I Went Back to School

Italian school that is. Here's to juggling a thousand things, all while my brain further mushes my now 3 languages together.

A few weeks ago I had my first day of school. Italian school, that is. I’ve been on the waiting list for a program sponsored by the Italian government to give free Italian classes to immigrants for over a year now but I finally got a spot in this year’s group.

The first day of class I was a ball of nerves. What should I wear? Will I make friends? Will my peers have a higher or lower level than me? I felt like I was back to 15 year old me who had just started at a new school after moving towns.

Luckily this time I didn’t eat lunch in the bathroom.

Once the initial jitters wore off though, I felt good. It’s funny being in a room full of adults but having conversations at an elementary level. Where are you from? How old are you? What’s your favorite season? What sports do you like?

An out of context picture simply because I don’t have one from class

I’m in the B1 class so although we can all string together sentences, we’re still pretty basic.

Almost all of the 25 students are from different countries so even in the moments before or after class, not all of us share a common language, which means waiting at the bus stop, still speaking in halting phrases and basic vocab.

I’ve been so accustomed to speaking Italian with native speakers that can expand on my building blocks that I didn’t realize just how difficult it’d be to speak with those at my same level or below.

There was a moment on the bus last week that a group of 4 of us from class were trying to chat. I’m from the US but the others with me were from Ecuador, Georgia (the country), and Iran. We were trying to get to know each other better and hit a wall where one couldn’t explain his job.

I had this thought that we must sound so silly to the Italians standing around us but in that exact moment, one of the locals, obviously listening, leaned in and provided the word we were missing in broken English. Moments like that make me love living here so much.

Instead of rolling her eyes at our struggle, she jumped in, in another language that she herself wasn’t so confident in. To be honest, the word didn’t quite fit the context, but I thanked her anyways.

Do you need to learn the language to live abroad?

I wanted to share about this to answer a question I get asked often: do you really need to learn the local language when living abroad?

To me, I say it depends.

It depends on your goals in the country and how long you plan to stay. It depends on how integrated you want to become in the local community and how much you enjoy small talk with your neighbors.

Personally, I’ve seen a huge difference in my experience abroad when I’ve known the local language and when I haven’t.

Living in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, and Panama wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t speak Spanish. With the exception of Ecuador, I simply wouldn’t have gotten the job to keep me there. I also would never have met Raf, my husband, or gotten to know his family.

I learned Spanish in Ecuador simply out of necessity. I lived in a small town where virtually no one spoke English (my job was to teach the English teachers English). The more I learned the better my experience became. I had more fun at parties, was invited out more often, and built stronger relationships than would have been possible otherwise.

In Vietnam and South Korea, I didn’t learn the languages beyond a few basics and, truly, I can look back and see a difference in my experience.

With the exception of the teachers that worked with me in South Korea, all of my friends in both of those countries were other foreigners, where in Latin America, it was a healthy mix.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a fantastic time in these 2 countries but do know things would have been different if I could have conversed more freely with locals and built better relationships on that end, even if it was just to chat with the person squatting at the low table next to me with a bowl of soup in their lap.

Our digital nomad adventures in other Asian countries and across the Balkans sent us on the same path of learning the basics and little more. I will say though, just the basics are a game changer and something I’d recommend 100% no matter how short of a stay you’re planning.

Now, in Italy, we’re dreaming up a life here. I’ve felt the swap from nomad/expat to immigrant. We want to buy a house and put down roots.

And to me, a big piece of that puzzle is getting more comfortable in Italian for day-to-day things and to not limit our friend pool only to those who speak English (or Spanish).

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Learning another language, especially as an adult isn’t easy. It’s tough out here and requires you to drop any shame and be OK with sounding a bit dumb. All that confidence you usually have talking will fly out the window the moment you realize you can’t express the simplest ideas.

But, it will open up a lot of doors when living abroad.

You’ll be able to go to the doctor with confidence (I’ve never had a doctor’s appointment in English in Italy for example), you’ll be able to schedule things over the phone, you won’t have to rely on a translator deal with your visa or buying a home, and best of all, you can actually connect with those around you.

The rest of the this month I’ll share more about language learning and a few of my most ridiculous language barrier moments.

xx,
Kat