Cross Cultural Communication

Pierluca Birindelli PhD

A Wanderer through Europe

Naomi Saito

Submission: by email (file in attachment)

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0. Collective identity preliminary: Snap Judgements

To me, America is a melting pot and global superpower with a huge influence everywhere. Its

people that are loud, opinionated, and driven. My

hometown, Spokane, is a city right next to nature, where

residents are born and raised, and is too small for my

taste. People from Spokane are conservative,

close-minded, white, and also friendly. Italy is beautiful,

historically significant, and a completely new culture

and Italians are aggressive, individualistic, and excellent

cooks. In my mind, Florence is home, the heart of the Renaissance, and museum of a city; People from

Florence are annoyed with tourists, traditional, and proud of being Florentine. Europe is old, white,

historic, and the center of the world (in their mind) and Europeans are traditional, xenophobic, and

diverse in culture. When I first think of it, a“Cosmopolitan” is a magazine and a drink, but realizing that it

is a “citizen of the world,” I see it as a goal and state we should all be working to achieve. Although it is

easy to go with my gut reactions to how I would describe each of these groups, I see how these

judgements make broad generalizations of a large number of people based only on my own personal

experiences and perceptions. It is easy for me to talk about the negatives especially because, although I do

fit into some of the first groups, I do not strongly identify with them.

1. Departure: Escape

I first decided to consider a study abroad experience for this Fall when I decided that I did not

want to spend the quarter at my home university. My major allows all students to take on quarter off from

our studies without consequence in order to encourage students to take advantage of study abroad,

internships, and other opportunities. Part of me wanted to get out of Seattle to avoid getting stuck in the

same routine and do something that was different from anything else I was experiencing in Seattle. I

honestly thought that I would feel lame if all my peers were out experiencing the world and I was sitting

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in Seattle doing the same thing every day. So when the opportunity to study abroad in Florence with

Gonzaga came up, I knew I had to do it.

My situation coming into this study abroad program is very unique. My mother works for

Gonzaga University and my family lived in Florence when she was teaching here for a semester in 2008. I

was discussing options with my mom for a way to get me

out of Seattle and she made a call to the Study Abroad

Office of Gonzaga to see what programs I would be

eligible as a daughter of a professor. The head of the

department let my mom know that he would hold a spot

for me in the program to allow me a little extra time to

decide since the application deadline was approaching

very soon. I looked into a couple other options, but at the end of the day, a free study abroad experience

in a program I experienced as a child came out on top as the best option. I pay for my education at the

University of Washington on my own, so the fact that this would be a free piece of my education was an

important element in my decision making. Once I thought about the fact that I would be able to travel the

world (or at least) Europe how I had always wanted to, I knew that I had made the right decision.

Many of the images that I had of Florence and Italy were based on what I had experienced as a

child. The only pieces of Italian culture that I had really seen or experienced before we moved to Florence

were food items and the occasional character on a television program.

This meant that all of my images from personal experience were formed

during this period. Growing up after my experience abroad, the images

that I had of Florence and Italy held true but I found that I had to learn

about other parts of the cultures that most people don’t pay much

attention to as a 10-year old. I started to watch movies and see images

that showed Italy and all of Europe painted in a different light than I had

experienced them as a child. I wouldn’t say that these images completely

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overrode the ones I already had, but I do think that they created more stereotypes in my head of what

people from different European countries are like. In preparing for my travels to Florence, I began to look

for lists of places to visit and tips for travel. I found these lists on places like Pinterest of the best places to

visit and things that you have to see in every city. A common post I would find would be centered around

the best spots for getting a shot for your Instagram rather than how to experience the culture.

2. Transition (Passage): Cultures collide

Even though I had all of these elements leading me to embarking on this study a broad experience,

I had a moment after getting on the plane where I asked myself, “What the heck am I doing here?” I saw

the group of Zags excitedly talking about travelling to Florence but I only knew one person on the

program. I would consider myself a huge extrovert but I was anxious to go into this program as a total

outsider and try to integrate myself into the community. Luckily, on the first flight I began to meet zags

who were all very friendly and I already started to feel like the students were very welcoming. From when

I got off the plan in Milan I began to meet more and

more zags, some of whom would become my closest

friends in the program. The first people that I really

gravitated toward at the beginning was one of my

roommates, Josie ,as well as another non-Gonzaga

student Monique (a.k.a. le tre aeroporto amiche) both

of whom I met at the airport waiting for our bus.

