30 stereotypes that explain the cultural shock of Italians in the US

When you move abroad, small cultural differences are often more fascinating than big ones. Probably it’s because they are everywhere around you, and sometimes they impact your everyday life significantly. Here are some of the differences I find most interesting — even when they are a bit stereotypical or exaggerated (because there’s a little bit of truth in a lot of these stereotypes):

Food

1. Food with incredibly long expiration dates. Milk gets me really confused in particular
2. Selling fruit and vegetables by unit instead of by weight
3. Grapes, watermelon and all kinds of food with no seeds inside. Seriously?
4. All-you-can-eat
5. Free fountain drink refills
6. More types of dressing than your mind could possibly conceive
7. Someone please tell me, who is this Alfredo and what would be his connection to Italian cuisine?
8. Finding out that “Pizza americana,” i.e. with fries on top, is not only completely unknown but also a pretty horrific idea for Americans
9. Knowing only McDonald’s and Burger King, and finding out there are also places such as In ’n Out or Five Guys
10. Huge plates

University

1. Compulsory class attendance
2. Homework, in college?
3. Varsity sport teams that are not terrible, or deserted
4. Free access to any facility
5. Professors who are actually in their office during office hours
6. Professors who are very serious about cheating, instead of helping you cheat
7. Free food everywhere
8. Wearing hats in class
9. Wearing pajamas in class
10. Huge campuses

Everyday life

1. Air conditioning
2. More air conditioning
3. A cold from all that air conditioning you’re not used to
4. People wearing shorts in January, because 35°F and a feeble ray of sun peeking through the clouds obviously means early Spring
5. Antibacterial everything, everywhere
6. No-ironing shirts are really a thing?
7. Crossing the street with red lights (but we do that anyways, even if it’s not legal)
8. Actually stopping when you notice a pedestrian on the crossing lines
9. You can really pay with cards for goods under 500 euros?
10. Huge cars

The list could go on much more, of course, but I think there’s plenty for now. Did you also experience a similar kind of cultural shock? What were the things that struck you the most?

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By Sonia Pérez Escalante
Spanish Language Intern

Although knowing the grammar is an essential step in learning any language, textbooks are not always able to convey the linguistic and cultural nuances, because it’s actually in the jargon, dialects, emotions, and humor where the soul of languages is… Especially in languages such as Spanish, spoken in over twenty different countries each of them with its own specific characteristics. For this reason, a good way to discover the differences among all the Spanish speaking countries is through movies, which give the viewer an easily understandable cultural and linguistic context through images, body language, and expressions. Here we show a top-five list of Spanish movies (suitable for students from beginner to advanced levels) that will help you with the study of this wonderful language.

TRES METROS SOBRE EL CIELO
(Beginner)

This Spanish movie by Fernando González Molina, based on a novel by the Italian writer Federico Moccia, it’s a romantic drama that tells the story of a young couple who belong to different worlds. Hugo (Mario Casas) is a handsome and rebellious boy who likes speed and extreme living. And on the other hand, Babi (Maria Valverde), is a girl from an upper-middle class family, raised in purity and innocence. The vocabulary is rather simple, making it easy to follow the plot without difficulty. The film also contains good examples of the typical way young people speak in Spain.

EL HIJO DE LA NOVIA
(Beginner/Intermediate)

This film by Rafael Belvedere is an emotional story about love, family, dreams, and learning to get old. “El hijo de la novia” (“The Son of the Bride”) tells the story of a single father trying to take care of his young daughter as he struggles to maintain the family restaurant he inherited from his parents. This movie is not only funny and touching, but it is also a great way to face the Spanish of Argentina and learn the vocabulary and grammatical differences between Latin American Spanish and the “standard” Spanish.

DIARIOS DE MOTOCICLETA
(Intermediate)

Diarios de Motocicleta (Motorcycle Diaries) is a story based on the real diaries of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the leader of the Cuban and Latin American revolutions. In Diarios de Motocicleta we see a young doctor Guevara traveling from Argentina to Peru to volunteer at a leper colony. His experience on the road and the subsequent exposure to the impressive local indigenous poor tribes shows the development of Guevara who will eventually lead a revolution that radically changed the destiny of Latin America. This movie is a fantastic viewing for students of all levels because it contains examples of slang and dialects throughout South America, essential for any well-formed Spanish speaker, and also important information about Latinos’ history.

MAR ADENTRO
(Intermediated High)

Directed by the acclaimed Spanish director Alejandro Amenábar, Mar Adentro is based on the true story of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who fought an almost 30-year campaign in favor of euthanasia and his own right to die. Although this movie requires a more advanced level of Spanish, you will have the chance to recognize the imperative, subjunctive, and past tenses and get used to them in colloquial situations.

AMORES PERROS
(Advanced)

Amores Perros is a 2000 Mexican drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The film is constructed from three distinct but overlapping stories linked by a car accident that brings the characters briefly together, showing the viewer the huge gap between social classes which still exists in Mexico DF and helping Spanish students improve their vocabulary and their understanding of some complex forms of Spanish grammar thanks to the explicit images which always accompany them.

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The Chinese language Intern Ruiling Feng gave a presentation at the Keck Center on September 5 to explain and celebrate 中秋节, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.

Students and faculty enjoyed her explanation of the origin and reason for the holiday as well as a taste of the traditional moon cakes provided by the Department of East Asian Languages and Literature.

Ruiling is one of six interns who provide help to language students at Colgate. Look for posts from all the language interns on our blog as well as future cultural events hosted at the Keck Center.

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Beginning this semester, the Keck Center will use this blog space to provide useful material for faculty and students learning languages at Colgate. Our posts will focus on finding ways to make language learning more productive as well as highlighting some of the activities going on at the Keck Center and some of the work being done with languages by students and faculty at Colgate. We will be reviewing language learning materials , including software, web sites, mobile apps, and foreign films. We will highlight the work of our language interns, student workers, and majors and minors in the language departments. In addition, you can find information about upcoming events, and notes and materials from workshops presented by the Keck Center. We look forward to having a great, productive year of language learning at Colgate!

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