Submitted by Hannah Brown on the 2020 winter session study abroad program in Italy sponsored by the Department of English…
For our second week in Rome, we went to see the Castel Sant’angelo on Monday, before getting on a bus and heading off to Florence for the remainder of the rogram. We took a tour around Florence, went to see the Uffitzi, and saw a lot of cathedrals along the way. This was also the week that my friends and I decided to do a guided tour that would take us to Pisa, San Gimignano, and Siena. This was a lot of fun because not only was it a great experience for the price we paid, but it was fun doing an excursion away from the rest of the group (just because it is easier to travel with six people as compared to thirty-five people).
After another week in Italy, I feel like I am starting to understand some of the differences between European and American Culture. For starters, there is no rush to do anything here. When I am back at UD, I feel like I am constantly stressed; I’m running from one place to the next and worry about all of my work, even when I am trying to take a break. After this week though, I found myself okay with doing “nothing.” I have taken walks without a real purpose, and I have spent upwards of 2.5 hours at dinner. I found myself relaxing and focusing on the conversations I was having rather than moving to the next place. Another difference relates to how forward Italian men can be. While on this program, I experienced on a few different occasions men trying to “sweet-talk” me into doing things. Whether that was trying to usher me into a restaurant or trying to sell me their product, it felt like every time my friends and I went anywhere, someone was shouting bella after us. It can feel very invasive when this happens, but I feel like I’ve grown a thicker skin from it.
