My first impressions:  When I first got started at feeling Italy I was tasked with writing and editing all of their home descriptions.  I was immediately welcomed as a peer by my coworkers and not as a low ranking intern who didn't speak any Italian whatsoever.  Anything I needed they were there to assist me.  This is where I first noticed the southern Italian hospitality that I had heard so much about and it was also where I realized how happy I was to be working with such kind people.  With being a rental agency, Feeling Italy is a hospitality company.  And when they showed me such kindness right off the bat I knew that I was working with some of the best in the industry, because the kindness they showed me was authentic, they weren't putting on an act.  Meaning that they would show their customers that same kindness.  I knew that if a hospitality company is made up of genuine people like that they would be good at what they do and I was going to be learning a lot over the course of the semester. 

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The power of the English language:  By writing the home descriptions I learned something very interesting to me.  I learned that English is a massive language and understanding how to speak and write English well drastically benefits a business regardless of where it is in the world.  It humbled me, I have never considered myself a fantastic writer, I have always made mistakes in my writing but everyone that I was working with found my writing to be great.  I realized that I have spent a large portion of my life partially paying attention in literature classes and just making it by, and people that do not grow speaking English have to work incredibly hard to be at the same level I am.  Being born in an English speaking country granted me a multitude of opportunities and this internship helped me appreciate those and motivated me to not waste any opportunities that I am lucky enough to have.  With that being said, I also found how important all language is in business.  Feeling Italy does not just have Italian and English speaking customers, they have customers from all over the world who wish to stay in their rentals.  I witnessed people come in speaking French and one of my coworkers would respond in French like it was no big deal.  What I am trying to say is that I found out how important and universal English is but just knowing English is not always enough, to create a successful hospitality business marketed internationally it is very important to make all customers feel welcome no matter where they are from and being able to understand them in their home language makes a big difference.  

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Enjoying Life:  My internship at Feeling Italy taught me more than I could have imagined, everything from learning Italian customs, learning about how to run a successful hospitality business, and being able to truly enjoy work.  I was able to go to pizza parties and make my own pizzas, eat traditional Italian meals with locals, and experience running from rental to rental on the back of a scooter to help in any way possible.  Possibly the most profound thing I have learned from my internship would be how to enjoy a job.  Everyone I worked with at Feeling Italy seemingly loves their job.  They come in around 9:00 or 10:00 in the morning and stay late into the evening.  They joke, talk, and take breaks frequently but when they sit down to work they are focused.  It is so different from what I am used to, the typical 9:00 to 5:00 completely focused until work is over.  That is what I found so interesting though, in America no one is actually focused on what they are doing for 8 hours so why not take more breaks and enjoy your day rather than just trying to make it through the day.  Feeling Italy has taken enjoying work to an entire new level.  Those pizza parties and traditional Italian meals?  They offer those to their guests, so multiple nights a week they go out to make and eat pizzas with their guests.  This allows everyone to bond and create lasting relationship with Feeling Italy (ie. more return customers) as well as making work exciting and fun to be at for those at Feeling Italy.

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The experience of a lifetime:  This is what I feel like I have taken from my internship throughout the semester but I know that it isn't all of it.  I know I have learned more than I think I have.  The founder of the Sant'Anna Institute (the school I am attending in Sorrento) came to take to all the interns the other day and said that we will truly understand just how much we have learned, changed, and grown as a person when we get back home to the states.  I am excited for that day, because I cannot wait to understand fully just how beneficial this experience has been for me.

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