As enthusiastic language students, the opportunity of going to Ancona, east Italy, during the Easter holidays certainly didn’t go amiss. The trip was organised by our lecturer Alessia Plutino and we spent a week at her home town, engaging with the way of life, practising our Italian and interacting with the Italian locals. Travelling anywhere abroad highlights the extensive cultural differences between two European countries, despite being of relatively close proximity to one another. Being at a beginner’s level with the Italian language and having not spent very much time in Italia before, one of the main gains from this trip was our constant exposure to native Italian speakers in everyday situations. Situations such as going to the bakery in the morning, conversing with people in the Youth Hostel, buying tickets at the train station, ordering food in pizzerie and gelaterie, finding out about the towns at the tourist information centre, and having tours in Italian of museums, galleries and even a library. Furthermore, our lecturer spoke to us in Italian consistently throughout the trip, which was brilliant as by the end of the week our ears had ‘adjusted’ to the fast paced, animated Italian language, encouraging us with our confidence and expression. As well as being exposed to the language, the other equally important aspect to mention is the exposure to the Italian culture. We noticed simple but marked differences between cultural habits and characteristics, as everywhere we went we were greeted with such friendliness and an openness to chat, something we rarely encounter with strangers in Inghilterra! The pace of life is different too, and we soon learnt (after trying to find places to eat for lunch!) how all shops and businesses close between 1 and 3 in the afternoon, but then stay open till later on into the evening, the time when everything here would start to close. This was one of the main dissimilarities: Italians socialised late into the night by going for walks with friends and families in the town or grabbing un caffè in a bar before going out to eat pizza and gelato, whereas our culture is more reserved. Overall there was such warmth and friendliness from the locals that it is not hard to see why Italy is such a popular destination.

Our favourite part of the trip was on Palm Sunday, when Grace and I went into the town to go to church. In our search for the service, we first had a hilarious but extraordinary encounter with a nun, and then we proceeded to stumble across a procession through the town centre. We followed it, and it led us into the most beautiful church, where we stayed for mass. We felt truly immersed into not only the language and the culture, but also the community, as we were immediately welcomed by all. This trip was more than just an excuse for gelato, pizza and good weather. It allowed us to engage with the community and experience ordinary situations from a whole different perspective, which was truly incredible. Who would have realised what a profound impact the Italian language, culture and community would have had on us before going? All in all an exceptional trip and kind thanks go to Alessia for arranging it so well. Here’s to Italia 2014... J

Emily and Grace