Hosting Italian Students
Last summer, I went on a GIP trip to Italy, and we all participated in homestays in Valdobbiadene, a small town about an hour inland of Venice. This February, students from ISISS Giuseppe Verdi in Valdobbiadene came to Los Angeles to visit Poly.
I had the pleasure of hosting the same student I stayed with in Valdobbiadene, so we already knew each other before the week he stayed with my family. Participating in the exchange made me a much better host than I would have been otherwise because at every turn I could remember how I felt when I was in Italy. For example, I recalled the grueling travel day from Italy to California, so as soon as my student got here, we let him shower and sleep for 13 hours or so that first night.
On both ends of the exchange, I learned valuable lessons about interacting and creating friendships across cultural lines. I think the way to get the most out of an experience like this is to be courageous and push yourself outside of your comfort zone. When I was in Italy, I tried every food presented to me (even snails!), and I discovered so many amazing new things. When the Italians were here, we all had the best time when we made the effort to get to know each other and not just talk to our friends.
Over the week or so the Italians were here, my host student and I got to know each other really well, and that trust that was built made it much easier to have more serious conversations. One of the most interesting to me was the conversation about politics. I tried to provide an opportunity for my student to talk to me about any opinion that he had, regardless of my own, and I got a lot of insight into his perspective on politics, and the idea that (according to my student) kids my age in Italy seem to not be as aware of or interested in politics as Americans.
I really appreciated the opportunity the hosting week gave me to reflect on my own life by explaining it to other people and seeing it through their eyes. Also, we had an adventure with them almost every night, and I really learned to appreciate Los Angeles. I was inspired to live my normal life in a more similar way to the experience we gave our Italians.
Thank you to Magistra Schuhl and the GIP coordinators for making this exchange possible!
I had the pleasure of hosting the same student I stayed with in Valdobbiadene, so we already knew each other before the week he stayed with my family. Participating in the exchange made me a much better host than I would have been otherwise because at every turn I could remember how I felt when I was in Italy. For example, I recalled the grueling travel day from Italy to California, so as soon as my student got here, we let him shower and sleep for 13 hours or so that first night.
On both ends of the exchange, I learned valuable lessons about interacting and creating friendships across cultural lines. I think the way to get the most out of an experience like this is to be courageous and push yourself outside of your comfort zone. When I was in Italy, I tried every food presented to me (even snails!), and I discovered so many amazing new things. When the Italians were here, we all had the best time when we made the effort to get to know each other and not just talk to our friends.
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| Four Poly students and our Italians at dinner in downtown LA |
I really appreciated the opportunity the hosting week gave me to reflect on my own life by explaining it to other people and seeing it through their eyes. Also, we had an adventure with them almost every night, and I really learned to appreciate Los Angeles. I was inspired to live my normal life in a more similar way to the experience we gave our Italians.
Thank you to Magistra Schuhl and the GIP coordinators for making this exchange possible!
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