my study abroad program, aifs provides is with monthly opportunities to sign up for various activities such as cooking classes, wine tasting, soccer matches, filed trips, gelato tours (not that i need another excuse to eat gelato), dinner with italians, italian operas, and many more wonderful experiences to dive into the culture. i have been signing up for as many as my schedule will allow in order to fully satisfy my craving for the italian culture. one of my favorite activities so far has been the dinner with italians. going into this experience i was concerned there might be forced awkward conversation and that i would have to speak only in italian to these strangers. those worries were all washed away as soon as the dinner had begun. i sat with three italians in addition to some of the other students from my program who were also participating. conversations started out with basic "safe questions" consisting of where we were from, how old we were, and what we were studying. i became more and more comfortable in the situation and i was excited to use my newfound knowledge of the italian language. i talked a lot with a woman named susanna, 25 who lives in florence and does research studies in siena. she was so fun and lively. i could have kept talking to her throughout the entire evening. our conversations varied from family life to easy italian recipes that she recommended for me to cook in my apartment. i was so intrigued by her stories and her life. it is something as an american student i do not necessarily have access to. sure, i have all the museums, food, and physical surroundings to immerse myself but no one really tells you how to go about living the life of an italian. this dinner was an amazing resource into learning the not so obvious tricks and trades to italian life.
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