Throughout my time in Rome, I have faced many episodes of cultural confrontation. Sometimes these moments are small “oh this is different” episodes but sometimes it is something that continues to go against my cultural norm. This has been most often expressed to me through the differences in teaching techniques and general knowledge that Italians have.
Taking classes abroad has been very interesting and different from America. My program is very intense. Therefore, I have many on-site lectures and it is very hands-on. But Rome is very aware of the history around it, and there is a lot of history to cover. In one of my classes that is about ancient art and architecture, we listen to several lectures as we walk to several monuments in one class. These lectures are very in-depth with dates, events, cultural events, and symbolism, often leaving many American students lost because we are not very familiar with all the history that has occurred in Rome. This is due to the fact that it is not our home and the education system in America is more self-centered. Often I have been required to know information that was not familiar to me, and every Italian can point to a monument and tell you why it is important and the year it is dated back to. This leaves me and many others feeling very dumb. Because this is also the expectation for students, my teacher, like many of my other Italian professors tend to not move from topic to topic in chronological order. To them, it is obvious that I should know the differences between the emperors. It’s like the difference between Barack Obama and Donald Trump. As midterms approach, I am studying extra hard, trying to catch up on the history I never learned and all my class content. It is interesting and admirable to see how many Italian citizens know the history of their home country and city, whereas many Americans don’t. While this all is frustrating, it has allowed me to look into a new section of history. Throughout this semester I have spent a lot of time talking to professors and staff about my stresses in which they tell me that these courses, while are meant to be taken seriously, are not actually as hard as American classes are. This is in the sense that our midterms will be easier than what we usually see in America. I hope that this is true. I have also spent a lot of time watching youtube videos to catch myself upon any information that I have missed or did not understand. While all of this is challenging, I am not discouraged. All it takes is some deep breaths and dedication.