This past Friday and Saturday there was a convention here in Rome for all of the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) teachers throughout Italy. Between the two days, I attended a bunch of conferences dealing with different teaching related topics. It turned out that I was the only ETA Fulbrighter that attended even though we were all invited (and all of the expenses were paid for by the US Embassy). The Cultural Affairs Assistant from the US Embassy asked me if I wouldn’t mind doing an interview for the Embassy’s website to also be posted on YouTube. I eagerly agreed and she took me into a back room where there was a legitimate cameraman and interviewer, complete with a microphone that showed off its ‘Embassy of the United States of America’ seal. I see them speaking to each other in Italian and then I question which language the interview is going to be in. When they told me it will be in Italian I felt a rush of heat run through my body. I asked to take a peak at the question she would be asking me, and what had started out as just a rush of heat turned into an elevated heart rate and a little bit of perspiration; I literally had no idea how to respond to the question...there was absolutely nothing that came into my mind. I have no idea if what I said even made sense and I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t even post it on their website. If they end up posting it, I will add the link in this post. To those of you who understand Italian, we will be able to laugh at my attempt to produce a remotely educated response to a question that wasn’t the easiest to respond to.
Here it is: The TESOL Interview
Here it is: The TESOL Interview
Cultural Notes: 1. Before I left for Italy I received multiple warnings from people telling me to “watch out for those Italian men” and to “keep your belongings close because gypsies are everywhere.” After being here for a complete two months I have not had any issues with either and have realized that Americans view Italian men as these woman harassing machines…something that just isn’t true. And gypsies do not lurk at every corner waiting to steal from a distracted tourist. You have to be just as careful here as in any city, but from a personal viewpoint I feel safer here than I do in Manhattan.
2. Immigration in Rome: 9.5% of the population is non-Italian, mainly composed of Romanians, Albanians, Ukrainians, and Polish. There are also groups of Filipinos, Chinese, Africans, and Bangladeshis. Some make their living selling clothing and shoes at street-side stands while others walk around trying to sell roses, umbrellas, or little plastic toys. Of course they work in other sectors as well but those are the most visible on a daily basis.
Highlight of My Day: I have never haggled before and it has always been something I wanted to do. I felt guilty that I would be taking money from someone who is trying to make a living. Putting my feelings of guilt aside I decided to make my first attempt at a haggle…it was a success! I was at the TESOL-Italy convention and there was a room for all of the publishing companies to advertise their books. There was a specific series that I really liked and I bought (at full price) two books. I then saw a third book that I wanted and I thought this would be a good opportunity to try and get it for free since I had already bought two. The vendor agreed and I got the book for free. When I returned home and told the story to my host mother she asked me to tell her exactly what I said in Italian to the vendor. She laughed and told me that the vendor probably gave me the book because how I expressed myself was in a very sweet and proper manner. I’m definitely not a natural at the skill of haggling.
Impara con me! He’s hitting on you- Ci sta provando con te
