Stay abroad in italy...Field report on the international office in Milan

It happened on a gloomy Sunday afternoon when my plane took off for Italy and my 9-week stay in Milan began...

17th July 2024, Jennifer Tillner, Dual student industrial engineering

It sounds like a thriller, but in fact it was the beginning of my stay abroad in Milan. The city of fashion, pizza and pasta...

I had been looking forward to this day for a long time and the excitement was great! My 9-week stay in Milan began at the start of January. Admittedly, not exactly the warmest time of year to visit Milan. Nevertheless, the weather didn't let me down and I was able to enjoy many sunny days in Milan and escape the heat of the summer.
I landed on a Sunday in the evening and didn't get back to the flat until quite late. Travelling with luggage for 9 weeks is not so easy after all. During my time in Milan, I lived in a nicely furnished one-bedroom flat not far from the office. 
The next day was my first day at work. The friendliness of my colleagues was emphasised on the very first day when I was picked up at my flat so that I couldn't get lost on the way to the office.

The branch in Milan is located in a large office building park just outside the city centre. However, it is easy to reach with the very extensive public transport network, which runs almost every minute. All the colleagues I got to know there were very friendly and courteous. During my time there, I was able to support various departments and got to know the workings of the office better. With around 40 employees, the branch in Milan is not exactly one of Rutronik's smallest foreign branches.
As I had already travelled to Milan privately last summer, I was reliant on tips from the ‘locals’. And there were more than enough of them. Among the recommendations were many churches and museums worth seeing. These included the ‘Cenacolo’ museum, which houses Leonardo da Vinci's famous Last Supper. The famous cathedral was also not to be missed. 
A little tip: admission to many museums etc. is free on the first Sunday of the month.

An absolute highlight of my weekend excursions was definitely the view over the city from the roof terraces of the cathedral. Also not to be forgotten was the incredible concert by James Blunt, which I discovered by chance and couldn't miss. There was also a ballet performance (unfortunately not in the ‘Scala’ theatre, which is priceless), a shopping trip to the largest outlet in Europe (according to its own information), many museums and churches as well as the Isola, Citylife and Navigli districts, which are also not to be missed in Milan.
To my dismay, I realised that not many Italians outside the office speak English. This made communication a little more difficult from time to time. Fortunately, we live in an age where it is still possible to communicate thanks to the many different translation apps. 
My time alone in a ‘foreign’ country enabled me to learn a lot and improve my English skills. I also returned to Germany with a tear in my eye and many new experiences and insights from the beautiful city. Because somehow, after just a few weeks, it already feels a bit like home.