Language Issues

Today is our last day of our study abroad program it was sad to say goodbye to our mentor Ilaria and our last instructor Antonio who taught us about fashion and design. The first week at IULM we had the opportunity to learn Italian language with Fillippo and Massimo. I would definitely say they were both my favorite instructors. We learned so much that first week they’re English was really good considering they did not think so. Even though we learned Italian and had the opportunity to practice it with the locals it was not sufficient to carry on a conversation or understand them at times given that they are fluent therefore they spoke it a lot faster and had an accent. Google translate was a lot of help when it came down to ordering food, asking for directions, shopping, and paying. I definitely did experience a language barrier at Voda phone which is a well known cell phone company in Italy.  I went in to the store to request help with the service on my sim card for my phone as it was not working and even though the sales representative spoke English there was miscommunication in which he did not understand me or was refusing to help me. Another downfall to not knowing the language was when locals asked for help and I was unable to help them. An experience like this has given me the opportunity to understand the burdens foreigner’s have when they come to US not knowing the language. Learning the Italian language is essential in everyday life in Italy, being fluent in English and Spanish helped me learn the language as most of the Italian is very similar to the Spanish language. I hope to keep the little bit of Italian that I learned while being here by practicing it with my new Italian friends I made so it won’t be forgotten.