Our testimonials: Maria

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Our testimonials: Maria

 

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Meet Maria from Mexico

Student of Italian Food and Wine

 

"I enjoy going downtown and getting lost in the small streets and drinking a spritz Bianco or a glass of Prosecco with my friends"

 

Meet Maria

About myself 

I have a Bachelor's in Food Chemistry from the Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas (México) and a Master's in Chemistry and Environmental Biology from Roskilde University (Denmark). When I first got accepted at UNIPD, I intended to focus on the Food Science part of the curriculum. For sure, I knew that I needed to go through the economics and cultural classes, but it was not my priority. However, during the first year, I changed my track and focused on food tourism. During that summer, I interned at the World Food Travel Association (WFTA), and after that period, I continued my collaboration with them.
I also participated twice in Arqus activities, once in Padova and in the second time I was able to travel to Granada, Spain. On both occasions, the programme was focused on Rural Development within the European context. Finally, due to my interest in value-based food production, I participated in the JLU Virtual International Programme organized by the University of Giessen, attending the course in Sustainable Food Systems.
Currently, I'm developing a project to study the impact of women in my hometown's mezcal industry and their motivations to create a touristic route. In this project I will apply all the transdisciplinary tools that I acquired during my master's studies.


   
    How to make the best of your years at Unipd?    

As an international student, and especially in the first semester, it can be challenging, so my advice is to "find your people." Try to reach your classmates so you don't feel alone. Besides, you would need to work in teams, so it is better to do it with someone you know and trust. I was fortunate to have a lovely group of friends to rely on during my time in Padova.
I also tried to participate in any extracurricular activity that we were offered. That way, I could expand my interest and meet students from other departments, which was a valuable experience.

   
    Tell us a bit about student life in Italy: what do you do for fun and where are your favourite places to spend time?    

I started my studies in October 2020, so I spent a lot of time at home for the first year due to covid restrictions. It wasn’t a big challenge because I enjoy staying at home, and partying hard is not my thing. I was so lucky to have two great housemates. One of them was my classmates and fellow Latina, so I felt at home speaking Spanish, cooking a lot and watching Italian television.
I enjoy going downtown and getting lost in the small streets and drinking a spritz Bianco or a glass of Prosecco with my friends.

   
    As an Italian Food and Wine students, how do you find the food in Padua and Veneto? What is(are) your favourite Italian dish(es) and why?    

I think any Italian Food and Wines student ends up loving Prosecco and Asiago. It seems to be a requirement for graduation.
One of the first Venetian dishes I tried was "Risi e Bisi," literally rice and peas. We discussed it during a Food and Wine History, Anthropology and Society class. It can be said that it was a royal dish; it was a tradition in Venice to offer it to the Doge on the occasion of the city's patron day, St. Mark, on April 25th.
But I must confess that I have a sweet tooth, so the gelato, fritelle di Carnevale or any brioche, especially al Pistacchio, are close to my heart. Also, coffee culture is impressive: now that I'm back home, I miss a good macchiato!


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