Finding my place and making friends during the opening tour was an intimidating and slow process, but I

feel very fortunate that I settled in with some wonderful friends that I have maintained closeness with

throughout the semester.

The opening tour was a key part of me beginning to feel like I was actually supposed to be here

and not crazy for dropping everything to spend a semester abroad. I think that without it, I would have

had a hard time meeting people and getting a feel for the group. Especially since I knew I would be

travelling all semester, I was especially grateful begin travelling with a group where I knew that other

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people would know exactly what was going on as well as making sure we were seeing all that we needed

to see. Although I was anxious to get to Florence and get settled into the routine, the opening tour

provided a space that was not present any other time throughout the program. We also got to see parts of

Italy I never would have thought to visit if not for the opening tour.

Arriving in Florence meant we got to move into our pensiones, one of my favourite parts of the

whole program. Our hosts Massimo and Silvia are some of the most welcoming and hospitable people I

have ever met. I could write a whole essay on how much they have done for me this quarter. But in

summary, they were able to make this place feel like it was truly our home. Hearing about other

pensiones and visiting them, I could see how much

out pensione hosts truly brought us into their lives

and became our abroad mom and dad. Even the

little things like cleaning our rooms and cooking our

meals were done with such care that as students we

really began to feel like we found a place to belong.

I know that most students studying abroad have to

find their own place to live and cook for themselves, and I think that having a place to live with such

caring hosts alongside other students has kept me from getting too homesick because I love living here

with these people so much.

My first walk through the city was a very nostalgic experience for me. The center of the city is

the part that I remember best so I wanted to walk by the front of the Duomo to Piazza della Signoria. I

was basically jumping with excitement to see the places I remembered from 10 years ago. The Duomo

never fails to amaze me even now. There is absolutely nothing quite like experiencing it in person. The

city has changed a lot since I was last here but I the city still has a grandiose feel unlike any other city I

have been to. This same day, we had our Gonzaga-in-Florence orientation. Here the staff introduced us to

all the information we would need to know to survive our first few days in Florence and get ready to

begin classes. The orientation was an expectation coming from doing so many orientations at universities

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in America. Throughout the quarter I have found myself asking why they didn’t mention certain things

during the orientation, but it is not a given that they will tell us everything that we could need to know,

especially when it is not a normal practice here. Nonetheless, this orientation made me feel more

confident in my ability to be safe and thriving in this city.

My first day of school felt much more relaxed than any other I have had since being at university.

Having the time of the opening tour allowed me to meet people who would be in many of my classes so

my first classes weren’t as awkward as they could have been. I have been around the building hosting

Gonzaga-in-Florence as a child so the school itself felt very familiar. Since I am studying urban design at

UW, none of my classes here are really applicable to my major, so I just chose ones that sounded

interesting to me. I have also spent my entire college career on the fast-paced schedule of the quarter

system. Receiving my syllabi from my professors, I was surprised that we were not learning more

material in a week. Although I am sure it is much different at Gonzaga in Spokane, the schedules for the

classes were accommodating of the fact that students are abroad and travelling every weekend. Something

I did not expect since I lived here with my mother who is an American professor, is that all of my

professors were Italian and most of them even Florentines. Since I got to take classes that I was just

interested in, my class schedule was very diverse.

I took Italian 101 just like everyone else but I also

took Museum Studies, Social Psychology, and, of

course, Cross-Cultural Communication. Although

I enjoyed all my class, Communication was the

one I was the most excited to go to every week. I

especially enjoyed that we got to talk about Italians as they exist now as opposed to how they were during

the Renaissance. I found it interesting to explore the idea that Italy truly is viewed through the lense of the

grand tour painting Italians in the light of romance and perpetuating the narrative that people can go to

Italy to “find themselves” (Birindelli). I certainly had this narrative in my head without ever realizing it.

