By: Bianca Capretta
Bianca is a Teach Abroad Italy Participant and has finished her first full month abroad.
After exactly a month of living in Italy, a fantastic thing occurred–I dreamt in Italian for the first time! I’m learning so much of the language through speaking with my host family, non-English teachers at school, random elderly folk, people in cafes, restaurants, and stores (even though they speak back to me in English, I stand my ground and continue in Italian). Outside of that, I’ve also been spending my free time studying Italian vocabulary and grammar, watching TVs and movies in Italian with Italian subtitles, AND I started using this language exchange app called “Tandem”. I finally made a friend my age named Ilaria through this app, and we’ve been meeting over coffee to practice my Italian and her English (and sharing some great music too–that’s how I discovered “Aglio e Olio” and “Pesto” are actual songs, but “Casomai” is probably my favorite so far). In just over a month, I’ve improved so much more than I ever did in one semester of Italian in college 😂
After saying the wrong Italian phrase upon leaving a store the other day (near this square pictured above), the owner (a stubborn old man with a long and curvy mustache) was determined that I understand Italian greetings. Here is a mini lesson on what I learned:
- If it’s anytime of day when the sun is shining, it’s acceptable to say “Buon giorno”. You can say “Buona giornata” when you leave a place
- If it’s after 4pm, however, most folks start using “Buonasera” when they greet each other (even if it’s light out). You can use “Buona serata” when leaving
- If it’s past 10pm or the last time you’ll see someone for the evening, say “Buona notte”
I’m writing this blog post at the halfway point of my time teaching English in Torino. After the first two weeks of only introducing myself in classes, I started teaching several new lessons these past two weeks which made my days increasingly more interesting:
- I’ve explained what it’s like to live and work in New York City as the 2nd years here are focusing on work experience and CVs (we also listened to “Empire State of Mind“)
- I’ve read Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Wall” and explored walls as a theme with 3rd years (I decided to share a song from Hadestown the musical, “Why we build the wall” aptly suited for the lesson)
- We’ve talked about gender discrimination in the workplace, in travel, in families, and generally in the world with 3rd years
- Led discussions on the American Civil War and listened to “Civil War” by Guns N Roses with 4th years
- Taught Transcendentalism through Prince’s song “Walk don’t Walk” and Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of the Open Road” with 5th years
- Brought awareness to the history of Native Americans, how they’ve been prisoners of war, and how it’s shaped American history (a really moving TED talk here if you’re interested)
As you can probably tell, I’ve enjoyed bringing music into the classroom! I use songs as a listening comprehension exercise where the students need to fill in missing lyrics. For 75% of the classes, I’ve been preparing class activities by myself, so I’m honestly re-learning a lot about American history and becoming a pro at printing and photocopying using an old-time printer. I didn’t expect to be teaching Italian students about the American Civil War, Transcendentalism, or Native American history, but here I am simultaneously teaching and learning. It’s neat that students are not only learning the English language but also getting exposure to American and British history and culture. But am I the most equipped to be teaching these topics? Who knows, but they trust me more than I expected!
Here are some fun things I’ve been up to outside the classroom:
– attending live Baroque music with an average audience age of 72
– checking out some pretty incredible photography. I saw an exhibit on Lee Miller depicting the post-World War 2 era and the World Press Photo exhibition with other teachers in the city
– buying many beautiful and exotic plants with my host family
– attending dinner parties with new friends and friends of my host family (the Italians really know how to bring people together and make it look effortless!)
– dancing at the disco and seeing some cool underground DJs (it surprised me to find that people up to their 70s go to the club here!)
– wandering museums like Egizio (the world’s 2nd biggest Egyptian museum), the Cinema museum, and the Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi (an old palace in the countryside)
– meeting other internationals and Italians at meetup events to practice Italian
– joining an Italian gym and learning that Janik Sinner was recently there
– learning that the return policy at some Italian stores does not work the same way as it does in America (you get a credit on a piece of paper that can only be used at certain stores, weird)
– attending an Italian stand-up comedy show. I crossed my fingers that I wouldn’t be picked out, but we caught the emcee’s attention when my friend translated some jokes for me. Eventually my American identity was leaked 😂
– more thrift shopping than I expected at the local flea markets and vintage stores
– attending a food festival called Buonissimo where they had little snacks and a free wine tasting
Last weekend, one of my dear friends Hélène from Switzerland visited me in Torino and we had a ball exploring the city together! The time I’ve spent here so far made me a pretty solid tour guide… we enjoyed late-night aperitivo, sipped on bicerin (a classic Piemonte drink with whipped cream, coffee, and chocolate), ate tramezzino (small, crustless sandwiches), splurged on fancy Piemonte food like Vitello Tonnato and Agnolotti, rode a transparent glass elevator up to the top of the Mole Antonelliana to get 360 degree views of the city, wandered an autumnal festival eating everything in our path, and had an easy, continuous flow of conversation through it all, reflecting on our past selves and how we’ve changed over the years. Even though I’m surrounded by so many people here, the last couple weeks have felt a bit lonely at times, or rather, missing the people with whom I’ve built strong connections. It nourished my soul to have quality friend time with someone I’ve known since I was 16!
Another notable memory was just the other night–the last night with my host family before switching homes–where they surprised me at the coziest and most charming osteria in the city: an Abruzzese restaurant called “Da Giannino”. Simply mentioning my family is from Abruzzo has led to some of the kindest and most thoughtful moments here. For antipasti, they wanted me to try Olive all’Ascolana (olives stuffed with meat) and Pallotte Cacio e Ova (cheese and egg balls made with pecorino), and of course we had to eat Arrosticini (traditional meat skewers). For primi, I tried a Melanzane Ricotta Guanciale pasta bigger than my face (I could not finish it which was a first for me). And for dolci, we shared Cantucci which is a plate of biscotti that you dip in a sweet orange wine called Vin Santo. With an iconic Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine paired with dinner, the walls decked out with old photos and clocks from Abruzzo, picnic-style red and white checkered tablecloths, and classic Italian banter pouring throughout the restaurant, it was a night to remember.
As a fun, little send-off: did you know dogs are allowed in nearly all Italian restaurants?! This little guy (Muzzi) joined us everywhere we ate out 🙂
ciao ciao for now!
Learn more about our Teach Abroad Italy Program
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