My study abroad experience was one of the most daunting adventures I had ever taken off for.

Having only left the country once previously, I was filled with anxiety about the unknown, unsure of how
I would manage to fit in without blatantly sticking out as an American tourist. Filled with an immense
amount of uncertainty yet, excited as never before because I had the opportunity to challenge myself in
a way that I had never previously been able to. I had never studied or been exposed to Italian and was
about to leave for a four month stay in Florence, Italy. I was preparing to move to a foreign country, an
unfamiliar region having to adapt to a new culture with different norms, history, and language and it
would be the most incredible journey I could ever imagine.

The barriers to communication were among my top concerns before departing on my trip.
Through various presentations before leaving the country, I understood that this would be a difficult
barrier to conquer but was hopeful that my communication courses prepared me enough to be
successful in my endeavor. Before leaving, I wrote down goals for myself, what exactly I wanted to
accomplish by the end of my stay. Among the top of my goals was to leave with the ability to have a
successful interaction with a local, despite language differences. The language barrier was clear to me
the second I got off the plane. Walking over to find my luggage, I found myself in a crowd of people and I
could not understand a single word anyone was saying. I immediately was overwhelmed and
uncomfortable, but I knew this would be a part of the journey. Everyone around me even looked
different, I immediately felt like I was sticking out amongst the crowd. The few friends I traveled with
were feeling the same as I, overwhelmed. Our guide gathered us quickly and ushered us to our bus,
where after we were dropped off at a bus station in the middle of Florence. The center was a mix of loud
noises, there was an abundance of taxis, travelers running rampant trying to catch the bus, traffic signs
in Italian, and an overall crowd of people that filled the entire center.

After I settled into my apartment and cleared my head a bit, I walked downstairs to go explore
my new home. My apartment was the first street over from the Duomo, one of the most crowded areas
in Florence because of its’ attraction to tourists. I struggled to read street signs and found myself walking
in a circle repeatedly. I left my apartment with the goal of finding a grocery store and picking up a few
items to get me through the first night. Google maps only helped so much; the grocery stores seemed to
be everywhere on the map but in real life I could not figure out where they were for the life of me. After
an hour of wandering quite aimlessly, I spotted a restaurant host who looked approachable and figured I
could try to ask him for help before giving up and going back to my apartment. I approached him with a
smile, and he smiled back, as I said “hello” he replied with “ciao”. I proceeded to ask about the grocery
store and where I may find one, but while asking I noticed his smile changed to a questionable look of
confusion, I immediately knew he could not understand me. Without thinking I showed him my phone
and the map I had been trying to follow, he instantly released an “oh!” and started drawing on a napkin
the route I should take to the store. The store was less than a two-minute walk from this restaurant, so I
felt a bit dull once I got there but was thankful he was willing to help me. This was my first exchange
with a local and showed me that this would be a learning process where I had to figure out on my own
how to apply my communication knowledge to get this past this barrier.

My first night in country is one I will never forget. After returning from the grocery store it set in
that I would have to make an active effort each day to communicate with those around me and I found
myself paralyzed by the thoughts of the unknown. Could I really do this? Was this something I was ready
for? Such thoughts started to come over me and for a moment I felt like this was all just one big mistake
I should never have made, but I opened my laptop to see an email from one of my Communication
professors and everything changed. After spending the day confused and overwhelmed by almost
everything around me, I sat in bed reading his email and remembered that I had been preparing for this
moment for the last two years through my studies at Bryant in the Communication department. Courses
I had taken included Interpersonal Communication, Mass Communication, Small Group Communication,
and many others. Each course presented me with an abundance of skills I had already learned to apply
to my daily life in America, the challenge now was learning how to apply these in Italy where such a
strong barrier to communication existed.

