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- An experience I had to adjust to while studying abroad in Rome was the break time during the middle of the day. While I was studying abroad there, I had to adjust my schedule so that I was able to avoid needing to do anything during that period of time, especially being hungry because almost everything would be closed. A specific experience is when I wanted pizza or carbonara for lunch, but class ended at 2:30 so I was able to get food at 3pm. However, at 3pm, everything was closed and I had to make my own food.
- Adjusting to the new style of Italian culture was something very very new to me, but I ended up actually enjoying it. I was not sure how I would do since I am super type A, but it taught me a lot about enjoying life and taking my time. I started to like eating long meals and enjoying the food I had. I also got super used to the break time, but typically would find myself frustrated when I needed to go get food and could not because everything was closed. I remember one time in Amalfi Coast having to tell our waitress that we only had 30 minutes to eat and needed to hurry. Our waitress laughed at us (not rudely) and asked if we were from the United States. She knew immediately where we were from even in this tiny village in Amalfi Coast because of the stereotypes of Americans moving quickly. After this experience, I never again asked a restaurant to hurry because I wanted to adjust to the new culture I was in and get the full experience of it.
- Someone from my host culture would describe my experience as extremely adaptive because I was put into situations where I needed to learn a lot and talk with people to understand what to do. I was always told by people abroad that Americans move so fast and are always on the move, so I think someone abroad would describe my experience as learning how to slow down time and enjoy the time that I had.
- These reflections prepare me to respond to future cultural misunderstandings and conflicts because they make me think back to my experiences and really consider all of the things that I had learned during my time in Italy and different countries. I am able to see how life moves so fast that we should just enjoy the time we have and that people think differently all over the world, but it is so important to take the time to learn and see new perspectives. It makes me reflect on the fact that when I find myself in a conflict over a cultural misunderstanding, I have to realize that we all come from different places with different cultures and values. Knowing this helps me to keep an open mind and listen to what someone else is telling me to then understand where they are coming from and their beliefs.
