Speaking, the Italian Way!

By: Kirk G.

In Italy, communication plays a vital role in the lives of all people. Interactions between people drive the (very-much-so interpersonal) Italian society whether it be between vendors and patrons, friends, family members, or strangers. Italian communication styles, therefore, vary. Amongst friends, informal greetings (“Ciao, come va?”) often accompanied by a fist-bump, handshake, or embrace are customary. In more formal settings, slang and other forms of informal language is avoided. Family members will greet each other with a customary due baci (two kisses), first on the right cheek, then on the left.  

Body language also has significance in Italian communication. I observed that Italians tend to maintain attentive and respectful body language when conversing, no matter the situation. Eye contact is preserved and meaningful. Earbuds are not worn in situations where one may need to converse with others. Italians maintain a relaxed but proper posture when conversing, and face toward whomever they’re speaking to. Particularly during explanations and stories, I observed that Italians commonly tend to use gestures and hand communication to provide more color and emphasis to their speech.   

Vocally, Italians speak with an almost musical flow. Spoken in the region of Lazio, the Romanesco dialect is used and interchanged with standard Italian during informal conversation, though the differences between the two can sometimes be difficult to distinguish.  

In general, I observed communication in Italy as more proper than in the United States. Italians speak in a direct manner, avoiding ambiguities or “beating around the bush”.  Full attention is given to whomever is speaking, and manners are followed. Italian communication is also precise and flows well; “uhh”s and other interjections don’t clutter sentences as they commonly do in the United States.  

Gelaterias Galore!

By: Kirk G.

Before going abroad to Italy, I wrote a list of things I must do before I embark back on a plane to the United States. Topping that list… was tasting as much authentic Italian gelato as possible. Luckily, there was no shortage of gelaterias amid the bustling cities of Rome and Florence. So naturally, I had to try them.

On my first day in Florence, I observed seemingly hundreds of gelaterias each nearly within one-hundred meters of the last. Many of the flavors I recognized, such as cioccolato al latte (milk chocolate), cioccolato fondente (dark chocolate), vaniglia (vanilla), pistacchio (pistachio), fragola (strawberry), caffè (coffee), but there were also many flavors that I had never seen in the form of gelato or ice cream. As it piqued my curiosity, I ordered one of such novel flavors called “ferrero”. The ferrero flavor gets its name from the renowned Italian chocolate and hazelnut candy: Ferrero Rocher. Growing up, Ferrero Rochers were always my favorite sweet-treat, so I couldn’t resist trying ferrero gelato. Of course, as the reputation of both gelato, and Ferrero Rocher would hint at, the ferrero gelato was phenomenal. The first thing I noticed different about gelato in comparison to ice cream was the texture. Gelato is much creamier and denser than ice cream, resulting in a much richer taste with every bite. The difference in texture is also the reason why ice cream scoopers are not used to serve gelato, instead, a spade is used.  

After falling in love with ferrero gelato, I was ready to conclude my search for the best gelato flavor, but I resisted the urge and tried tiramisu flavored gelato next. Tiramisu is a layered Italian dessert cake, with mascarpone cheese and savoiardi alternating between layers, then finally topped with coffee powder. Like the ferrero flavor, the tiramisu gelato tasted incredibly faithful to the actual dessert and is a must try for anyone who loves tiramisu like I do.  

Finally, the last of the unconventional gelato flavors I tasted was what I call “the Italian take on ‘cookies n’ cream’”, more correctly known as stracciatella. Stracciatella (not the soup) is mainly vanilla gelato with chocolate chunks mixed inside. All-in-all, of every flavor gelato I tried, there was not one that I wouldn’t happily have again. Though, my top pick has to be ferrero flavored gelato.