Adjusting and Adapting to Life in Milan

Ciao! I have officially been in Milan for about two weeks now, and what a crazy (but exciting) time it has been. Despite having taken Italian language and culture courses over the last few years, I definitely experienced some culture shocks and had a learning curve with adjustment. I’ve created a little guide to aid future students' adjustment. At IES Abroad Milan, you start language classes about a week after arrival. Most students don’t have prior Italian language experience, so I asked some of my friends what words/phrases they thought would have been most helpful to know during that first week. So this guide has a mini crash course in Italian, some of the things I've learned about Milan, and some tips to help with adjusting.

Without further ado, here we go!

Pt. 1 – Useful phrases/words to know 

• Ciao → means “hello” or “goodbye”, and is generally informal
• Buongiorno → good day
• Buona sera → good evening
• Arrivederci → goodbye (more formal than ciao)
• Mi dispiace → I’m sorry
• Scusami → excuse me (you can also say “scusi” for a more informal version)
• Aperto → open
• Chiuso → closed
• Grazie → thank you (pronounced GRAHT-see-yeh)
• Prego → of course (a common response to grazie)
• Parla inglese → do you speak English?
• Quanto costa → how much is it?
• Vorrei → I would like
• Posso avere → can I have
• Sacchetto → bag, but this specifically refers to a bag that you get after you make a purchase. If you buy something at a store, the person checking you out will likely ask “vuoi un sacchetto”, which means “do you want a bag?”
• Il conto → the bill. So if you want to ask for the receipt/check, you can say “posso avere il conto?”
• Per favore → please

Pt. 2 – Cultural shocks

• Grocery store
  • For produce you have to get a produce bag, then weigh it, then select what produce it is on a little computer (there will usually be pictures), and it will print a sticker. You put the sticker on the outside of your produce bag.
  • Food expires here MUCH faster than it does in America. Something to be wary of when making purchases
• At a coffee shop
  • Most coffee shops in Italy are called “bars”, but some might have “caffè” in the name. Some are only coffee/breakfast/lunch, but many also serve alcoholic drinks for aperitivo.
  • You order at the cashier, take your receipt, and bring it to the bar. Usually, the barista will come over to you and ask what you want, and you can show them the receipt. Then they’ll make it quickly for you.
  • It is NOT common to take coffee to-go here! The only place I’ve seen it is at the IES Abroad study center in Milan.
  • Limited options! If you don’t like coffee, ginseng tea might be a good option for you.
• At a restaurant
  • Unlike in America, when you want to order or ask for something, you’ll have to flag down your server. When you’re ready to pay, you can either ask for the bill from your server or walk up to the cashier and pay at the counter.
  • Water is not free here! You have to ask for and pay for it. In addition, when you ask for water, they will ask if you want “acqua frizzante” or  “acqua naturale”. If you want still water, you have to specify the latter.
• Lastly, a random one! Almost every door here is a push-to-open and not a pull! In America most doors swing outwards, but in Italy this is not the case (Thank you to Amelia for recommending I mention this!)

Pt. 3 – Adjustment tips

• To help with homesickness, bring a blanket/stuffed animals/pictures of loved ones!
• Come with a comfort show, specifically one that you can either download ahead of time or one you know you’ll be able to watch.
• Stay busy!! The first few days can be a lot, but having too much downtime will leave your brain with time to panic.
• Bring melatonin. I can’t stress this enough, jet lag is no joke! You might be exhausted when you get here, and you might (like me) think that with one sleep you’ll be fine, but that’s not how our bodies work. It takes time. Your appetite will be off, and you might find it harder to fall asleep even if you’re exhausted.
• Don’t be scared to meet other people. Everyone here is in the same boat, and is eager to make friends. I haven’t met a single person who wasn’t kind or responsive when I introduced myself.