first experience in Ireland, in Europe, I felt it was time for a step further, so I applied for the Exchange Program at Boston University, USA. Big target: only one slot available, high GPA required to be selected and potentially many people applying for it. But with some effort, I made it! I was very excited when I got the news I was selected for Boston!
It was my first time outside of Europe, my first time in the US. I was ready for it.
Unfortunately, I had the toughest welcome one could imagine: the American Consulate gave me the wrong visa, so I spent my first hours in Boston with the immigrant officers, on my 4th day there I had to grab a few things and go to the hospital for appendicitis surgery, I could not be enrolled in my courses at first and I was sharing a residence floor with 30 other students. You know, they say you should live the Exchange experience at 360° and sure I did!
In any case, that first horrible week gave me even more strength and enthusiasm to meet as many people as I could, to go to every event, meeting, study group, trip, game, night out I could. And then the most intense and exciting four months of my life began.
Once again, I found myself going back home with much heavier baggage than I had when I left it.
My baggage was full of incredible experiences, new cultures and tons of friends all around the world: from China to Ecuador, from California to Lebanon, from Singapore to every country in Europe.
Dublin and Boston now have a special place in my heart and so do all the people who shared great moments of life there with me.