I feel like I’m pretty well adjusted to Florence, and I thought that I was getting better at blending in with Italians now that I am halfway through my program. But this week has proven otherwise. Although I know now how to navigate the train station and buy museum tickets like a local, today I outed myself as a foreigner at a business lunch. 

As part of my internship, I have been learning more about Italian business culture, everything from how important favors are for relationships to what the balance should be between career and life. Today, I met new business partners at lunch, and while everyone shared crostini with olive oil and some salt as an appetizer, at the end when a bowl of bread was set out and everyone grabbed some, I didn’t realize that it was solely because they had gotten pasta and had extra sauce in their bowls. I thought I had learned that when everyone else gets bread, I should too, even though I typically only thought of it before dinner. I grabbed a piece of bread and ate it, even though I had just had pitsa (a long, boxy pizza) and I got lots of funny looks and was politely corrected. Whoops!

Italians want you to learn their food rules since after all they are the ones who make such good food! Even though many can be learned from social media or simply observation, many are more nuanced too. Slip ups like these help me remember that I am in a different country and don’t completely know the culture, even if the people I am with help me feel included by speaking English. 

Here’s some of my favorite meals!

A few other moments that have really stuck with me that show me truly how kind and welcoming Italians are from early on in the semester. The first is when my landlord asked if I had tried her favorite dessert yet –tiramisu. When I hadn’t, she made up a fresh batch for the house so we could all enjoy! Since we had just gotten there and hadn’t learned how long food lasted yet, she told us when we needed to throw away any leftovers since it wouldn’t be fresh to eat anymore. Another moment is from a friendly nonna on the street walking her dog. When I said hi to him, she got so excited that before I could bend down and pet him, she scooped him up and put him in my arms like a baby. After some pets, she congratulated me “Brava!” That excitement and happiness showed through even though we did not perfectly speak each other’s language.

I hope to continue to approach my study abroad with the same excitement and enthusiasm as the nonna had for me and continue to learn from those around me to find the nuances all throughout my time here in Florence.