Voices from Abroad: Francesca Vassalli

Beijing (China), Campus abroad, Tsinghua University
Brussels (Belgium), Internship Abroad, European Commission
Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Campus Abroad, American University of Dubai
Paris (France), Exchange Program, Sciences Po

I will not hide that one of the main reasons why I decided to study at Università Bocconi was the opportunity to have several experiences abroad, facing economic, political and cultural realities which are different from those of my country.

Scene from near Dubai

Beijing, Dubai, Paris and Brussels are the principal destinations that I had the chance to discover and am still discovering since I am writing you from Brussels.

In July 2009 I attended a course in Economics of Globalization, held by Professor Paolo Epifani, at Tsinghua University in Beijing. There is probably no better place to investigate this kind of discipline than the dynamic capital city of the People's Republic of China.

At first I was a little disoriented, but it took me just a few days to definitely fall in love with the several faces of this huge metropolis: the Forbidden City and the skyscrapers of the modern quarter, the recent Olympic Quarter and the old hutong, a fresh insight into Beijing's local life...not to mention their great food!
Apart from the Academia and the modern quarters of the city, it was almost impossible to find someone who speaks English, but somehow you can always find a way to interact and communicate: Chinese people proved to be much more hospitable and friendly than what I thought and, after a while, the initial astonishment turned into a pleasant and familiar everyday life.

Between January and February 2010 I spent one month in Dubai, where I took a course in Cultural Management and Urban Creativity held by Professors Severino Salvemini and Massimiliano Nuccio at the American University of Dubai: once again the studies perfectly fit the context we were living in. Beyond the strong cultural impact - though the Emirates are much more Westernized compared to the neighboring countries - Dubai has revealed itself to be the example of how, from scratch, you can create important economic opportunities by making the most of impressive capital, entrepreneurial imagination and great organizational ability. Everything is emerging with shocking rapidity from the desert sands of this small emirate where men and machines work day and night to make this impressive project come true: an international city where everything is perfect, huge and has the scope of impressing.

Town Hall in Brussels

I went to Paris with the Erasmus Programme and I spent the first semester of the second year of my Master of Science there ("CLAPI" 2011/2012). At first I was supposed to go to Tokyo - after the Chinese experience I wanted another breath of the Far East - but the Fukushima incident upset my plans; in the end I can actually say that they turned out to be better than what I expected. At Sciences Po I had the chance to follow four interesting courses dealing with Global Health, Network Energy, Sustainable Development and Global Economic Governance. The academic method was particularly stimulating, since each lecture inspired animated debates among students and professors. What to say about Paris ... at the beginning I almost got annoyed by feeling like I was living in a romantic movie set; but, once I realized I was the main actor of the "movie", I started feeling at home and fell head over heels for it.

What about Brussels? I have been living here since January 2012 because I am doing a three-month internship at the European Commission - Health and Consumer Directorate General. This is my first job experience and, since I am particularly keen on Public Policies and International Dynamics, Brussels seems the right place to be. The modern European Quarter pleasantly contrasts the Old Town where the Grand Place stands out as one of the most beautiful squares of Europe.

Reflecting about all these experiences, on one hand, Beijing and Dubai are completely different from my own reality and the growing Western influence makes them full of fascinating – and sometimes disconcerting – contradictions; on the other hand, although they are much more similar to Milan, Paris and Brussels affect me through their own different way of being European. To conclude, even if some towns welcomed and conquered more than others, each new everyday way of life has made me call these places "home" for a while.