This class taught me so much without me even realizing it because we learned in the form of discussions.

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 Although very few things were able to beat my pensione host Silvia’s cooking, we went out to eat

on the weekends in Florence or wherever we were in Europe at that moment. Being students, we tended

to eat at places that were cheap and relatively quick or places that we could also study in. Some favorites

of my friends and I were Shake Café, Gusta Pizza, and

Trattoria Za Za. We also liked to make the occasional

trip to the Central Market to eat upstairs and shop

around at the stands by the market. Something that we

ate out for the most consistently was gelato. It became

a part of our routine where we would finish dinner and

then head out as a group to one of our favourite gelato

shops. We never wanted to walk too far at night so we latched onto a gelato shop called My Sugar.

They’ve come to recognize us and we genuinely enjoy giving them our patronage.

Something my mom had told me about coming into the program was that the drinking culture

would be very different here. This is not even a merit of the way Italians drink, but rather American

students bringing the culture of binge drinking here combined with the new ability of many students to

drink legally at bars. Obviously a large difference also lies in the drinking practices themselves with

Italians enjoying alcohol with meals and American students drinking to get drunk. I am also not used to

going out on Tuesday nights, but this is the night when the entire school seems to go out. Since I was

already 21 before arriving to Italy, I have found that the bars are pretty similar to the ones in America.

The biggest difference I have found is in the clubs. Although like most everywhere in Italy, the clubs play

American music (with the occasional Italian or Latin pop song), you would still not mistake the clubs

here for the ones in America. This is mostly based on the people in the clubs. In America, a man coming

up from behind me and grabbing me to trying to kiss me and get me to dance with him would be

abnormal. I have come to expect this in Italian clubs with pushing men off me and my friends being a

routine part of going to the club.

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 Over the course of the semester, there were only 3 weekends where I did not travel to another city

or country. My first weekend trips remained in Italy where I visited the Amalfi Coast, Sicily, and Venice.

Each of these trips I had a guide or group of some kind

that helped create an itinerary for the students so it was

easy to continue to take it easy and follow the plans that

others made for me. As much as I love Italy, I found

myself getting most excited for the trips where I was

travelling to a completely new country. Aside from a

trips to Rome and Trentino, the rest of my trips were

organized by myself and outside of the country. I

traveled to Barcelona, St.Andrews, Prague, London,

and Paris with friends, family or on my own. These

trips were some of the greatest because I got to decide

what we did during our time there and experience the pieces of the culture that I was most interested in.

My favorite trip was by far to see my friend studying in St. Andrews. I loved the country, the people were

so incredibly friendly, and I got to see my friend who is always living abroad. At the end of the semester

there are many other places I wish I also had the time to visit, but I know that this is not the last or only

time I will ever be in Europe.

Keeping up on things back home mostly took the form of barely keeping up on the news and

staying in touch with my family and friends. Although I kept up on the main events happening in the

United States, I have not been keeping up as well as I should because I have been in some ways trying to

avoid all of the issues happening in the United States. The most common way I knew if something big

was happening, is when I would get a notification on my phone from the news app. Something I have

especially been current on was the election. Although I was willing to skim over other pieces of the news,

I knew that it was very important to me that I fulfill my civic duty of voting even while abroad. My

parents would also let me know when something big was happening or when important news to my

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family would come in. I feel very fortunate to be studying abroad during a time where we have

technology like facetime where I can call up my family anytime they are awake and

see their faces. I call my mom at least twice a week but facetime with my family

closer to every other week. We have an ongoing group chat as well as a photo album

of my travels that I update for them that allows me to keep them updated about what

is going on as well as allows them to let me know what is going on at home.

Although I did facetime my friends on occasion, the most common way I kept up

with them was through social media. Mostly through Instagram and Facebook I was

able to see what my friends were up to back home and send them messages when I

was thinking of them.

A small thing that I managed to keep up with very well all semester was the UW Football team.

