In four days I take off from Jacksonville to start my eight week study abroad program in Siena, Italy. My bag is half way packed and currently taking up most of the floor in my room with clothes I am either still wearing and washing or still deciding if they are truly Italy-worthy. My euros are sitting on my dresser waiting to be useful, and all of the US dollars I earned working and babysitting in the last few weeks are sitting in my wallet waiting to be spent in some (productive?) manner before I cross the ocean and they become useless.
My mood during the last few weeks has fluctuated back and forth between complete excitement and something approaching terror at the idea of speaking mostly in Italian for eight weeks straight when I still hardly speak the language in class. After three years of Italian courses, I understand most of what I hear as long as its not too fast, and understand most of what I read as long as I know the vocabulary, but my speaking continues to linger around the skill level of an advanced five year old. Upon the completion of my final oral exam this semester, my teacher said to me, "You will be much better when you come back from Italy." Even if this was true, it was hardly confidence inspiring.
The program that I am participating in is an eight week, 9 credit program covering art history and Italian studies. I will take six credits of Italian language, and the other three on Sienese art history. Everyone on the program is taking this class, and so it will be taught in English (a much needed break for my brain, I am sure). I will be living with a host family and one other American student the entire time I am in Siena. I received an email from my host family while I was still taking exams, and they sound absolutely wonderful. They don't speak English, though, so I am going to be excerising my Italian skills full time from day one.
My fascination with Italy and Italian culture started when I was in tenth grade. I had been taking Latin since seventh grade. I love ancient history and languages, so Latin (although my parents chose it for me) was actually a perfect fit. In tenth grade, our teachers were finally able to arrange a trip to Rome over spring break. My sister and friends and I were all able to spend a week exploring Rome, Naples, and Assisi, learning about the history first hand, and getting a small glimpse of the modern culture.
That small glimpse of modern Italy made me want to learn more. I started my first year of college so determined to learn Italian that I took it 1) despite the fact that I had already been exempt from the foreign language requirement with my AP Latin score and 2) At 8 AM. Every day. Three years later I am still taking Italian.
Finally, after eight years of Latin and Italian, and five eagerly waiting for my next opportunity to return to Italy, I am going back. Armed with these courses and my new Italian dictionary which just arrived yesterday becuase my old one vanished, I will depart for Siena on Tuesday.
I am going to learn and use the language, and to better understand the people who speak it. I don't know what exactly is waiting for me there, but I cannot wait to find out.
