Isabella Spena, Global Business Institute: Florence Fall 2024
One of my main goals in coming here to Italy was to learn what it means to be an authentic Italian and reconnect with my roots. However, whether it’s my internship or in general, the thing that makes it hard to assimilate here in Italy is that I am American. Being American cannot be changed, nor would I want it to be, but due to the number of tourists Florentine people see daily, I think they can smell if you are American from a mile away. Now, that is a problem for me because while I am here in Italy, I want to live as authentically Italian as I can. A big part of that is speaking their language, which I have been studying for the past two years. The problem is that even if I walk into somewhere like a coffee shop, for instance, and I start speaking in Italian, most of the time (if I am in the city center), they speak back to me in English. It was frustrating at times, especially at the beginning of my stay here, because I was trying to practice my Italian language skills.
At first, I used to get frustrated with some locals for doing this. However, I started thinking, “What if they are trying to practice their English just like I am practicing Italian?” This mindset made them speaking to me in English not feel as bad. However, the biggest thing that helped me overcome this obstacle and live more authentically was to continue to talk in Italian even when they were speaking English. I have done this day after day everywhere I go. If they speak English, I act like they don’t, and I continue speaking Italian. Which I can proudly report is a strategy that is working! There is one coffee shop near my apartment that I usually go to before my internship, and he would consistently speak to me in English, but I have continued to talk to him in Italian. Just the other day, when I asked him in Italian if he had any of the cream croissants, something shifted in him, and he exclaimed excitedly that my Italian is improving and he would love for me to come in more often and practice. Therefore, teaching me consistency is the way to go because once the Florentines realize you are not just a tourist popping in for a day, they begin to want to help you and get to know you. So to close off this blog post my main advice for anyone who is studying abroad and wants to live authentically is keep being persistent and do it, nothing has been quite as rewarding as beginning to be accepted as something other than a tourist while being in Florence!
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