American football is my favorite sport to watch so I would wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning just to watch

the game. Since I am still a student there, I wanted to feel included in the comradery that watching this

sport creates and wanted to watch my team succeed. Although I started to slack on watching games

further into the semester, I kept up on how each game went and what it meant for them making it to a

bowl game or other championship game. A team that I

have begun to watch because of my study abroad

experience is FC Barcelona. While my friend and I were

in Barcelona we went to go see them play against Sevilla

and I fell in love with watching the team. Although

Messi fractured his arm after playing for less than 20

minutes, it was an unforgettable experience to see one of

the greatest (if not the greatest) soccer players to ever live play in his home stadium. Barca is the team I

will take home as one of my new teams to follow.

I have learned many new practices from my time in Florence that I would like to take home to

America. First of all, the pace of life here is much more relaxed and focused on the current moment rather

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than the future. As a student living in a huge tech city, I am used to everyone being go-go-go all the time.

Even little things like taking time while eating and walking at a pace where you can enjoy the walk and

the views makes a huge difference for living in the moment. To add more to that point, I would also like

to continue to walk as my main form of transportation whenever possible and not shying away from

something just because I will have to walk a lot. I wish I could take all the food home with me, but I have

seen changes in the way food is treated here as an experience and thing to be shared. I think this is so

much better than the grab and go food habits Americans hold.

During this semester I have had the privilege to volunteer with a 5th grade class at Scuole Pie

Fiorentine. Visiting once a week, I worked with their teacher to teach the students English as well as how

my culture differs from theirs. Some weeks I simply assisted the teacher with the lesson she already had

planned and other weeks I gave a presentation on American customs of some kind or gave a presentation

on a grammar structure. Through this experience I have learned so much more about Italian culture and

values. Seeing how education works here, I am able to see how differently education is approached in

different countries and how values and ideals are instilled in children beginning early in their education.

Although an uncomfortable experience at times, this experience pushed me in my Italian abilities as well

as working across a language barrier in order to still be able to communicate and get my ideas across and

understand theirs.

My social life revolved entirely around GIF students and the new friends I had made within that

group. There are certain social aspects that are a given due to the nature of the program like living with

two dozen other students in my pensione as well as having class with the same students all semester.

These groups were the people I interacted with the most due to the mere effect of proximity. Although I

feel that I was included into many groups fairly quickly in the program, I still am not a Gonzaga or LMU

student so there was not my previous experience with anyone other than the one person I knew on the

program. Although I did not feel excluded for this reason, there are many people that I had no base for

getting to know them and never met throughout the course of the entire semester. I have made many

friends over the semester that I will be very sad to leave because I have grown so close to them over the

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course of the semester. I already have plans to visit Spokane to see some of them and have made promises

to keep in touch with even more. Even though I know it is impossible to maintain all these friendships

forever, there are many more that I will be able to keep up with through social media.

Overall I have had mostly positive experiences with locals who bother to actually give me a

chance. Although those that only see me as a tourist usually interact with me with annoyance or

indifference, I have met a few who have treated me with consistent kindness and friendliness. The first of

these is the Italian student with whom me and a few classmates met with as a part of our Italian class. We

met with Mirko a total of 3 times and had engaging

conversations with him in Italian and English (but

mostly English). He was actually interested in

American culture and wanted to do what he could to

share Italian culture and language with us. Another

person that consistently met me with kindness was a

Barista at ITIT named Jennifer. She recognized me

coming in so many times and actually bothered to try and remember my name. Although she often forgot,

she always greeted me with the recognition of the interactions we have had in the past and felt bad if she

had to ask for my name again. Finally, many gelato shop owners have come to recognize me and my

friends and greet us warmly every time we visit their shop.

