The university offers free Italian classes for all Erasmus
students. Classes are held at different levels of proficiency, at two different
locations. You are offered to do a placement test in the beginning of the term
to determine your proficiency. Classes are held twice a week and you can choose
the study location most convenient for you. There are a lot of Spanish and
Portuguese students who come to study courses held in Italian. Sometimes I could
communicate better with Italians if I spoke Spanish rather than English.
Understanding Spanish helped me to understand a lot of Italian words; they are
really that similar.
Italians are not confident English speakers and they give up
trying to understand you after just a few minutes. From my point of view,
Italians have a pre-conceived notion of what you, as a customer, may ask for.
If your question concerns something out of usual it is very hard for them to
understand what or even why you are asking them in the first place. Italians
do not understand the concept of asking due to curiosity, to them, asking a
question means you require something from them and they will try to figure out
what it is that you want or need. This made up for more than a few
misunderstandings.
The Italian attitude is “whatever you want, do as you
please”. Italians are good at making suggestions but they leave the decision
making up to you; often with a hint of “I don’t really care what you do”. Often
this is also the case, they have little expectation on your performance and
therefore accept your efforts however you choose to solve the problem. On the
other hand, Italians have explained to me that most likely they actually do care
if you choose to follow their advice and they judge you upon your decision. It
is only part of the social rule to act as if you do not mind what is somebody
else’s business. Fortunately, Italians do not hold grudges.
A coffee break is always welcome. In a sense, the coffee
breaks offer a regenerative moment free from stress that is sacred to the
Italians. Taking a break is healthy and Italians know it. The coffee break is
how they socialize. The people you take for a coffee are the people you would
like to know better. Interestingly, most coffee breaks are short, a shot of
espresso at the bar counter and off again, only to return in the afternoon for
the next shot of espresso.