This past week, I was able to experience something very fun and new. I walked from the palace to the local high school in Ariccia with other students in the JSB program to experience a day of immersion in the local culture. We visited a number of different high school classrooms for a few hours and were able to talk to the kids. These kids were learning the English language, and were incredibly good at it! They were much better than I was at learning French at my high school. You could tell they were eager to speak to us in our native language!
In the first classroom of two that I visited, the girls (pictured below) had a full list of questions prepared for our arrival. Many of them asked about our favorite pop culture topics, and music. The reason I call this post “Study Buddy”, is because I was able to learn Italian and help teach English to the students here!
For instance, They asked if we liked a show that they especially loved called “13 Reasons Why”, which I haven’t seen. Despite not knowing about this show, Italy in general has a lot of influence from American pop culture, as well as having many incredible artists of their own. It was very funny to talk with oOne of the girls who had a crush on the same pop star as me. We then found each other on iInstagram and can stay connected! It is crazy to see how different, but also how extremely similar, high school culture is in American compared to Italy.
Being able to visit this high school opened my eyes to a lot of interesting things about the Italian culture that isn’t necessarily taught in classes. It was great getting to know the locals high school students!

• Shelby Miller

(pictured below: Some of the Italian students and I in the classroom)