Experiencing beauty in Florence is easy because we are constantly surrounded by it. Especially

since it is a part of my studies, I am in love with the city itself

from the architecture and squares to the little details of how

the layout of the city was planned. I will never get over the

beauty of the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio and cannot

believe that I spent 3 months walking through this city

surrounded by so many beautiful landmarks. Being the center

of the Renaissance, the art in Florence is unparalleled. Although I only experienced a very small fraction

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of all the art Florence has to offer, I was overwhelmed by the great cultural heritage this place holds and

how many pieces of absolute mastery are contained in this city. I especially thought highly of the pieces

in Piazza della Signoria that are pieces of immense cultural importance entrusted to be viewed and

protected by the people without ever having to pay for a ticket. And although not in the city of Florence,

what I would consider to be my happy place in Florence is Fiesole. I came here as a child so it holds

many memories for me, but it also has an incredible view of the city and is set in the beautiful Tuscan

hills.

Even though I have not interacted with a great deal of young Italians that I have actually had

conversations with, I have some idea of how they differ from Americans. A huge difference I have noted

is that they live at home for a much longer time than Americans do with Italians continuing to live with

their parents past graduating from college. They also then get married and start families much later in life.

Although individualistic like Americans, they are much more pessimistic and realistic about their futures

because of the lack of jobs available in Italy. In many ways they are similar to Americans as young adults,

especially because of America’s influence on the rest of the world, but live in and adhere to another

country’s culture. This goes along with some of the positives and negatives of Italy. The positives center

around the beautiful things the culture has to offer such as the art, food, landscape, and people. Another

positive is the approach to life that the Italians have. A big negative I would consider Italy to have is that

it is still a masculine-dominated culture so there is a lot of sexism ingrained in the culture. Another

negative I perceive is that Italians are very proud of their own culture to the point where they become

xenophobic and exclusionary.

Studying abroad has become a phenomenon in my generation. It is

something that everyone wants to do and those that are luckily enough to

do so, make sure to tell every that asks about it. Gonzaga in Florence as a

group is very focused on travelling to as many places as possible and taking

advantage of everything that we can while in Italy. Although also intent on

interacting with the cultures, the nature of travelling so often for such short

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amounts of time make it so that we cannot do much more than make sure we see and eat everything on

our bucket lists. A recent development to how my generation travels is that we more often base our

travels around where we are going to eat. I would also refer to my generation as the photo generation and

this definitely applies to the GIF group. No matter where we are, it takes longer to get anywhere because

people stop to take picture and so many of them. This is so bad to the point that students will not visit

places if they are not “Instagrammable.” Luckily, most all of Europe is beautiful in this regard.

3. Arrival: Finding Home

Although I bonded well with so many students on the program, I know that they are in reality all

Americans and will be returning to the states after all of the program is through. Therefore the people that

make me feel most connected to the city of

Florence are my pensione hosts Massimo and

Silvia. Both being Florentines, they know the

city incredibly well and are always able to point

us in the right direction and give us good

recommendations when we ask. Because of

their recommendations, I have been able to

experience Florence more fully. Additionally,

because of their hospitality, I felt that I was actually able to call this place my home. Because they take

care of us and look after us in a way that makes us genuinely feel that they care for our well-being, I have

created a strong bond with them. Knowing that I have people that I really care about in Florence and I

know care about me makes me feel connected to the city and want to return in the future.

I have always felt a special connection to the city of Florence since this place was an important

part of my childhood. Although this bond still remains, it has changed with all of the new experiences I

have had during my study abroad. I now have even more memories and experiences of what a wonderful

city this is. Although I have not experienced all that this place has to offer, it will always be somewhere

that feels familiar and is still my home. Even though people come and go and friends change, the city of

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Florence and the treasures it contains will not change unless some catastrophe occurs. I can always count

on the Duomo to impress me and the works of the great artists of the Renaissance to leave me in awe.

Knowing how much this place has meant to me past and present has solidified my bond to this great city.

This place has too much to offer and too many sweet memories for it not to be on my mind often.

