Ciao a tutt*! 

Exams are quickly coming and while stressed, it is hard to be upset when the sun is shining and flowers are pushing their way up through the concrete. Thinking about when I arrived in Italy in December, it is crazy how much I have learned and grown. 

My experience as a Paulson intern has been really interesting. I started by attending a meeting of the Bolognese branch of l’Agambiente, an  Italian environmental group that is activity based rather than policy based (like GreenPeace). I really liked the beliefs of this group, but… I was the youngest person by about forty years. However, I met two guys who were in their late thirties and they told me that they had a group that was for younger people and added me to their group chat. The first event hosted  was doing maintenance of a local garden, including painting the fence and planting and weeding. It was really fun and a great opportunity to practice Italian. After this, I tried to go to one of the group’s events every month. I also joined the Bologna branch of the Ukrainian-Italian Alliance. This is less about environmental activism and much more a cultural and social group, but in terms of activism, incredibly important. I attended a rally on the one-year anniversary of the war, as well as several charity fundraisers. 

I have learned so much in my time in Bologna, and having hands-on experience, learning about my city and helping to make it better, has greatly improved my experience here.