Last Blog

       Wow. I can't believe this is my last blog and we leave Florence tomorrow for the states. This experience has taught me so much about so many different things. At the beginning of this trip, I really wasn't in the mindset to be thinking about business and comparing it to the Unites States's businesses. But, after a week or so, you can't help but think how Italy compares to back home. The first thing that comes to mind when I compare is the restaurant/service industry. Back home, many people thrive off tips. Here, tips don't exist because it just isn't part of the custom. So, in return, the servers here have nothing to work for. As long as they do there job to the minimum requirement and get they pay check, their happy. Here's one example, this past week we had dinner at a restaurant and the service wasn't terrible to what we've been used to until the end. When she brought out our check, all it had was a list of things we ordered, and that's it. No prices, nothing. So, we when asked her to clarify everything she made it the biggest deal because she had to go get a menu and put the prices on it. I guess we're spoiled, but I just feel like its way more enjoyable to go eat out in the states than here. I've also noticed something about their family owned businesses. While the US still has many businesses that are passed down generation to generation, I feel like that is way more common here. It almost understood to take over the family business. One example is Perque No, which is the best gelato shop in Florence. While the owner still runs the show, his son-in-law is working there everyday to learn the ropes so that one day he can take over.
            There are many other things to talk about when relating the US's businesses and Italy's. This trip has not only opened my eyes to so many different business aspects, its taught me how to do so many things. Like get a train to a different country, or how to ask for something in Italian. Overall, I would definitely recommend this trip for any business major. There's a lot more than just what's back home.

Motivation Theories

The ERG theory was developed by Clayton Alderfer and it is based on the concept of frustration regression to describe how how we deal with our unmet needs. Frustration regression is the situation in which we are unable to satisfy a need and, in reaction, regress to a lower need. My example happened many years ago. When I was younger, I played biddy basketball. I played in this league from about the 2nd grade up to the 5th grade. At the end of each season, they had tryouts for the All Star team. This was picked by all the coaches. After tryouts my first year, I didn't make the All Star team and at first was discouraged. But, instead of settling for just playing on a team every year, I worked harder and made the All Star team every year after that. So, this example goes against Aldefer's theory in that I didn't give up and settle, but I tried harder and reached my goal.

Wine Tour

The wine tour we went on Wednesday was pretty awesome. First, we stopped at Machiavelli's estate and got to see his own wine cellar. We also took some awesome pictures of the vineyards and got an up close look at the grapes.

After seeing the outside of the property, we got to go inside and see the estate itself. We even go to see where Machiavelli wrote his famous books. After a quick tour, we sat down and had some lunch. It was a little different because the food was very Italian, but very interesting. The best thing that we got to do was taste some different wine and even pair a wine with some food which was amazing. 

After the Machiavelli estate, we took a quick bus ride to our next vineyard. It was an all organic vineyard which was neat. This vineyard was more realistic than the Machiavelli estate in that it was more up to date. They were also doing some reconstruction that had been being planned for the past 5 years. It was going to be built to use less electricity and to put as little stress on the fruits as possible. Again at this vineyard, we got to taste some wine. One of the wines was probably the best wine I've ever tasted. 

Siena and San Gimignano

On Tuesday of this week, we took our last group trip. We went to Siena and San Ginignano and I have to say I really wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. In Siena we got to see St. Catherine of Siena's finger and head that are there and then got to tour the city. The city is different from Florence in that it is built in the hills and most of the streets are sloping. We also got to see the race track where they hold the famous horse races every year. The views from the city were also amazing. After being there for a few hours, it got pretty hot and I was ready to go.

San Gimignano was a neat little city on top of a hill. Even though I was exhausted, I still enjoyed it. After getting some gelato from the gelateria that was voted best gelato in the world multiple times, we relaxed and walked around. Just like Siena, San Gimignano had great views. They also had some great leather shops. In Florence, there is a lot of leather but sometimes I find that every single leather shop has the exact same bags. It seemed as though San Gimignano had maybe a little more variety. But overall, there two cities really surprised me in how much I enjoyed them.

Interlaken, Switzerland

This past weekend, we went to Interlaken, Switzerland and it was the most beautiful place I've ever been. We arrived at 3:30 in the morning and were surprised how cold it was. Since we were staying in a tent city, it was damn cold. We woke up and went and got breakfast and then got our day started. We went rafting later that afternoon and it was awesome. The water was freezing, but well worth it. 

After rafting, we were exhausted so we went to bed pretty early. We were smart enough to get a heater in our room for Friday night. We had to wake up early Saturday morning for our Canyoning trip. It lasted from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm and was one of the most fun/toughest things I've done. The water was freezing, but again, well worth it. 

Later that afternoon, El went bungee jumping and had the time of her life. I was going to go with her to take pictures and watch, but they wanted to charge me 50 franks. After Ellen finally got back at about 9:30 pm, we went and met everyone at the Metro, a bar underneath Bamlers Hostel. It was really cool, even though the beer was quite expensive. 

This is our friend Mike. He's studying in Florence too but we met him in Interlaken. On Sunday, we woke up around 9 and had to be out of our room by 10. We had plans to go to one of the lakes but couldn't figure out how to get there and really didn't have enough time. So we just walked around Interlaken and relaxed. With the views, we really didn't mind. We even saw some paragliders come in.

INTERLAKEN IS ALMOST HERE

     The trip we've all been waiting for is almost here. In less than 7 hours, I'll be boarding a bus and heading to Interlaken, Switzerland to have the time of my life. I've already singed up for rafting and canyoning and we'll see if I do anything else. We are staying at Balmers Tent Village for 3 nights. Can't wait to blog after this weekend to share on the experience. I've heard so much about this trip through friends who have gone in the past. I still can't decide on skydiving. Tyler has already signed up and Ellen is bungee jumping saturday from 450 feet, so watching them might give me enough thrill. If I do end up skydiving, I'll experience something like this....

This is my brother, John, skydiving in Interlaken in 2009.

Only 13 more days

     This trip has flown by. It seems like yesterday I was at my brother's wedding and Julien was being born. Time flies when your having fun. On Tuesday, we walked up to the Michael Angelo and watched some guy play the guitar. He goes every Tuesday and we've decided to try to go as much as we can cause he's great and the view at the time of the sunset is amazing.

       On Wednesday, we had a movie night for our Management classes and watched star trek. While the actors were pretty terrible, it was not bad. Another thing that wasn't bad was the food we had. The chicken and potatoes were delicious. After the movie night, we went and met the group at a restaurant for Franco's 20th birthday. After a 3 hour dinner, we headed to TWICE club. That was fun for a while then after I had my "one to many drink," I headed home. 

The Restaurant we ate at.