Stages (Le Fasi)
As an inevitable experience that happens to every study abroad student, culture shock comes and goes in a series of stages. First, there’s the Honeymoon Stage in which the traveler is overwhelmingly keeping a positive attitude about the culture of their host country. One is typically enamored by the language, people, the food, and his or her new surroundings. During this stage, studying abroad feels like the best decision he or she has ever made, leading to a thrilling adventure overseas. The successive stage, Frustration, focuses on the opposite. As one of the most difficult stages of culture shock, one may experience a plethora of linguistic barriers if he or she is not familiar with the native language. Therefore, since John Cabot is an American university situated in the heart of Rome, a majority of study abroad students speak little to minimal Italian, as a result a wide variety of my classmates tend to fall in this stage. Without knowing the language, you lose the simple pleasure of being able to order food, finding items in a grocery store or asking a local for directions. Lastly, this stage emphasizes the feelings of nostalgia and depression, indicating the longing to return to your home country where things are common, familiar and linguistically easier. Consecutively, the Adjustment stage, underlines the way the traveler can adjust to his or her own unfamiliar environment. With various resources, the traveler starts to feel more familiar with their host country by navigating the city more easily, as well as uttering some helpful phrases in the host country’s native language. In fact, John Cabot University, has a plethora of resources study abroad students can utilize to feel more adjusted and comfortable in Italy. For instance, in terms of the language barrier, a study abroad student has the option to take an Italian language course at the university that’s suited to his or her level. Lastly, the final stage, Acceptance, aims to emphasize that the traveler no longer feels like he or she is in a foreign country. In fact, the host country feels like another home away from home. The aspects of the foreign culture no longer elicit negative feelings of discontent but instead emits feelings of contentment and positivity. At this point, the traveler can live and study in their host country to the fullest of their potential. In the end, he or she ends up appreciating the host country as a whole.
Therefore, below I would like to share my own personal examples of culture shock that I have experienced since I’ve been in Italy.
Il Spazio Personale (Personal Space)
Once I started my semester in Rome, I started having trouble with Italians respecting my personal space. Most of the time, this usually happens on different modes of transportation such as the tram, the bus, and the metro. In the Honeymoon stage, during the first two weeks having no personal space didn’t seem to bother me as much since I was completely fascinated by Italy in general. I spent my time focusing more on whether or not I could eavesdrop on Italian conversations on the tram than on having my own personal space. However, as a few months passed by, I started to enter the Frustration Stage in which I became quite discontent with the way some Italians were pushing or shoving against me in the tram. Unlike Rome, in NYC, whenever the bus or subway seemed to be crowded one doesn’t end up violating another person’s personal space. For instance, on the tram a few weeks ago, I experienced a dilemma on the tram when a woman casually ended up putting her hand on my shoulder while she was waiting for her stop. In NYC, this situation would’ve never happened since New Yorkers tend to be cruder and say “Don’t touch me”. However, since I’m in a foreign country no matter how frustrated I was in the moment, I decided to let it slide, to not appear as a “rude” American to a crowd of Italians. During the Adjustment stage, as I’ve mentioned before, I tend to be more respectful or calm towards those who invade my personal space. In fact, after living here for a couple of months I’m quite used to it. Therefore, during the acceptance stage, I’ve associated an Italian’s way of invading personal space to realizing that they’re okay with being around others who they are not familiar with at all. In fact, Italians, are more open to communication with strangers compared to Americans; they even consider it rude to turn their back to one another, since it prevents the opportunity for conversation. Therefore, when an Italian invades my personal space I appreciate it more due to the positive connotation.
Cornetti, Biscotti, e Ciambelle (Croissants, Cookies, and Ciambellas)
In addition, I would like to address the Italian Breakfast of cornetti, biscotti, and ciambelle. During the Honeymoon stage, I was enamored by all the different pastries and sweets I would get to taste once I arrived in Rome. In fact, my favorite one of all is the ciambella, a sweet doughnut shape pastry that varies from region to region, resembling a Bundt cake. Every time, I need breakfast this pastry is my go-to and my usual! However, as the Frustration stage commenced, I started to abhor consuming sugar every day for breakfast. In fact, eating breakfast in Italy would be a little American girl or boy’s dream. Eventually, I started to miss the usual American breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon, hoping there would be an alternative in Italy. Therefore, in the Adjustment Stage, I started getting used to the Italian breakfast, by picking the healthier alternative. For example, instead of eating a ciambella coated in sugar and cream I ate a plain one. During the acceptance stage, I never thought I would actually appreciate the Italian breakfast, but I realized that this style of breakfast is helping me not get to accustomed to what I usually eat in America. In fact, eating breakfast in Italy has opened my eyes to the world even more since every country has their own way of eating breakfast.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post, I’ll see you in my next one!
Jade
