Carla, OT Intern in Italy

Carla, an aspiring healthcare professional from Adelaide, Australia, went to Florence, Italy, to complete an Occupational Therapy internship. Learn more about the experience in her own words here:

ABOUT ME

Hi, my name is Carla Moffa, and I am from Adelaide, Australia. I recently did the Occupational Therapy internship program in Florence, Italy, from the start of May to the end of June 2024.

 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EXPERIENCE INCLUDED:

• Meeting an American research professor.
• All the clients at the facility and the staff, who made me feel very welcome.
• Running boxing sessions where I tried my best to speak in Italian.
• Getting to know a city so well – exploring most things they had to offer.
• The language school – I met people from all over the world. It felt so surreal learning a different language in a different country. The language school was really cool, as they ran activities during the week and weekends. I could only go on the weekends, which was so much fun, as we went on day excursions to surrounding towns in Tuscany (Siena, Lucca, Fiesole). It was so fun, as I got to explore these beautiful places with people I knew. An Italian teacher would come with us and, although they spoke about the town in Italian, and I didn’t always get what they were saying, it was such an unreal experience.

PLACEMENT

A typical day in my life at the internship included me arriving mid-morning and then choosing which section of the clinic I wanted to join that day. They ran a boxing clinic for people with Parkinson’s Disease; I spent most of the time there, as I really enjoyed learning from this program. I would sit and observe the clients exercise and do different cognitive, balance, and coordination activities with them. In some of the classes, I would create my own exercises for the clients to do, which was a lot of fun, and I even got to run a whole class by the end of my internship.

 

LESSONS LEARNED

I really learnt that having experiences where you feel uncomfortable, get butterflies, or are outside of your comfort zone are truly where the best experiences can come about. Before arriving, and even during my first week at the internship, I was super overwhelmed, and being in a new country that spoke a different language was definitely outside of my comfort zone. However, this experience was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I learnt so much regarding how different allied health professions operate in different countries and saw how they perform different techniques and use equipment. Being in Italy for two months enabled me to really dive into its culture and made me feel kind of like a local, as I became really familiar with my surroundings, learnt their food customs, and fell in love with everything Italy has to offer. Living with my host family and cooking with them and learning Italian at the language school only added to this, as I really felt like a local (though I didn’t speak the language). I also believe I grew so much as a person, as the trip helped me see that I can really do anything I put my mind. Before, at home, I would never have been caught doing things myself. Now, I feel like I have grown so much confidence in myself to do things myself and do things that bring me joy.

 

BEST MOMENT/STORY

One of the days early in my internship, the usual instructor was running late to the class, so the receptionist asked if I could take over the class. I was feeling super overwhelmed, but I brought the clients into the class and knew it would be a great learning experience. To the best of my ability, I spoke all the Italian words that I had picked up (and lots of hand gestures) and began the warm up and started the first exercises of the class. Luckily, there was a client in the class who spoke really good English so could translate the instructions I was saying back in Italian. This turned out to be a really fun experience, as all the clients were cheering me on and were super encouraging when I tried to speak Italian to them. Although the instructor was only ten minutes late, they ended up getting me to continue with running the session as they observed. I ended up feeling super proud of myself after the session, as I was amazed how quickly I was able to come up with exercises under pressure and be able to convey this to the clients. This also made the next time I ran a session easier, as I felt more at ease with my ability to do this.

 

WHY WORLD ENDEAVORS?

After taking some time off university due to wanting to do some travelling but also get some more experience in occupational therapy, I decided to contact my university to see if they had any placements or internships overseas that I could undertake. However, after they said they didn’t, I decided to do some looking online, where I stumbled upon World Endeavors. I had never heard of the organisation before. However, I am so glad that I did, as the applying process was super easy and the team was super helpful in answering all my questions right from the get-go.

 

PICTURES FROM THE EXPERIENCE

 

 

 

A Sunday market in Florence near my accommodation. There were markets mostly everyday in Florence ranging from the freshest produce, antiques, and the most beautiful hand made-crafts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A picture of my language class during a break. Honestly, it was such a surreal experience learning another language in a different country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy. I was placed in the most beautiful location. Although I never really knew much about Florence, I immediately fell in love with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a photo of my host family teaching me how to make homemade pesto. I was lucky enough to be taught how to make some delicious meals with them whilst staying there.