Italia Part 2

The second half of our journey in Italy took place in the Northern Italy mountain town of Seis. About an hour drive north from Bolzano, Seis sat at the base of the Swiss-Italian mountains. Here everyone from Seattle gathered together once again to being out our Emotional Intelligence (EQ) class. There were 27 of us total, including 3 instructors. Emotional intelligence is a skill or ability in the case of the trait EQ model, a self-perceived ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. Basically we trained ourselves to be aware of both our own emotional state and of others emotional state. Though we could have taken this class back in Seattle, we would not have gotten nearly as much out of it. Because this class involved putting ourselves in uncomfortable/foreign situations, what better way to experience it than being in a foreign country.

While in Seis we stayed at Hotel Seiserhoff. This is an old hotel that has been there since probably the 50's. I also believe the other guests there have been staying there since the 50's. It almost felt like a retirement home. A really really nice retirement home. Many of our class sessions took place in a giant ballroom. The other class sessions were spent hiking to different towns in the area. Our first major activity involved us sharing our autobiography's with our "T" group while hiking across the hill side.

The "T" groups were groups of 6 people that you would walk and talk with throughout the week. These people would know our life history and would work with us to both find ourselves on an emotional level and help us to develop an action plan to deal with our strengths and weaknesses. The autobiography activity was very enlightening. We put ourselves our there to complete strangers, showing a side of us that very few knew about. It was the ultimate exercise in vulnerability. This would not have been possible though if we didn't feel safe enough to share. As others shared their story, we began to realize the similarities a lot of us shared. That help to bridge the gap towards making a true "connection" with another person. Once this was established, the advice and criticism we gave to one another was taken in an honest fashion. Too often in life we hear things about ourselves from other people that we brush off our shoulders because we feel like they don't really understand or know where we're coming from. Hearing what others honestly think about you is a hard thing to hear but makes you feel cared about when they tell you these things honestly with the best of intentions. Plus the views we shared with this activity were as refreshing as the activity.

After we regrouped after a day of hiking and sharing stories, we came back to engage in a T group discussion. Here we had to talk in the present. This is incredibly hard to do, especially when you want to bring up the things you felt during the earlier activity. The purpose of this exercise was to embrace and express the emotions you feel at that instance. During these activities I came to realize something about myself. I am too selfless sometimes to a fault. I get my pleasure and happiness from making others happy. This isn't a bad thing until I don't have any true feelings from myself. In the T group discussion, I had to really think about myself. I shared that I didn't feel like I was connecting with anyone and it made others sad. I told myself and them that it was OK that they felt sad. I didn't want to feel like I had to make them happy. This was incredibly hard for me to do but a step in the right direction. Since then I have been expressing myself honestly with how I truly feel about something and not just saying something to please another person. I don't have a picture for this so I'll just post some more pictures of the beautiful scenery.

The 3rd day there was the beginning of our big hiking journey. We spent all day hiking up the switchback mountain side. As we hiked, we would take breaks for more EQ activities and discussions. We helped develop our action plans and discussed our lives with other people in the group. It is incredibly refreshing to talk with people about something that rarely happens on a day to day basis. EQ is just like IQ in the fact that you have to develop your skills and tools to become more intelligent. There was a lot of time for self reflection as well.

Eventually we reached the summit of our current hike. Our destination was the Tierser Alpl. It is basically a big cottage where travelers stop to have a warm dinner, a warm bed and a cold beer. We stayed in cots and bunk beds after enjoying a 3 course meal. This was lot of fun!

The next day we continued our hike to the summit at 11,000 ft. Once again along the way we continued EQ activities and discussions. We stopped for lunch at another cabin before heading back to the Tieser Alpl to stay for the night. Literally every where we turned we were blessed with a truly majestic view. Whether it was from the mountain side or the view of the valley below, everything was amazing.

After more eating, drinking, laughing and a good night sleep, we headed back down the mountain side to Seis. Once back we had a round table discussion to reflect on the past couple days. After dinner we spent the rest of the night "deep lounging" aka drinking, laughing and unwinding. We went to bed happy and with a sore stomach from all of the laughter.

The next day we all parted ways, including me and Chrissy. As Chrissy headed on to another week of fun in Germany and Italy, I headed back to Milan to catch my flight home. Unfortunately I was only able to get 2 weeks off of work, so I had to head back to the daily grind. I was so thankful to be apart of this class and this experience. These are some truly amazing people we got to share a once in a lifetime opportunity with. They will all have a special place in my heart and I can thank them for having a hand in my emotional development. Though we might not stay in touch with everyone, we will not forgot the experience we shared together.