Memorable First Weeks: Settling into Salerno and Architectural Adventures
The first week was very busy and kind of stressful. I had to wrap things up in Denmark, find a place to stay, get used to a new city, and try to make a really good impression at my host entrepreneur. But even though it was a lot, it went by really fast and made a big impact on me.
Salerno is a small city, but it was easy to settle into. The main part of town was always busy, and even the quieter areas had cozy cafes where people hung out and chatted.
On my first day in the programme, I my HE early to show me what we would be working on: “Infopoint” in a village called Sanza. The local government wanted to make Sanza more exciting, and my HE and I are part of making that happen.
In the Campania region, you see a lot of buildings that are half-built and left unfinished. They’re like blank canvases for architects to come up with cool ideas to finish them off. It’s a great opportunity to be creative and find ways to make things better without spending too much money.
My task was to draw up the plans for the project and come up with a design for the outside of the building that needed to be both cheap and prepositive. It was tough at first, but my HE helped me figure things out and keep moving forward. He always says that architecture is always changing, and we have to keep finding new ways to make it work.
We got to visit the construction site and meet the mayor, who was really passionate about making the town better. He even invited us to a meeting where we talked about big ideas, like bringing a train through the village. It was cool to see how everyone was working together to make things happen.
The week ended with a handshake from my HE, marking the end of a busy but exciting start. I’m looking forward to seeing what else is in store and working on more projects together in the future.
Overall, my first weeks in Salerno were full of challenges, new things to learn, and making friends. It’s just the beginning of an exciting journey in architecture and helping communities grow.