Category: Uncategorized

Before this blog post I interviewed the man who was leading our a wildlife tour. When I first asked him about stereotypes he holds about Americans, he struggled to answer. He told me it’s important to distinguish between North Americans/US Americans/inhabitants of all the Americas. We are all Americans. But the real reason he struggled is because he thought we are all just people. He doesn’t like to have a preconception of someone based on where they’re from. When I dug more, and asked him for three words that come to mind, regarding US Americans, he told me missiles, colonizing, and business.

The stereotypes that he quickly identified were disheartening but not surprising. These words represent parts of America’s identity that I dissociate with. However, I can’t help but feel some trace of culpability just because I am part of this group called “US Americans.”

Looking forward (and also a bit backward), a lot of my motivation from my career comes sentiments like Fernando’s; other encounters in conversation or international perspectives on US history from college classes. This is how the world see us. If I choose to pursue the path of foreign service, that will be a primary goal: to right some of the wrongs the US has committed towards other countries and to spark new narratives of power, new narratives of peace.

I have had the fantastic opportunity to live, for the past week, in the beautiful Tuscan city of Siena. Aside from residing in in a city with such a rich history, I also love living with an elderly woman who has lived her whole life in Siena. She has given me such a detailed insight into the history and culture of my home for 5 weeks. I love the traditional Italian breakfast, served with milk hot or room temperature but never cold, and the greatest dinners I think I have ever had. I love the bond I have formed with my host. And I love keeping up with her rapid fire speech and learning new words every time we speak. But I have also learned a lot about Italian life.

One strange aspect of Italian living that I deeply appreciate, ironically in a city of such cleanliness and beauty, is the garbage system. In our apartment, Irene and I separate our garbage into plastic, metal, organic waste, paper products, and miscellaneous. Using the lens metaphor, from a wide view, this may seem like a trivial difference. However, when zooming in, this aspect of Sienese life is representative of their efficiency and respect for their environment. The Tuscan landscape is beautiful and the city of Siena is clean because Italians take even the smallest aspect of their lives as an opportunity to protect what they have inherited from the past. They want to maintain their environment so that they can continue their traditions and leave their posterity what they hold so dear in their own lives.

When I went to a store for groceries, everything was going smoothly and I felt like I was not “standing out” as an American or being disrespectful. However, once I had assembled all I had wanted to purchase, I then had to check out and pay.

I understood the first question that the checkout worker asked me. She asked me if I wanted to use bags, and I quickly responded no. Then, it was time to pay, and on the scanner read “firmare”. I did not initially recognize the word and started typing in my 4 digit code, but it was not working. Then, the checkout worker looked at me and started repeating the word to me.

I then remembered what the word meant and signed on the screen, but the situation was still quite embarrassing for a while. After some reflection, I feel better about my “slip-up”, and I am sure that from the checkout worker’s perspective that it was only a minor inconvenience and nothing too embarrassing.

When considering what I want to get out of the experience I am afforded by SLA, I think the clearest goal I have is to completely remove myself from my own cultural comfort. Though it will be difficult being surrounded by other American students, including Notre Dame students, I want to make a concerted effort to understand how a unique culture differs from my own. I have booked a homestay with a woman who speaks no English and has lived in Siena for her whole life. Although part of my decision was based on my language goals, I am honestly excited to see how a standard Sienese citizen interacts with the world. How do they react to world affairs? How do they view their own culture and how does that self reflexive view differ from my outside perspective?

I have always been interested in global politics and Italy provides a uniquely representative example of the prevailing winds in the changing political environment. They are led by a right wing populist and, in many respects, changes in their government in the early and mid 2000’s mirrored changes that were to effect other western countries in the decades to come. I look forward to participating in conversations with my host about topics similar to this. I also would love to hear about the Italian perspective on America. What can I learn from an objective assessment of my home country and culture? I look forward to my upcoming trip not only as an opportunity to expand my language skills, but also as an opportunity to use to opinions of another culture to change my behavior in order to be more accommodating and become more of a citizen of the world.