Felice di tornare in Italia!

Fortunately, my first study abroad experience was last summer, on behalf of the School of Architecture’s generosity. I was able to study in Italy then as well, which increased my conviction that living in Italy greatly aided my learning of the language and regional cultures.  I say “fortunately” only because I would not have recognized on my own how important studying abroad was for my personal growth and education, and because I was thus inspired to return. While I resided in Rome in Summer 2021, I had the opportunity to travel to Florence and Siena on a school trip. I was impressed by Siena, even from just one day spent there, and heard such high praise of the Dante Alighieri School program from my Italian professors. At this point, I have been back in Rome for two weeks already, and I am very excited to expand upon my language learning in Siena. I feel that this time now, living here and doing an internship with my architecture professor, allows me to “warm up” once again with the language and with the way of life. 

I have been incorporating the Italian language when I can, which is fairly accessible due to being in Italy. This has taken many forms: listening to my professor and his colleagues speak about a design proposal and gleaning what I can from it; ordering a cappuccino in the late morning at a small café; practicing in Italian with my professor’s daughter; and so forth. And that is why I think that studying abroad, here in Rome and, shortly, in Siena, is so empowering for a student passionate about languages. While Italian language courses have allowed me to develop a strong foundation through an incredible support system, I always feel the nervousness of speaking up in class. But here, I realize the necessity to speak up, to use the language as often the only way I can communicate and connect with other people. Being abroad, I am not worried about what a peer might think if I mess up with a phrase or conjugation; rather, I recognize that whoever I am talking to will simply appreciate my efforts and might simply not be someone I see again, so there is no embarrassment to be felt. Not concerned about “messing up” allows me to grow, so I am eager to enter the immersive language program and more deeply understand the language. By the time I return to campus in August, I hope that feelings of hesitation will have washed away, so that I may more actively engage with material in the classroom.

As an architecture student with an interest in urbanism, living in Siena, paired with culture courses, will greatly enrich my studies of architecture and history overall. I plan to draw and walk through the city in a way that will help me better understand the planning and motivations behind architectural styles and urbanistic choices. The immersive experience will allow me the time to reflect on this. Furthermore, I enjoy learning slang and popular expressions in my target language. I think it allows me to be more in touch with Italian beyond just knowing vocabulary or grammar. 

As a language learner, I recognize it is very valuable to make many mistakes to learn quickly. However, I also think matching the cadence or typical pronunciation of letters in the target language, to the best of your ability, is very beneficial as a learner. For instance, if I mess up the cadence or pronunciation of the first words I say when talking to a native Italian speaker, sometimes they may default to English. While I recognize they are doing this to help me out, I value even more the opportunity to keep speaking so that I may get extra practice. If I disguise just a bit longer that I am an early learner, i.e. pronounce words in a comparable way, then this affords me the chance to avoid this “default to English” and get more speaking time in Italian! So I would love to learn more about pronunciation and matching the rhythm of the Italian language, to allow my practice and conversation with locals to flow more easily.

What largely prompted my desire to return to Italy this summer is because of how much I felt that my time here changed me. With each week that passed in Summer 2021, I felt myself continually in awe of the language, the various cultures throughout the country, the rich architectural history, and the walkable cities. I did not anticipate that my time abroad would have that much of an effect on me, but it did. I started to see what it might look like to be a lifelong learner. Were there course assignments when I was here last summer? Sure. But were the focuses of those the limits of my education then? Not at all. Even on weekend trips independent from academic study, I felt my horizons expanding greatly. I come from a more suburban area of Southwest Florida, so I had never been able to walk around a city everyday as my primary means of movement. I love my home, of course, but to walk around in Rome – Siena – Florence – Naples – Venice – etc. etc. finally brought to light the lessons of urbanism that had intrigued me in school, but had never really stuck until now. My two greatest passions are brought together here: design and language. And what really impressed me across last summer and this summer is how important applying your studies to everyday life is for understanding, personal growth, and increased interest. I trust that with the start of the Siena program, about two weeks away, I will delve deeper into what about the Italian language is so moving – and with that, the study of language in general – and into why architecture and urbanism truly shape the life of visitors and residents alike.