Ever since I can remember, I have dreamed of traveling to the ever so beautiful Cinque Terre. It just so happened that I finally had the opportunity to visit the magical coast consisting of 5 beautiful island towns.

Due to my limited free time, I was only able to see one of them – Manarola. I was absolutely blown away once I arrived. As soon as I walked out of the train station, my eyes were immediately drawn to the colourful buildings.

As I walked through the main street, I was surprised at how many North American tourists were there. In a strange way, it brought be a sense of comfort. The thought of being away in a foreign place, with working proficiency of the Italian language seemed like it would have been challenging. However, this was not the case during my experience. I instead soaked up the beautiful and laid back culture of Manarola. I had the best bruschetta of my life. I saw the most beautiful ocean view of my life. And simply put, I truly had the time of my life.

It was a beautiful weekday in the city of Vicenza. I was downstairs near the vending machines at CUOA, my school – BCIT’s partner business school, when I saw a woman with a stunning tattoo of a lion on her tricep. It immediately caught my attention. I followed her outside, where I asked if I could interview her for a school assignment. I asked her basic questions at first, about her name, age, education, and where she was originally from. I learned that her name was Lucezia, and she was an MBA student. As our conversation began getting deeper, I was immensely surprised to learn that we had so much in common. I had to cut to the chase and ask her about her tattoo, because lions are my favourite animal. She began telling me that she got it for her mom, who raised her and her sister as a single mother. I immediately got goosebumps. I informed her that my mom was also a single mother, who raised my brother and I, and that I too associate lions with my mom. We both bonded over the symbolism of the lion – strength. We agreed that our single mother’s were the epitome of strength to us both.

What I really admired about Lucezia was that she was so kind, confident, and intelligent. It made my heart feel fulfillment to meet a fellow business student whom I had so much in common with. Our shared love for lions, our single mothers, and our education brought us together by fate. It’s a small world after all!

BIO

Lucezia is a 26 year old MBA student. She is currently completing her eight month program at CUOA. Lucezia originally hails from Vicenza, near the Alta Villa area. She finds that her program can be tough at times due to the hectic schedule, but is powering through it. With the current business courses she is completing, she hopes to eventually find a niche in which she wants to continue her career path. Her story is interesting because she is a young and ambitious woman, who possesses strength and it shows through the symbolism of her lion tattoo.

“Outstanding.” That’s the first word that comes to mind when I think about my time in Vienna. What I find so unique about the culture here, is that it is so diverse. Because of this, I felt really comfortable. It reminded me of the multiculturalism back home in Vancouver, which really surprised me, as we are so far away from Canada. I was fortunate to have a knowledgeable and extremely friendly tour guide during my second day here. She knew so much about the city, and to my surprise, I learned that she was originally from Hungary. This was also an example of the diversity that makes up Vienna. Throughout the tour, she was teaching us all about Vienna’s unique culture. What stood out to me the most was seeing a renaissance home, a few beautiful churches, and lastly, a historical building with a gothic feel. I found the architecture of all three places to be immensely beautiful, and I simply felt grateful to have been able to be in the presence of many timeless pieces of history. I can’t wait to come back to Vienna in the future!