My place in Florence falls into a role that has been well established over the years. Students

studying abroad have been coming to Florence for decades and there are thousands of us here at any

given time. Locals have come to expect us and come to expect us to behave in certain ways. American

culture and customs differ greatly from those of Italy creating a kind of friction and discomfort in many

interactions. Even so, many Florentine’s love that American students study abroad and greet us in their

shops and businesses with excitement. Although living here for over 3 months, I never felt that it was

totally my place to try to integrate myself into the community, but rather try to blend in as much as

possible knowing full well that I am still mostly a tourist. Especially since I mainly stayed in the comfort

of the Gonzaga community, I feel that my place was in Florence was very much dominated by my role as

a student. Being a student meant I got to experience this place alongside my academics and see the things

I was learning about in class in real life.

4. Future / Return home: A New Chapter

As the time has come to return home, I am filled with sadness to be leaving this place and

excitement to be be home once again. Although when first planning my flight home, I thought that I

might want to stay for a few days or weeks after

the end of the semester to travel a bit more. I’m

very glad that did not work out because I would

have had no way to know just how burnt out on

travelling I would be after doing it every weekend.

I will be heading straight home to spend Christmas

and New Years with my family before returning to

Seattle for school. Although a bit down the road, I will be finishing up my final quarters at the University

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of Washington before I graduate in June. This is a big part of my life I will be returning too that will be

ending sooner than I would like it to as well.

I believe that I get to give as much value as is necessary to my study abroad. Although other

factors are in play, the most important aspect of this experience was personal growth and expanding my

worldview. Although others can judge this from an outside perspective, I am the only one who can truly

judge how well I have accomplished these things. In addition to the value I give it, other people will give

value to it in their perception of me. I think that many people view those who study abroad as returning

home more “cultured” than before. Although likely true, I think this glazes over many of the important

aspects of what we learn abroad. A piece of this also has to do with the fact that we are a

photograph-based generation, so we will give more value to people’s experience if we can see the cool

places they got to visit and experience. Finally, value can be given from a professional perspective. This

study abroad can be seen as a valuable experience in communicating across cultures and being able to

navigate far outside of my comfort zone. Studying abroad is something that I can add to my resume that

will give employers more information about me based on their own perception of a study abroad.

I would like to say that I have a plan of where I think I will realistically be 10 years from now, but

I have so many paths I am interested in following I am unsure of where I will end up. By the time I am

31, I expect that I will probably be married, or at least close to marriage, and beginning to think about

starting a family. I think that I will most likely be living in the United States, on the West coast, but also

like to entertain the idea of moving to Japan and entering the workforce there. My current goal for

employment is to be working in the field of urban design and likely with a private company. My dream

would be to work for one of the Disney parks working as a master planner to design the interior of the

parks. I hope that by this point in my life, I will have continued to travel the world and pursue my

passions through all modes possible.

Ten years from now I hope that I will look back on my study abroad experience with the same

fondness I view my time living abroad 10 years prior to now. I have heard many times that students who

study abroad get the “travel bug” and continue to travel as much as they can for the rest of their lives. I

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really do enjoy travelling and hope that I will continue to have the freedom (and funds) in my life to

continue travelling and return to this place. I also hope that 10 years

from now I can look back on this time and realize how much I

learned living in a foreign country. I feel like I haven’t even realized

just how much I have learned yet because I still haven’t returned to

my home country and seen just how much my own habits and

worldview have changed. When I do get to return to Florence, I hope

that it still holds the same special place in my heart and reminds me

of all the friendships and experiences I got to have thanks to this

wonderful program.

5. My self-identity and the experience abroad: A Wanderer

Thinking about myself as a person as well as a student studying abroad, I would describe myself

as a wanderer. Of the many places I have lived and visited I have found none that I feel that I truly fit

into. I have plenty of people that make me feel at home in my identity, but these tend to be few in a sea of

others. The piece of myself I feel is wandering and searching for belonging the most is in my ethnicity.