The next few days of my trip included many situations very alike to my interaction with the
restaurant host on my first night. The locals, I realized, all differed in terms of how they wanted to
communicate. I noticed that elders were more likely to become aggravated or frustrated if I approached
them in English. In contrast though, individuals who seemed to be closer in age to myself and those who
were younger were more understanding of the difference in language and would try to help as best they
possibly could, not fearing the language difference we shared. Such examples of this include the host I
met on my first day who drew out a map for me, my apartment neighbor teaching me how to operate
the building elevator, and the barista at my favorite coffee shop pointing out when it was appropriate to
order a cappuccino versus an espresso. Each night I found myself reflecting on the events from that day.
I would silently think of all the interactions I had throughout the day, focusing on the smallest details
even if the only interaction I had was ordering a morning coffee. By reflecting on these interactions, I
was able to pinpoint what worked and what did not to help me grow past this barrier. Two of the
strengths I recognized early on was my ability to critically listen and be self-aware. Communication is not
just talking with others but understanding those around you and being able to effectively communicate
with them based on that understanding. Constantly I was analyzing how I might come off to others and
how that would affect our ability to communicate. I strayed away from the “American” outfits and
started wearing clothing more commonly seen in the country to become more approachable to locals.
Throughout my days, I would find time to simply sit and people watch, trying to engage in active
listening with the world around me. Even from just sitting outside at coffee shops, I was able to observe
how locals interacted with one another and see first-hand how communication differed depending on
language and cultural background. Each day I felt more prepared than I did the day before, I was slowly
gaining confidence in myself and starting to realize that this barrier was just that, a barrier. It was no
impossible mission to learn how to communicate effectively and efficiently in this unfamiliar territory,
but it would simply take time and an abundance of patience for myself and the others around me who I
was trying to communicate with.

One of the first steps I took in overcoming this barrier was to take initiative to learn the
language, at least to learn some of the basics that would help me throughout a typical day. As a required
course for studying abroad, I was placed in an elementary Italian class which provided me with basic
knowledge of the language. Learning a new language is no easy task, but I understood how critical it was
for me to try and learn as much of the language as I possibly could so I took the initiative to try and learn
outside of class as well. In class I was learning how to greet others and how the greeting changes
depending on the person, how to properly order at a restaurant, and other basic concepts that helped
me in my daily life. The course also brought to light the differences in nonverbal communication and
how body language was not exactly comparable to what I was used to in America. Italians have specific
nonverbal acts of communication that send a clear message, by learning these I was able to better
understand situations I saw taking place around me. Although the class itself helped me pick up bits
about the language, I knew that would not be enough, so I started working on Duolingo, an application
that assists in learning new languages. Throughout my days I would complete activities on the app,
strengthening my general knowledge about the language which helped me immensely. Understanding
the basics of this new language allowed me to be more confident in daily interactions and gave me the
opportunity to connect with more people. Something so great about studying in a foreign country is that
you never really leave the classroom, your classroom is all around you thriving in the city. While out to
eat I would pick up small phrases, learning from my waiter and other customers around me. Walking
around the city I would pay attention to the traffic signs, practicing my translating skills and learning how
to better navigate. While at first I was intimidated to speak with locals, I was steadily becoming more
and more confident, placing myself in situations that specifically forced me to communicate. I consider
this to be another strength I had, I was not afraid of putting myself in uncomfortable positions because I
wanted to challenge myself and grow as an individual and communicator. Although I still struggled, I was
making a conscious effort to learn each day.

Another aspect that allowed me to overcome this barrier was by meeting locals and creating
relationships with them, furthering my knowledge of not just the language, but of the overall culture. On
the second week of my trip, a few of my Bryant peers and I made our way down to one of the local bars.
While out, I noticed an Italian man around the same age as I and saw that he kept looking over at our
group. Certainly, jumping out of my comfort zone, I decided to approach him and see if I could make
small talk. I quickly learned that he was studying English, but his understanding and knowledge of the
language was like mine regarding Italian. Giullio and I chatted briefly about how I was adjusting to this
new life and how badly he wanted to go to America to further his own studies. Not long after, he offered
to show me around the city and point out a few places I should know how to get to. Ultimately, we
ended up conversing mostly through the help of Google Translate once we exited the bar since my
Italian and his English were not strong enough to be able to hold a conversation without any help.
Something I had not thought of until that moment though was that Google Translate can only help so
much, the languages do not simply translate over. This forced us to genuinely listen to the other and pay
attention to nonverbal cues such as hand signals and each other’s facial expressions. That night was one
of my favorite and most memorable nights from my entire abroad experience. Walking through the
streets of Florence with a man I had just met, I was seeing the city through a new lens with a much
different perspective than I had before. This was his home, a place where he spent his childhood and
grew up, the city that helped him create his values and taught him how to appreciate life. As a foreigner,
I had only been seeing the city through a bias lens, constantly comparing what was around me to my
home in America, a weakness I had to learn to overcome.

