While I went to Italy to learn more about the Italian culture and language, I also was able to learn about how the United States is perceived from the outside. Luckily, this was a topic of conversation in one of my language classes.
During this lesson, our instructor asked us to discuss what our different government systems are like as we had just discussed the Italian bureaucracy. Beyond the Notre Dame students whom I shared my class with, there were students from Switzerland and Spain. They each explained their governments leaving the US citizens to be the last to explain. I recall our instructor pointing the conversation towards the way that other countries view the United States government. He asked us about the way the government works given that no one really agrees on anything. I was shocked at how well he seemed to understand the state of our government. Not only did he point the question this way, but the citizens from the other European countries were also wondering the same. This encounter was quite eye-opening about the reputation of the American government in other democratic nations.
In general, there was no obvious dislike of Americans from the Italians. They were welcoming and most were interested to hear where you were from as well as what brought you to Italy. However, it was common that even if you began to speak with the Italians in their language, they would switch to English right away after hearing Italian with an American accent. By another request, most would continue to talk to you in Italian knowing that your purpose in the country was to learn their language.
Beyond the language barrier, many Italians like to share their culture and learn more about the American culture. They ask questions about life in America, the different cities that we each come from, and all seem to know about the city of New York as a place with many cultures. During our many class discussions, we compared the culture of the countries we each live in. Comparing foods, social lives, popular culture, sports, and entertainment. The Italians and other Europeans seemed to understand our culture through the lens of the shows and films that they were able to watch. Some friends we had made in class from Switzerland also discussed how they came to understand US culture through watching our television shows and movies on Netflix. Our music also greatly impacts what they think of our culture. Thus, how we are portrayed within media through television, film, and social media.
