An Absolute Must

This past summer I spent two months in Siena, Italy and had an unforgettable time. I learned so much about not only the Italian language and culture, but also of actual Italian people themselves. I made it my goal to speak as much Italian as possible so I could interact with the locals and make new friends. Plenty of people speak English in Italy but I think that showing Italians that you can speak their language is a great way to start a friendship. I made many friends and even had the privilege of going and staying at two of their house's after the program was completed. It is not easy of course to get to a level where you feel completely immersed. True immersion and fluency take a long time and many people can get discouraged and revert back to English. I did this many times because it was the easy thing to do, but I found that when I really tried to speak Italian only, it became easier and going back to English became less common. I would encourage everyone studying abroad to speak the language as much as possible and try to meet local people. The friends I made in my program were fantastic, and I also made friends outside of it who were equally fantastic. Siena is a great place to live because, unlike Florence or Rome, it is a smaller, less tourist heavy town, and it feels like a more authentic Italian experience. The program was incredible and I already wish I could go back.