I stayed connected with Giullio until the end of my stay and am grateful that relationship was
created so early on in my journey. After the first night of meeting Giullio, we stayed connected and
talked daily about various things such as how I was adapting to the culture and how my communication
with other locals was slowly improving. Having a friend who was also a local gave me insight into the
daily lives of the Italians and I was better understanding how the communication techniques I learned
should be applied differently in Italy than in America. Giullio was eager to give me tips and tricks for how
to approach locals and overall, how I could successfully adapt my communication style to work for this
environment. One area we spent a great deal of time talking about was nonverbal communication. This
became one of the central concepts we found ourselves discussing because we both knew my Italian
would not become perfect overnight or in four months. Nonverbal communication in Italy is quite
intriguing especially because it differs so greatly from America. Italians are generally well-known for
communicating with hand gestures and keeping small amounts of space between themselves and others
during conversation. Giullio had advised me to not be put off if the person I was communicating with
seemed to be in my personal space as this was typical of the culture. Also, I learned that my appearance
played an important role if I wanted to communicate with someone. The Italians care heavily about their
appearance and strive to protect their image, so a piece of advice he gave me for starting up a
conversation was to compliment the person on how they looked. Actively listening to Giullio describe
ways that could help me excel in communicating with locals, I would apply these tips and saw for myself
a positive effect in terms of communicating. Together we helped each other in our language studies
which greatly effected how I went about my days, I may not have been able to speak perfect or fluent
Italian, but I was able to adjust my nonverbal communication to help get my message across when
interacting with locals and create effective communication through my new understanding of the
culture. Creating this personal relationship allowed me to gain a critical perspective on the culture and
helped me in overcoming any and all stereotypes I may have unconsciously brought with me.

A third measure I took in overcoming this barrier was accepting that I was not perfect and that
this was a massive learning process. Acknowledging this was a big step for myself as I tend to be a
perfectionist and have high expectations for myself. All I could do was try; try to take in as much
knowledge as I could, try to actively apply the skills I was learning to my daily life, and overall try my best
to not become frustrated when the barrier felt impossible to get over. My travels proved to me how
important one’s mentality is because if you allow negative thoughts to take over, you are much more
likely to succumb to the barrier rather than break it and move forward. While I certainly struggled at
times, it was because of my outlook that motivated me to keep going and push past the language
barrier. There were situations that made me question the progress I had made but there were also
moments that clarified how much progress I had been able to make in such a short amount of time. By
the end of my stay I was able to ask locals for assistance with directions and even help other tourists
with navigating, properly order at a restaurant, ask for assistance in stores when I could not find a
particular product, and how to go about daily life in this country as an American. I feel confident in
saying that I was successful in overcoming such a barrier and it proved to be more beneficial to me than
I ever could have imagined. By placing myself in this unknown and uncomfortable position, I learned
truly how broad and key communication is within life.

To overcome such a barrier is no simple task, it takes time to adjust and learn. This was certainly
a learning process that proved to me how far I have come in terms of communication. With my previous
knowledge surrounding the field, I was able to effectively communicate with those around me despite
the language barrier that existed. As I packed up my belongings on the final night of my abroad journey,
I could not help but reflect on the last four months I had spent in the country, going over all of the ups
and downs I faced and how I managed to come out feeling like my visit was meaningful in multiple
aspects. This experience has been monumental for myself, opening my eyes to how global
communication is and how there will always be, to some extent, barriers to communication. No matter
what those barriers may be, nothing is impossible and one can overcome any and all barriers to
communication as long as they genuinely want to get past said barriers and make a continuous effort to
educate themselves and learn how to navigate through.