Author: jwilde2

The cultural incident that I experienced in Siena happened when I went to the local gym to try and get a membership. I challenged myself to speak Italian as much as I could before I got to the gym just to ensure that I was in the right mindset before entering. I have found this technique useful as it helps me have a sort of template before entering a foreign situation like a language interaction. When I entered, everything was going fine until I incorrectly conjugated a verb when discussing the membership. It was like a switch had flipped in the mind of the man I was talking to about the membership. He began speaking slower with me and then eventually switched to english. 

This was a difficult moment for me because it showed that no matter how much I may know the language, there would always be a cultural barrier between me and the native italians. It was as if he was seeing me through another lens after that moment. I will continue to learn about the culture, especially the Sienese culture, in order to be able  to understand these types of interactions more fully in the future.

I cannot wait to travel to Italy! I have been reflecting a lot on how my own cultural experience will affect the experience I am about to have as a student in Italy. For most of my life, I have definitely been a part of the dominant cultural group. While I have learned much about my Scandinavian heritage, being part of the culture that is usually accepted does leave lots of info about other cultures out. Although America is home to many cultures, marginalization is common and therefore I think it’s very important to interact with other cultures despite the inherent difficulty behind doing so. 

I think this was reflected in the fact that our IDI score as a class had a high perceived acceptance but a low actual general acceptance. This is one of the major reasons why it will be so beneficial for us as a class to take advantage of this generous grant that has been given to us. I, for one, am very excited to be adventuring to another country in order to increase my exposure to cultural diversity in Siena, Italy. 

It has been interesting getting to talk to my fellow cohort on what we wish to experience or what may be difficult when we go abroad. The main things that were brought up were cultural detachments with regard to custom, religion, and most glaringly, language. We all agreed that this would be an integral experience in forming how we view the world and how we can become more culturally aware in the future. 

I have two major goals that I would like to pursue in order to deepen my cultural experience of Italy. I would like to enrich my cultural understanding of Italy, especially in the context of smaller cities as compared with large cultural centers. I think that this would be very beneficial as the roots of a country are found in its small towns just as much as its large towns. I also plan to learn much more about Italian history and how the many cultural shifts that it has undergone have led to a rich and diverse culture. 

Overall, I am so grateful to be going back to Italy. I feel as though I have an obligation to nurture the chance that I have been given through my living in Italy when I was very young. Notre Dame has already given me so much in terms of Italian resources and this is my opportunity to capitalize on what I have been given and truly immerse myself in Italian culture and language for five weeks. I believe that this will lead to a huge increase in my Italian language skills and help boost my future research in Italian or just my general knowledge of the country and its history.