Being half white and half Japanese, I have found it difficult my entire life to find places where I could

express and live into my full identity without having to choose one half or the other. Part of why I came

on this trip was to continue to seek that belonging and understanding. Unfortunately, I feel that I did not

find any of this understanding I was searching for and if anything felt more confused. European heritage

is a part of my ethnicity as much as the Japanese part, but I have never felt connected to it because my

family’s European identity changed after the American revolution. Even though I am as white as

Japanese, I did not feel that I was able to relate to this part of my background because I know that I will

never be seen as being completely white. I kind of expected this, but I hoped that learning about more

cultures outside my own would help me to see how the differences in cultures can be bridged. Although

this did happen to an extent, I think it was ineffective because I was bridging the gap between the white

culture of America and the white culture of Europe. A little sad in the final result, but this has inspired me

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to travel to Japan to see the difference in experiencing that culture to bridge the gap instead. Since being

biracial is a newer phenomenon and I come from two cultures that have underlying ideals about not

mixing blood, I understand that I may be wandering for a while before I truly find the place I feel that I

belong.

Some sociographic information

Nationality: American

City (Hometown): Spokane, WA

Age: 21

Social Class (low / middle / upper): upper-middle

Parents’ job: Mother: University Professor/ Father: Stay-at-home dad

Parents’ education: Mother: PhD/ Father: Bachelor’s degree

Parents’ experience abroad (if they lived in another country, which country, for how long): My mother
went to high school in London, she also lived abroad in Singapore for a few years, and both my parents
lived here in Florence for 4 months while my mom was teaching for the program

Siblings’ experience abroad (if they lived in another country, which country, for how long): My younger
brother lived with all of us in Florence for 4 months while my mom was teaching for the program

Day of your arrival in Florence: September 15

Returning home (ex. vacations), when and for how long (approximately): December 20

Foreign countries that you visited (in all your life): Italy, France, England, Scotland, Spain, Czech
Republic, Mexico, and Canada

Foreign countries and cities where you lived for a while (ex. US, New York, 1 month; …): Florence, Italy,
4 months

Books genre you like to read: Classics

Books you read (last year, max. 3): Frankenstein, Everybody Always, and Lord of the Rings

Movies you’ve seen at the theatre or at home (last year, max 3): 3 Billboards Outside Ebbings, Missouri,
Crazy Rich Asians, and Incredibles 2

Art galleries/exhibitions/museums visited (last year): (Pre-Europe) Henry Art Gallery, Wing Luke
Museum, Gould Court Gallery

Concerts (last year): Jon Bellion, Lewis del Mar, Penny and Sparrow

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Participation to social-political events/manifestations (last year): Women’s March

Sports that you practice actively: Running

Other hobbies: Guitar, Design, Photography, Hiking

All-time Top 3

Cities where you would like to live (Florence can be included): Los Angeles, Seattle, and Tokyo

Quotes (scholarly and non-scholarly, it does not matter): “Raise your words not your voice, it is rain that
grows flowers not thunder.” -Rumi, “Adventure is out there!” -Up, “Not all who wander are lost.” J.R.R.
Tolkien

Books: Frankenstein, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harry Potter

Music (songs): Thunder-Penny and Sparrow, Can’t Help Falling in Love-Elvis, Feel It Still-Portugal. the
Man

Movies: Moulin Rouge, Star Wars: A New Hope, Crazy Rich Asians

Arts (fine, popular, any field): Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog-Caspar David Friedrich, Winged Victory
of Samothrace, Girl at the Window-Salvador Dali

Beauty (anything that meaning beauty to you): Glacier National Park, the Grand Canyon, Venice

Food: Truffle Gnocchi, Sushi, Steak

Drinks: Cappuccino, Earl Grey tea, lemonade

Sports: American Football, Soccer, Baseball

Values (3 most important in life): Family, Faith, Friends

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 Bibliography

Birindelli, P. (2017) American Cultural Experiences in Florence and Italy: Reality and Perpetuation
of a Myth, in P. Prebys and F. Ricciardelli (eds.) “A Tale of Two Cities: Florence and Rome from
the Grand Tour to Study Abroad”. Ferrara: Edisai, 47-63. ISBN: 9788896714416 / 8896714419

Zaruba, Sydney. “8 Must-Instagram Spots in Florence.” ​The Boho Traveller,​ 20 Oct. 2016,
www.bohotravel.org/2016/10/20/8-must-instagram-spots-florence/.

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