3 day return to the English Language

I don’t think I will ever forget that day in the second week of January. It had been raining for what felt like the 30th day in a row, which in a city like Milan, created a gloomy and gray atmosphere that I carried into my office with me every morning. Then there was that day- the GLORIOUS day that we all received an email from Human Resources by level. In Italy, specifically in my company, pre-managerial employees are broken down into levels from one to six (with one being the lowest). I looked at Level 5 and then quickly consulted my last paycheck for my roll-over days from last year.

I have 35 vacation days. Yikes! Plus, contractually we are only required to stay until 12:30 on Friday afternoons. I was flabbergasted- and justifiably so, when you consider that most people in the US get two weeks off a year. I wonder what would happen if I walked into work and asked for ALL of June and July off!

Anyway, last weekend I decided to use some of that vacation time the way I see many of my colleagues do- a Long Weekend. Having recently discovered the European gemstone Ryan Air (www.ryanair.com), I flew to London where a friend of mine from George Washington U is getting a Masters Degree. With a five euro flight (you read that correctly- I paid FIVE euro plus taxes, making a trip to England cheaper than a train to Rome), I really couldn’t have gone wrong.

London is a fabulous and fascinating city, full of history, culture and just plain fun. I’ve always thought of London as a wonderful “gateway” to Europe for Americans. It’s a great starting place for European travel, not just because they speak English, but because the American culture is not just transmitted but understood on a level that it is not in the rest of Europe. Plus, I can make references to “Anchorman” in a conversation and it doesn’t seem crazy.

It was also an interesting weekend, in that, while spending time with my friend, I had the chance to meet a lot of what we refer to here as the “Ex-pat community.” Friday night, we celebrated my friend’s birthday in a group composed of 3 Americans, 2 Canadians, 2 English and an Australian- a veritable cornucopia of the world’s English speaking community! The entire experience was made even more interesting while talking to these other ex-patriots. We were all living thousands of miles from our home, but we each had a unique reason for being where we were. We also spoke about the difficultly in being American overseas, where our lives and our plans can be overshadowed by problems like, Working Visas, heavy or double taxes (as April 15th approaches). Even more disturbing is the thought that living in such vibrant and wonderful places could end in a heartbeat if you’re unable to renew a Student Visa after graduation or if the government doesn’t allow you to establish residency. I began to appreciate my dual citizenship all the more- even though I spent two years submitting documents to the Italian consulate in New York proving my Italian roots, before getting my passport.

Either way, having talked to these different people all weekend, all from different walks of life, but with a great passion for what they were doing and what brought them overseas, I began to think of all the opportunities that exist for those willing to put in a little research. Most college students know about Fulbright scholarships- but a lot of college students probably don’t know that there are Universities in the states that have graduate student Exchange programs as well. NYU for example, has accords with a number of Universities in Europe and Asia- including Bocconi right here in Milan. My friend Laura is at the London School of Economics studying Communications and Politics through a program with the University of Southern California. I came here with dual citizenship, but through organizations like the National Italian American Foundation (www.niaf.org) there are practically limitless opportunities for Research Grants- and even a questionnaire to help pre-qualify people for dual citizenship with the Republic of Italy!

What does this leave us with? For me, the answer is that there is always a way to make that BIG move for those who have the passion and the patience to find an answer.