Final Blog Post — ISA Rome

Before I began my journey to Italy, I was a bit worried about how I would adjust to speaking a new language, and how easy it would be for me to communicate with others/get around. These concerns were easily mediated as I soon realized that many Italians also speak English and if you have difficulty communicating, there is usually a way to fix that issue. I still made an effort to immerse myself in the Italian language and I got especially good at ordering food at restaurants and cafes. Culturally, Italians are pretty direct, and somewhat impatient (though usually they are all very nice). I did have one issue during my abroad experience where I was trying to pick up a package from a tobacco shop and the owner did not speak English, and did not understand what I was trying to say in Italian. It was one of the few experiences I had that was negative in nature. I left that day without my package and I also felt pretty frustrated. Looking back on that experience, I think the agitation that I felt from the woman in that moment was partially due to the miscommunication we were having between each other. Also, as I mentioned, Italians tend to be pretty direct with their language and the way they converse, so when you come off as unsure, they seem to have less patience. For instance, when you go to a restaurant, it is common that you will have only a few minutes after receiving the menu to decide what you’d like to eat. You can always ask for more time, but it somewhat opposes their customs. In the US, you are typically given a decent amount of time after receiving the menu to decide what to order as well. I assume that the woman was a bit frustrated that what I was saying was not making sense, and that she did not know how to help me. I know I’ve personally been in situations in past jobs I’ve had where I’ve interacted with people who have not known very much English which has led to confusion and frustrations on both ends. I will say that very many of the interactions I had with Italians were positive, and that if I displayed even the slightest bit of competency in Italian, that it was well-received. But I also did notice that Italians, while they love their leisurely time, they are quite straight to the point and have little patience for certain annoyances. I don’t think the woman was necessarily upset with me, moreso she was bothered by the confusion of the moment. I think this moment was important for me to experience because it somewhat humbled me. I had been having such a positive experience in Italy and I hardly had negative interactions with Italians, which was not what I was expecting initially. As much as it was refreshing that Italians were flexible and worked around language barriers, I was also grateful to have experienced someone that wasnt as accommodating as it gave me a bit more experience working through tough situations as such.