Ciao ! It has been another busy, yet amazing, week in Sorrento. The adventures of this past week consisted of two different community outreach workshops that I was able to observe and assist with for my internship and a trip to Rome!
The first of the workshops involved professional hair stylists cutting and styling the hair of disabled women in the Naples community. The woman who works with L.E.S.S. that brought me to the workshop said, and I couldn’t agree more, that everyone deserves to have their personal hygiene needs met. As hair care falls into that category, this workshop is an initiative that L.E.S.S. has started. The second workshop was a help desk for refugees in the Naples area. There were people stationed to aid with applications for international protection as well as to assist in the search for jobs and housing. Being able to observe this workshop taught me a lot about the process for international protection in Italy and the European Union in general. People from all over the world, including countries like Venezuela, Ukraine, Tunisia, Georgia, and Chile, visited the workshop. Seeing these refugees in person generates an immense amount of empathy. It’s evident that these people are in an awful situation through no fault of their own. Although, I had known this to be the case before the internship, being face to face with these people truly evokes another level of empathy for immigration issues. Furthermore, I wish more people in the world were able to empathize with those in these types of situations, instead of viewing them as security threats or as who’s to blame for unemployment, for example, which, unfortunately, happens too often both in Europe and the United States. In any case, I’ve really come to appreciate the work that L.E.S.S. does for the Naples community and feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience first-hand some of that work.
In addition to working my internship, I visited the amazing city of Rome! In just two days, I was able to pack in a visit to the Vatican, where I saw St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel, as well as visits to the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Colosseum. In short, each and every one of those places were unbelievably beautiful. I found myself even a bit overwhelmed at times just from how much beauty there was to take in all at once. Especially in the Vatican, everything from the walls, to the floors, to the ceilings, was decorated in incredibly ornate mosaic, fresco, and bronze. Seeing places in person that I’ve grown up dreaming of visiting, like the Trevi Fountain (shoutout Lizzie Mcguire Movie) is hard to wrap your mind around. It felt like seeing the Eiffel Tower or Buckingham Palace for the first time. It feels impossible to truly process that you’re there, seeing it in person. The final highlight of my visit to Rome that I would like to note was the food. I had the best pasta of my life at a restaurant called “Il Duca in Trastevere”, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone visiting Rome. Dining here helped bring my Billy Joel, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”, fantasy to life.
After more than three weeks in Sorrento, I feel as though I’ve been able to develop a good grasp and understanding of Italian culture. A lot of the differences I’ve noted between Italian and American culture, existed in France as well. The ability to go to a café, order a coffee, and sit there for hours just relaxing and/or talking with friends, for example, is a prominent aspect of Italian culture. Like in France, the servers will never bring you your check unless you ask for it, as they do not want you to feel rushed out or unwanted. Given that I had already experienced this cultural difference earlier in the summer, I did not find it to be a difficult adjustment. However, another way in which the Italians are more laid-back than Americans, that I did consider to be a bit of an adjustment, is with regards to work culture. Nothing feels more American than working as much as you are absolutely capable of. Italians, however, appreciate time off as well as a more laid-back office environment, much more than Americans. Of course, this is not to say they are not as productive or anything of the sort, rather that there is a cultural difference with how work is regarded. Being used to the American work culture, it was definitely a bit of an adjustment when I first started my internship.
Discovering cultural differences like this is one of the many reasons I am very content to have worked this internship. I feel as though it has taken me greatly out of my comfort zone. One of the most important things I have learned during my time abroad is how rewarding it can be when you push yourself to dive deeper than a typical tourist into the culture of the country you’re in. Being forced to leave the tourist town of Sorrento, take the Circumvesuviana, and work at an office in Naples with Italians, has enabled me to considerably immerse myself in Italian culture. I’ve learned a lot by being challenged to navigate my work commute, a language barrier, and a different work culture. If I were to rate myself on my willingness to leave my comfort zone during this program, I would give myself a 9/10, and for that I am proud. The one area I do think I could improve on would be my willingness to attempt to speak Italian with the locals. As of right now, I’m able to order food and have very simple conversations in Italian, so my goal is to continue pushing myself to speak more.
I truly feel as though I could go on and on about all I have learned but considering the class and internship work that is calling my name right now, I will be concluding this week’s blog post. Next week I will be able to update about my trip to Florence, so stay tuned for that!
Until next time!
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