Days before my departure from the US, I viewed my trip as a business trip. This perspective helped me to overcome the stress and anxiety I was facing. Having a specific job keeps me focused; relationships are a bonus on the job.
Today, I had my first interview with a Cagli elementary teacher. The whole appointment was on the fly. My experience in the states with teachers is that they are always ready to share their teaching story of the day or to summarize their year.My expectations for the interview with a local Italian teacher were the same despite the language barrier.This teacher’s passion for educating children is similar to what I have seen, but the interaction of an interview has definite cultural differences.
The interview for the profile on her career started at her dinner table. The interviewee controlled the interview with the interpreter and me. She simply dismissed questions posed to her in her own native tongue, and told the story she wanted to talk about. Even with the dyadic noise of a language barrier, attitude, and the intercultural dissonance, her love for teaching comes through in her energy, and smile.
GU classes consist of Conversational Italian, Photography, Writing, and Intercultural Communication. All classes here in GU, Cagli are relevant to our final project. In my undergraduate communication program, I learned communication is never 100% successful even with best intentions. From the interview, I learned love and passion can be communicated even with a language barrier.
