Before coming to Dickinson, I knew that I wanted to study abroad in Bologna and that I would become very involved with the Italian Department on and off campus. However, up until last year, Italian majors did not have the option to live with a host family, which broke my heart, considering I knew that we had a strong center and many opportunities to hone in on our Italian language skills. Two years later, I am happy to be one of the first students to benefit from living with a host family.

Before coming here, I was nervous that it would be hard adjusting to a new culture and living with a family that I had never met prior to my arrival due to a previous bad host family experience; however, they all welcomed me with open arms. This choice has worked miracles in expanding my vocabulary and in learning more of the nuances of the language that you cannot learn inside of a classroom, which are tied to its dynamic culture. Having host parents and three host siblings has been a blessing and has allowed me to enter into the Bolognese culture by eating meals and spending time with my host cousins, aunts, and grandparents, and with my host family’s friends who come over very often. We often also watch television programs, such as the Italian version of The X Factor, or watch original Italian movies, or movies with Italian subtitles, which has given me even more insight into Italian culture.

What has made this a worthwhile experience has been knowing that I will always have a native speaker and friend to talk to as soon as I come home and that they are a support system when I need help, advice, or feel alone. Believe me, being abroad is one of the hardest decisions you will ever have to make and being far way from your loved ones can be tough, especially when you are a homebody like me. On the other hand, it is also important to remember that in order to become engaged, loving, and accepting world citizens, we must challenge ourselves by learning other ways of life and other upbringings associated to a culture different from our own. Living with a host family will help you foster new friendships, will teach you how to become independent, and will give you a deeper appreciation for and understanding of Italian culture, food, language, music, and, most importantly, its people.

Due to all of these benefits, I have not been bothered by the fact that I have to commute into the city every day, as I have also found taking buses has helped me improve my listening comprehension skills. Furthermore, I learn idiomatic expressions and more colloquial language that has helped me become conversationally fluent in the language in just a matter of two months, as I am constantly surrounded by the language. As other linguists say, never underestimate the power of your brain, as it acts like a sponge when it has to focus on new words and sounds in any kind of immersive environment. All in all, I would recommend living with a host family to have a challenging, yet enriching experience and to become a more engaged member of the Bologna community by the end of the semester, or academic year.