Embracing Italy, the Italian culture, the people and the food

This is a guide for anyone looking for an experience of a lifetime in Italy be them ambitious language-learners, culture-seekers or adventure-pursuers. During your stay, the experience that you have is completely up to you and for that, we are providing you with this thorough language and culture guide to help ensure that you have all the possible tools, outlets, and connections to enable you to immerse yourself as deeply as possible into Italian life.

What can you become?

For the ambitious language learners, we hope you utilize your time here to make as many relationships and practice your language skills as frequently as possible. With bilingual staff and major cities full of English-speakers, we hope that you find ways of staying out of English-speaking circles.

For the adventurous, maybe the best place to start is the city center and work your way out until you know the surroundings in its entirety. There are no boundaries with this one: ditch the maps and the tours and find the off beaten paths that wander through Italy’s undiscovered secrets.

For the professional, you want to do is meet locals and see businesses. Maybe you want to make connections and develop your networking abilities to make yourself a more valuable candidate for a job back home. Learning to work in a multi-cultural environment is a skill that will take you though life.

Goal Setting

We have found that the students who truly feel they have made the most out of their experience are those who set small, achievable goals for themselves throughout their time abroad. We suggest that you take some time to write down your goals, based on these categories and any others you can think of. (p.s. people who write down their goals are much more likely to achieve them!)

When you arrive in Italy, write down:

• 5 Places I want to visit in my program location
• 5 Places I want to visit in Italy
• Language goals
• Other goals:

Reflections & Challenges

First Impressions

Take a moment to jot down your first impressions of the city. What did you think the city would be like before you came? What do you think you’ll miss the most about home? What are you most excited about? What are you most nervous about?

Mid-trip Reflection

Could you call this place “home?” Is this starting to feel like a new home to you? How do you see your new life differently than when you first arrived? What are some things that surprised you? Any challenges you’ve faced so far?

Challenge #1

Try a new food that you wouldn’t normally eat. What was it? How was it? Why do you think that people at home don’t eat this and people here do? What new foods have you discovered while in Italy?

Challenge #2

Break out of the tourist bubble. Join a local club and go to an event. Meet locals! How many Italian people do you know? Do you count any of them as a “friend”? If you were to return to Italy next year, who would you call? Why do you think it is difficult for many foreigners to meet locals?

Challenge #3

Part 1: See an Italian event (Soccer game, Carnevale parade, go to a Sagra - a local food festival, etc.)

Part II: Ask a local about this event, how they feel about it, how they relate it to local identity. What do you think?

Challenge #4

Make an Italian friend! How were your language skills when you arrived and how have they improved? How often do you speak Italian here and with whom? Do you think you have a strong accent? What are some of your favorite words you’ve learned?

Challenge #5

Get lost. Ditch your friends and your phone and just stray from the center (DURING THE DAY!). When you wander with no destination in mind, you’ll encounter several new things you may never have found. Find a cool bar or café, get a coffee and absorb the world around you. What do you notice? Notice any cultural differences? How does the culture here compare to your culture back home? (Challenge: Regardless of your level of Italian, try ordering in Italian, it’s not too hard! Try this for starters: Ciao, un caffè macchiato per favore! See, that wasn’t too hard, was it?)