Petra during her internship in Italy

Hey! Who are you and where are you from? Where do you study/live/work?

My name is Petra Horváth and I am from Hungary. Last year I was living in Randers, in Denmark, I am studying Hotel and restaurant management there. A minimum 3 months long internship is part of the third semester and I got the wonderful opportunity to spend this time in Venice, Italy. Now I am working in a hotel which is a little, lovely place in the heart of the city, near to the Accademia and San Marco square.

What was the first thing you thought when you got off the plane? (bus/train/car)

The first thing I realized was that the weather is awful! It sounds funny but Italy is the „country of sun” so I was surprised that it was raining.

What was the most shocking difference between your home country and your new country?

One big difference that I noticed is the attitude of the people living here. Not necessary Italian people (lot of foreign people live and work in Venice) but everybody has a very open mind. When I arrived I did not know anybody, only the proprietary of my apartment. After a month, when I was going around in the city I said „ciao! come stai?” at almost every corner! I get to know people by sitting outside in Campo S. Polo near to my apartment, eating out or walking around in Venice. I cannot imagine to start a chat with random people in the streets of Hungary or Denmark, but here it is absolutely normal.

What does your usual working day look like?

I was working in the hotel’s restaurant as a waitress in July and August, and the rhythm of my workday depended on when I started to work. If I was doing the breakfast period, I started at 7.30 or 8.30. The hotel has buffet in the morning, and me and my colleagues would make coffee, set the tables and check if there was anything needed for the buffet. The breakfast finished at 11am. Afterwards we would set up the restaurant and the terrace for lunch. Then from 12 until 3pm we served lunch and later in the afternoon the bar was open, which is usually very busy. The dinner starts at 7pm and we close at 11pm or a bit earlier, depending on how many guests we had. I did all „waitress tasks”, I took the orders, served and – in case of drinks – made them, set and cleaned the tables and so on. Honestly, I enjoyed working as a waitress so much! It is nice to talk and have contact with so many different people every day, and I loved the feeling that I can give something to them, I can make their days better. One morning during breakfast time, an Australian couple asked me what I did that I am always so cheerful? And I could not answer anything else but ’I love my job.’ There are no other secrets.

At 1 September I changed my workplace, I started working at the front office in the hotel. It is a very different job, it is more similar to work in an office but actually I am happy that I have the opportunity to see also this. At the reception desk we welcome guests, do the check-in and check-out processes, provide information and help (for example about public transportation or restaurant reservations), manage the bookings and control everything that is happening in the hotel, because - as one of my teachers said back in Denmark - the reception desk is the ’hub’ in the hotel, and that is why working there is so exciting.

What's the working-atmosphere at your internship-company like?

The working atmosphere is friendly but at the same time professional. We were a small team in the restaurant – 2 people in the kitchen and 2-3 people as waitresses – and it is the same at the reception desk as well, usually we are working in 3. The hotel does not have so many employees, so we know each other well and it helps a lot to work effectively together.

Did you ever feel homesick? How did you cope with this?

During the first days there were times when I felt alone here, but honestly I would not call it home sick. During a year in Denmark „I have learnt” that if I feel a bit alone I can always call my mum, dad or sister or whoever I want and for me it always helps.

Did you feel at home in your new country? Why (not)?

I feel home in Italy, in Venice because I have found friends here, I know where to eat a great pasta or drink the best coffee in the morning. Now I even hardly ever get lost in the city :D In the first weeks I had problems with the Italian language but days to days I got better, and it made me more self-confident and it helped me to find my place here.

Please give us tips about who to befriend when living abroad. The Russians? The Irish? The Chileans? (Honestly, we want to know some gossip about other internationals you’ve met.)

I have met a lot of people from different countries, at work and also outside of work, but I do not think that it is worth to choose friends according to nationalities. I would say Italian people are incredibly friendly and you can be sure that even if you are not close friends, they will always have time for a small chat.

Describe the inhabitants of the new country in three words.

Passionate, ’open hearted’ and sociable.

What did you learn from your experience abroad? Was it the loving community you liked? The cheap cocktails? The overwhelming nature? Or was the experience less helpful than expected? Details, we want details!

Actually I have not finished my internship yet but I feel like I have learnt more about life and people in these 2 months than in the last 5 years. It is a very useful experience for my studies, because I have the opportunity to see every part of a hotel, so in the future I can decide where I would like to work, what interests me really. Also I can make helpful relationships, my colleagues and some of my friends have already promised me that they will help me to find a job after graduation. And these 4 months in Venice are not only helpful but it is the time of my life as well. I love this vibrant city and I have no doubts that I will never forget the memories that I made here.