Student Bloggers
Fun, Fast, Exciting and Intense
Date
September 24, 2018It has been a whirlwind of a first week here in Perugia. It feels like I have been living in this city for at least a couple of weeks but it has only been a matter of days. The other Americans and I are trying to adapt to the differences in culture. Each meal has a set time to be eaten (and it is a lot later than we are used to) and the cheap food and drink make for a hard time maintaining a budget. I will also point out that the drinking culture is a lot more social than in America. Everyone will drink a glass or two of wine with dinner but almost never drink without any sort of food item next to it. This is really nice and has allowed for us all to sit down for aperitivos (appetizer-type food) and learn about each other.
For the first four days of the program, we were placed in intensive Italian classes so we would be better able to communicate with the locals. So far I have met a bartender named Fabio (he loves us because we get to practice our Italian with him and his English with us) and a pair of baristas, Anna and Nicoletta. Everyone is very nice and try to help us with our Italian as much as they can. However, the intensive week was exactly as it sounds, intensive. We learned a lot but it has been really hard to maintain the lessons because of the speed at which we had to cover everything. Overall, our Italian skills have greatly improved and we’re able to count, introduce ourselves, and order food.
Another interesting change from the States is that they ask for money owed when you’re getting ready to leave, this applies to every setting (not just sit down restaurants). I frequent a local caffè, Caffè del banco, and will get a cappuccino or espresso and they won’t usually accept payment until you leave. I’m so used to paying as soon as you order or receive the item. It is interesting to observe how trusting this culture is, I’m used to people who would probably be less than honest with their payments.
While it has been a crazy week, it has been extremely rewarding and gratifying to finally be experiencing all of this. Classes start on 3 Settembre (September 3rd) and I couldn’t be more excited. I have a hefty course load (18 hours) but look forward to all of the planned trips and the spontaneous ones as well.
A presto!