Global Immersion Guarantee expands law student's horizons
It’s not very often that a university unit challenges you to unlock a new sense of independence, directly experience nuanced and complicated world issues, or change the way you act as a modern-day consumer. Yet, the Global Immersion Guarantee (GIG), held in Italy, afforded me all of this and more. It also gave me the opportunity to eat lots and lots of pasta.
GIG Italy entails two weeks spent in Prato, a town 20 minutes away from Florence. In those two weeks, we learned both in and outside of the classroom, exploring Monash’s Prato Campus, Prato itself and either Sienna or the Cinque Terre for four days.
GIG offers meaningful insights
From walking down the rain-soaked cobblestone streets of Prato, or climbing up the grassy terraces of the Cinque Terre, each and every view was prettier than any postcard ever could be. Alongside these adventures, we were fortunate enough to engage with local experts, from monks and mayors to fashion manufacturers and wine makers. It was these experiences that deepened our understanding and connection to these breathtaking places. In doing so, we were equipped with the tools to be more sustainable and appreciative tourists, students and consumers, in order to give back to the environments that were giving so much to us.
One time these experiences resonated particularly strongly for me was during our four day trip to the Cinque Terre. As a child, I was fortunate enough to visit the Cinque Terre in the summertime. I recall hundreds of people lined up like sardines on the beach and the seemingly endless rows of restaurants and gelato shops. This, however, was sharply contrasted with the haunting emptiness of the Cinque Terre that we experienced in the Italian winter.
The streets felt completely deserted, all but two restaurants in the whole village of Riomaggiore were closed, and I only encountered approximately 15-20 people outside of our GIG group. It was as if we had the whole village to ourselves. I couldn’t understand why this was the case, the location was just as exquisite as it was in the summertime. It was a perfect cosy seaside escape, with colourful pastel houses tucked between the foggy Italian hills and a serene view of the Mediterranean sea.
However, global marketing positioned the Cinque Terre to be an idyllic summer destination, neglecting it completely during the winter. And it wasn’t just the scenery that was abandoned, the local economy was left crumbled. With tourists flocking to the villages in their millions throughout the summer, the Cinque Terre had evolved to facilitate them, with numerous gift shops and restaurants targeted to foreign visitors. This had driven up the cost of basic goods drastically and consequently driven the locals out. But when those tourists weren’t there, those gift shops and restaurants shut, and with few locals left, the Cinque Terre was a scenic ghost town.
Speaking to the Mayor of Riomaggiore, Fabrizia Pecunia, it became clear that while the village’s economy was dependent on tourism, the unbalanced and unsustainable dynamic it currently held was destroying the village. The Mayor pointed out that if more tourists made an effort to visit outside peak periods, purchase from locals and learn about the locations they visited, the culture of tourism would completely change.
As a Law and Global Studies student, I had previously thought that overtourism was merely a minor issue in comparison to the broad systemic injustices that my attention was often directed to. However, I learned that overtourism isn’t detached from those systemic injustices, it’s a symptom of them. Environmental, legal, political and social issues are all often informed by the impact of consumers or large companies orchestrating them. Encouraging a cultural shift from blind, uneducated consumption to engaged and thoughtful consumption will likely have a domino effect, not just on tourism, but on many prevalent issues in today’s society.
GIG exposed me to these ideas in the Cinque Terre, inspiring me not only to be aware of my own actions as a tourist and consumer, but additionally to further understand global issues and their real impact. Though I have elaborated on our trip to the Cinque Terre, this was merely one of many experiences that provided me with meaningful and perspective-changing insights on GIG.
Personal Growth through GIG
Not only did GIG Italy challenge me to approach world issues thoughtfully and critically, but it additionally gave me a new sense of personal growth and intercultural competency. This was in part due to the level of independence I had to exercise while overseas, such as being solely responsible for myself and my belongings, staying organised and managing small bouts of homesickness throughout the trip.
I believe one of the most important things I learned about myself and my environment occurred through my interactions with the local Italian’s. Though I can speak very little Italian, I was almost always met with a big smile and a reciprocated effort whenever I attempted to have a conversation with a local person. My language was patchy, and often involved a lot of charades to translate my poor Italian, but it was exceptionally rewarding to successfully communicate with someone despite this language barrier. It reaffirmed to me the importance of human connection, and how this can be created by simply making an effort to engage with the culture you are surrounded by. Sometimes, even if we couldn’t understand one another, the joy of trying rewarded us just as much as it could have.
The Global Immersion Guarantee provided invaluable experiences that will stay with me throughout my studies, travels, and life. In just two weeks, immersing myself in a new place and culture proved to be an enriching journey, both academically and personally. It’s an experience I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone seeking growth, discovery, and a deeper understanding of the world.