Conversations
February 4th, 2011
I was next door at Mesopotamia Kebob earlier (surprised?) and I met this guy from Australia named Alessandro. He asked to sit down with me since it was crowded and we were both alone. We became fast friends and we ended up walking to a caffe and having a cappuccino together. He doesn't speak English very well, but we both speak some Spanish so we managed to have a part English, part Italian, part Spanish conversation for two hours! He was helping me with my Italian and I was helping him with his English. When we couldn't communicate in Italian or English we would try to explain things in Spanish, and it worked! I had so much fun and actually learned a lot! I realized my main problem is that I am not confident with speaking in Italian so I usually shy away and pretend I don't understand. It's an incredibly beautiful language and from now on I decided I am going to be more confident when I am speaking.
In one of the first workshops we participated in we talked about culture shock and what exactly it is. At first I didn't know what culture shock was and didn't understand it. They said we'd feel lost and have all these severe emotions, which I had yet to feel. However, after communicating with Alessandro in three different languages all at once, I began to realize just how culture shocked I was. Shortly after I went into the grocery store to grab a few things and I felt so stupid that I couldn't talk to the cashier like I would at home. I started realizing how awkward I had been feeling in situations that are so habitual and normal to me at home, like ordering coffee or shopping. I feel awkward because I don't know what the social norms are and what behavior is appropriate or considered normal here. I definitely need to be more perceptive and aware of how the locals act in these situations.