Meeting Italians

Developing friendships with locals can add significantly to your learning experience in Italy.  Besides language practice, you can also gain insight into the local culture and society.  Middlebury encourages you to meet and talk to local citizens. Building friendships with students can be a rewarding and insightful experience, and the School in Italy strongly encourages you to pursue such relationships.

One of the questions we are asked most frequently is how to go about meeting Italian students.  You will need some courage and a good deal of initiative; results may not live up to your expectations, especially right away, but be patient.  Those of your predecessors who have been successful in this respect would say that the best approach is to find a group activity that includes Italian people: playing sports, choral singing, cooking/wine tasting courses, volunteer work, internships, etc.

Keep in mind the strategies you would use at home to meet people you are interested in knowing: you try to be where they are, you try to share an interest or an activity that will bring you into contact with them, and you get to know people who know them. It goes without saying, if you have one or two Italian-speaking acquaintances to start, it can only make things easier. Conversely, if you insist on speaking English, it will make interacting with locals more difficult.

Hear advice from other students about making friends while abroad! Watch this video here.