Italy as a lifestyle

Instead of small cobbled streets, I wandered through busy boulevards while the omnipresent cyclists changed into restless car drivers very much enjoying honking at each other. The lectures then took place in the monumental, modern Campus Luigi Einaudi instead of the historical building of the Law faculty. In short, it would be hard to try to look for two more diverse countries within the European Union than the Netherlands and Italy. Perhaps that is the reason I brought such a unique experience from Turin.

During the three months spent in Italy, I picked up some interesting aspects of Italian culture, which might be already well known, but I would like to contrast them with the Dutch culture in which I previously studied for 2 years. In particular, I would like to point out the differences in education, after all, the main purpose of the Erasmus+ Programme is to get to know new cultures through studying.

The first aspect I would like to touch upon is the concept of time. Recently I read an article by an acclaimed British physicist who, in studying time, came to the conclusion that ‘People are sure that there is time, but they are incapable of grasping it.’ At that moment I immediately recalled the Italian interpretation of this physical quantity as the locals really struggle to grasp it. To state an example, I have arranged a meeting with my supervising professor, who was supposed to sign my Learning Agreement (a mandatory document for Erasmus+ students). The time has been set to 11:00, and I, realizing the importance of the meeting and as a woman accustomed to Dutch punctuality, arrived to the site ten minutes in advance. However, the professor appeared only at 11:30, without any excuse, while in the meantime the queue has grown from one student to five. Another example would be lectures that always began about 20 minutes later. The only exception was when they were closing, for example, the library, that was of course exactly on time. I was therefore wondering whether the physicist did not draw inspiration for his study in Italy.

Other aspects I have learned have been subsequently derived from this specific concept of time. One I would like to mention is, for instance, the registration system which created many stressful situations, especially at the beginning of my studies in Turin. In Maastricht, it is the responsibility of every student to register for a subject that is mandatory or she has personally chosen. For this purpose, there are several deadlines, and if the student misses them, she has to pay 30 euros to be additionally registered by the education office. It is a though system but it pays off and it goes along the individualistic nature of the whole country. In Turin on the other hand, students do not have to apply for anything in advance. They can simply come to any of the courses offered in that semester and they are not registered until they sign up for an exam. Thus, unlike Maastricht, where tutorials take place in strictly selected groups, lectures in Turin took place in a rather informal setting and circle of people.

What I also found fascinating was the concept of the school year. While in Maastricht, students have to work hard since the first of September until mid-July, which was my case in the second year, students in Turin have a significantly freer program. The school essentially starts at the end of September while the subjects of the first semester last until the end of November. Then there is December, January and nearly all of February left for them to take the exams, which they can, by the way, repeat almost indefinitely. For a comparison, in Maastricht we have ‘blocks’ of two subjects, each lasting seven weeks, and immediately afterwards in the eight week we write the exams. There are only two attempts, and if none of them are successful, the subject must be repeated next year. Hence, I do not even need to mention the extent to which the Italian university system has shocked me. The truth is, however, that I welcomed it with open arms. After two years of that incredible hard work at Maastricht University, sleepless nights and endless days spent in the library, the time in Turin came as a gift from heaven. While I completed some of the exams in December before leaving for Christmas holidays, the other ones I left for later, took well-deserved time to study and then successfully passed them in January.

Nevertheless, the adventure called ‘Erasmus’ created a much more complex experience then just studying. I have also met many amazing friends, which whom I then travelled around the area, and visited cities like Milano, Genoa, Savona, Parma or Aosta. Thanks to the student organizations that have prepared some amusing events for us, I also had the chance to see the traditional Northern Italian wineries, to look into the complicated local wine production or inspect the sumptuous palaces in Turin, formerly serving as a seat of the royal family. To cut a long story short, my stay in Turin was a great experience from which I have many beautiful memories. I would thus like to thank The Kellner Family Foundation for their generous support on this adventurous journey. But now back to study, time in Maastricht is merciless.