Communication Happens

By Meagan Pierluissi

It can happen anywhere--at the cafe, a store, the pasta store, or even among others in class. We fail to communicate. I've learned this in America, while traveling in the military, and most definitely while living here in Cagli.

Just the other night, while sipping on a nice vino rosso at a classmate's apartment, I failed to explain myself well to another classmate. I was frustrated and so was she. I have learned that it feels worse to not communicate within my own language and culture than enduring 100 failed attempts here in Italy. We keep trying because we appreciate the life here and their forms of communication. We desperately want to participate.

Earlier today I set out to help a classmate, well a few classmates. One needed a photo of people purchasing pasta at a local shop and two others needed actual pasta for a dinner party. I volunteered to pose for a picture while attempting to buy enough pasta for 12 people. I may not know a whole lot of Italian, but I can typically find my way through ordering food and beverage.

So on the way there I practiced my line, stepped up the counter ready to order, and oh no--what do you do when they reply back in a long stream of words that you can't understand? You stare. That's the problem when you actually sound like you may know a few words, they say more words back. The shopkeeper, and her colleagues all speaking loudly to me in Italian, quickly realized that my knowledge of their language ran dry after "May I have...?"

I'm sure she was asking me exactly how much pasta I wanted, what kinds of pasta I'd like, and other need-to-know questions that would help me fill me my order. I was blank. Gestures, puzzled faces, and smiles usually get you through any of these situations. In the end, we made it through. I walked away with a bounty of delicious-looking pasta to share with friends this evening.

These are bridges to our communication hiccups, finding ways to understand one another even though the exact words aren't so clear. We are in this together, Cagli residents and the students. None of it will detour me from continuing in this daily routine and not being understood. It can happen anywhere--no matter if it's among other people speaking the same language or not.