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NOTE The Life of an International Economics Student

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So, good morning everybody.

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As you heard in introduction, my name is Lucia Manzi

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and I'm a student from Italy, more precisely from Milano,

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which is the biggest city in North Italy.

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Boys, suppose you know more about cities like Rome

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or Venice or Florence and never heard about Milan,

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which definitely looks more like a business city.

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Boys, shares with many other Italian cities

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are centuries old history.

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My university is one of the biggest Italian university,

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But what drew me here to Alabama was my interest

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for American history and a libertarian tradition,

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which along with economics are the topics

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the Mises Institute is so concerned about

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and constantly works for their diffusion.

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In fact, my project focuses on the early American

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political thought and in particular,

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on a dispute about the Constitution

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and the foundation of the American Republic

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according to the natural rights theory

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and its fundamental pillars, the right to life,

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to freedom and to private property.

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Though my university is famous and well known in my country,

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the fact that it is a state university usually means

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that it is structured as a big oppressive bureaucracy,

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often malfunctioning and most of the times

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unsuited for research.

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Since if research depends on state funds,

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there's not much room for freedom of research in it.

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What I wanted to experience coming to the Mises

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was the chance to study in a place that truly valued

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all the studies concerning the search for freedom.

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And I also wanted to experience studying abroad

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in a country so different from mine.

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Speaking as a foreign student, I must say,

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nothing widens your horizon and opens your mind

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like the encounter with the culture

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which is so different from yours.

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Everything looks new and amazing to someone

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who has been living all his life in the same place

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like I was.

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From people's customs to the crazy weather,

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I'm really glad to say there's no tornado in Italy

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since it's too much of a small place

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for such phenomena to happen,

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to Auburn's obsession with football,

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all the way up to the big difference

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you can perceive from an academic point of view.

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At first, getting used to a way of living

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so different from yours is not as easy as one in agents

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since they still cannot have dinner before 8 p.m.,

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which is the usual summertime in Italy.

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And unfortunately, I still use a lot of gesture

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when I speak.

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But soon, you learn about the people you're living with

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and especially learn to appreciate the best things

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about their culture.

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And I must say, what particularly struck me

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about the American way of living

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is the culture of efficiency and the extreme wealth

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that you can experience spending even just a little time

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in the USA, even in a small quiet town like Auburn is.

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Even the most ordinary things like the waitress

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refreshing your glass without a sweet tea

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or the same waitress approaching your table

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every five minutes to ask you if everything is still fine

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are the evidence of a long story of wealth

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and attention to serve the customer as best as possible.

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Just think about the amazing variety of choices you get

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when you enter any grocery store

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as Jeff mentioned before in his talk, or any coffee shop.

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These are the consequences,

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the best consequences of capitalism.

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And they made the difference in every field,

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especially in the field of research.

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In particular, in this field,

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they mean that most of the times,

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a research project is valued by its merit.

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And there are places like the Mises Institute

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who live and work in the most efficient way

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without any dependence on government funds

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and are so deeply devoted to boldly pursuing their ideals,

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which imply a true love for research

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without the need for any compromise.

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In Italy, it would have been so much harder

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to find any similar institution,

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able to provide its students with all the support needed.

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Actually, at this time in my country,

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it is even harder to find any university

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able to provide its most talented students

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with a decent scholarship, or any room for research,

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which is suffering a miserable situation

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at this very moment.

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In conclusion, these are the reasons why, in the end,

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I can say that what I've gained from my experience

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as a student abroad is definitely the possibility

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to learn not only by what I'm studying,

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but especially by the encounter with people

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that share with me the same passion

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in search for truth and freedom,

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despite our different cultural backgrounds,

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which in the end turned out to be a far worse source of knowledge more than an obstacle.