Cultural Immersion
As I mentioned in my personal statement, context is a very important concept to me. Understanding perspective is crucial to any career one might pursue, especially in product development. After undergrad, I really made it a point to travel and see more of the world. A trip that I want to highlight was one I had made to Italy. My girlfriend and I went on a whim; no large group, no tour guide, and no preset activities. We wanted to get an authentic experience, not one that was too diluted or scripted. During the trip we visited both Milan and Venice, two cities that seem to have almost polar opposite vibes. The photos you see below are some of the amateur shots I took, documenting the trip.
There are many stories I could tell here, but I want to use this space to highlight how I think and observe in new environments. Considering my automotive background, it is always interesting to see how modes of transportation influence one another, as well as what can be learned. One of my favorite shots (top, left side) is one of a family moving out of their home by boat. I remember thinking to myself how difficult that must be; however, there is really no other option as the entire city is built on water. Venice has little to no streets and I further observed this by noticing that their equivalent of a postal service is strapping packages to a boat deck, and by seeing cruisers go by labeled “taxi”. At the time I had just started in the autonomous group thinking “how would we design an autonomous watercraft?”
I think in another life I would have been an architect. I have such an appreciation for detail and craftsmanship. Seeing cathedrals that took 600 years to complete was awe inspiring, and some are still being worked on to this day. Something I truly appreciated about Italy was their preservation of history and art, even though I noticed that this comes with some interesting compromises. For example, there were 200-plus-year-old buildings that, from the outside, had been kept the same since their original construction. However, on the inside, two buildings that stood out to me were a Burger King and an Apple store. I was shocked as I could not imagine historical buildings being “ruined” like this. But I had to put things in perspective. Italy has a much deeper history in contrast to the US, and much less space for lateral growth and new buildings. Compromises such as these seemed to be more rooted in keeping tradition rather than industrialization. Thus, these historical and geographical differences serve as an outline to their culture.
I could continue to go on and on about my observations. Such as how 90% of Ubers in Milan were limited to high luxury vehicles by choice, yet in terms of price they were comparable to an entry level ride in the States. Or, how most people spoke English as a secondary language and many signs were translated, yet you would be hard pressed to find someone who spoke fluent Italian back home. The trip was a true palate cleanser for me, as it opened my eyes to new perspective, something I try to have in everything I do. I’ll let the rest of the photos speak for themselves, as they make for great conversation starters and stories to tell!
