Submitted by Elizabeth Marano on the 2016 winter session program in Siena, Italy sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
My third week in Italy consisted of more work than I anticipated. Yes, it is called “study” abroad, but being in a new and breathtaking country made me forget that being in school was a part of the experience. Although we sit through about four hours of Italian class a day, the days seem to be flying by. Right after we took our mid-term, we went to this market they have in Siena every Wednesday. It filled up several streets and they sold everything from clothes and jewelry to cheese and chocolates. I am constantly amazed by the prices of products in Italy. At the Wednesday market, there were nice jackets and sweaters for only five euros each! I also bought a two liter water bottle for only twenty-four cents! I can’t think of anything I can buy for twenty-four cents in America. It is really interesting to compare and contrast the differences of life between home and Italy.
The other night, our group got to take a cooking class at our school. We all split up and made different components of the meal, and in the end we all sat down and ate the dinner together. Seeing and participating in making homemade pasta was such a cool moment because I never thought that I would be doing that in the middle of Italy. It was so much fun immersing ourselves in such a big part of their culture.
Our weekend excursions to different cities always gets me excited. I love comparing the cities in Italy because they all have their own character, much like the different states in America. I like living in Siena because it is quieter, but it becomes lively when you are closer to the center. Other cities we’ve seen like Naples and Florence are bigger and louder, and even remind me a little of New York City.
So yes, I’ve learned a lot more about the language and the history of Italy in the classrooms and in readings, but immersing myself in the culture has shown and taught me things that can’t be expressed in a textbook.