Ciao!
It’s hard to believe it, but as I write this I am in the middle of midterm exams and spring break is this weekend. That means, I am about halfway through my stay in Florence. At this point, I have gone through many ups and downs, have adopted some Italian tendencies and have yet to figure out many.
My school, CEA CAPA, has a program where we each get matched with a local family and spend time with them to get to know the Italian culture on a personal level. I am finally getting time to get to know my family and pick their brains on not only the Italian culture but the Florentine Culture! I definitely was nervous to spend time with them at first but they are jsut as excited to learn about me as I am about them. As it turns out, many of the things I was told about traditional family culture, are not so true anymore. For example, I asked if they regularly eat at 8:30/9 PM like I was told, and the mother of my family told me no- it’s not practical. They eat closer to 7, like I do in the states. It was fun to have a meal with them- I made and classic chocolate chip cookies and they cooked a traditional Florentine meal fit with lambrusco and santovino. We had enriching conversations about cultural differences in topics from education to art.
Many of the cultural norms I know, I have learned from my Exploring our Global City course. This class has also taught me how to see the city through different lenses relating to culture, art, history, and more. In the first weeks, we learned different strategies for getting to know our surroundings. My strategy is to combine cognitive mapping and Semiotics & Iconography. Meaning, I really enjoy building my own mental map of where I am by putting the Google maps away, and using symbols and landmarks to connect my favorite shops with familiar streets and markets. It is so fun when I unlock another part of my mental map- realizing that one part of the city I barely know is connected a certain way to a street I know extremely well!
I suppose the biggest challenge I am facing in this very moment is the difference in expectations in the classroom. Maybe it is the nature of the subjects I am taking or it truly is a difference with Italian professors, but I feel as though I am being challeneged to understand content in a new way. Not only do professors expect memorization but it is nonegotiable to connect concepts to one another and apply personal experience too. In other words, turn your head 360 degrees when evaluating a topic. It is common for exams to be as simply as writing down everything you can about the topic in a blank text box. I have adapted by asking more in depth questions and trying different study methods. While this classroom style feels difficult now, I have to admit that I feel as though I am truly absorbing the material in a very effective way.
Arrivederci!
Brooke Eyler