View of the Ponte Vecchio at dusk
I signed up to study in Italy without any knowledge of the italian language. Over the summer, I learned a few words online and then showed up in Italy ready to immerse myself in the language and culture for a semester of being part of the Florentine community. However, to any Italian who hears me stutter a heavily accented “Grazie,” I am nothing more than a common tourist filling the streets; the same tourists I get annoyed at for making me late to class. Almost every Italian I have talked to has been able to communicate in English, and whenever I need to revert to English to communicate with someone, I feel guilty and embarrassed that I am not learning the language faster.
The quaint kitchen in our apartment
However, I finally came to accept that I will not be able to learn fluent Italian in a semester, and most definitely not in the first couple of weeks. While I let the Italian tongue soak in for a while to get comfortable using it on the streets, I am learning a lot about body language and using the few words I know to communicate the necessities in a city full of worldly languages and tourists just trying to get some gelato. The goal of this strategy is to appear as ethnically ambiguous as possible because the second I stumble over italian words, the person I am speaking to will automatically start communicating in English. I will never learn Italian if I am only hearing English from the locals, even though reverting to english it is a very compelling safety net. Until I know enough Italian to keep me from defaulting to english, I have replaced common words usually uttered in public like ‘sorry,’ ‘hello,’ or ‘that’s alright’ with various grunts, facial expressions and hand gestures even though I know these simple words in Italian because my accent will not be immediately recognizable. In fact, there was one particularly proud moment I successfully proceeded through a grocery store line without the cashier knowing I didn’t speak Italian and giving me my total in English. I learned a new number that day.
View of the city of Florence
If you ever get the pleasure of visiting Italy, this incredible feat may be completed as such: Greet the cashier with a soft ciao and then basically stop talking. When they look at you and say something that sounds like it may be a question, don’t panic and look scared like I did my first time. Just shake your head nonchalantly, perhaps an accompanying “no” because they are most likely asking if you would like to purchase a bag. And if that is not what they were asking, the odds are in your favor that “no” is an appropriate response to many other questions they may be asking. They will finish scanning your items, and give you your total. If you don’t understand your total because they are speaking really fast or you haven’t learned your numbers yet, you can either try to sneak a peek at the register or just hand them a large bill or credit card. Another convincing ciao at the end seals the deal. You just passed as an Italian.
Visiting an artisan’s alabaster workshop in Volterra on the first SAI excursion
Jessica is a student at Colorado State University studying at Florence University of the Arts during the Fall 2013 term.
