By Virginia Pagan and Jalissa Sanchez
FUA Social Media students Virginia and Jalissa had the opportunity to cover firsthand the first meeting of FUA students and their local Chat Pal partners for the semester-long activity of language and cultural exchange.
The latest ChatPal encounter that pairs students and locals took place on February 26 in Corso Tintori. The purpose of this event was for the FUA students to meet their Italian pal for the first time and have a place to get to know each other and have refreshments. To sweeten the encounter, the FUA hospitality department provided an abundance of snacks such as brownies, cakes, tarts, and savory items as well. Upon arriving everyone took a seat and SLD advisor Mattia Delle Piane announced the partner assignments, and one by one students were united with their local chat pal partner. We then took pictures of each pair in the cardboard cutout of the ChatPal Instagram. This meet & greet was a great introduction for both the students and the Italians involved. Participants will spend the rest of semester sharing and practicing the respective languages of the partners, meeting once a week for a minimum length of an hour to speak 30 minutes in one language and switch to the other for the remaining time. The Italian population this semester features individuals from diverse backgrounds and ages ranging from the 20s to early 40s. We were fortunate enough to meet and interview a local participant, Andrés Rosales, a Spanish transplant in Florence who works as a professional tour guide.
Where are you originally from?
AR: Madrid Spain but I have lived in Florence for 12 years now.
How long have you been a participant in this program?
AR: 3 years
How did u hear about ChatPal?
AR: One of my acquaintances participated the year before I started. He told me about the university, the language exchange program with the students, and I contacted FUA to meet and talk about it.
How many “Pals” do you usually get paired up with?
AR: Sometimes 1 sometimes 2 or 3, depends on the students and how often they can meet up.
Why ChatPal?
AR: To practice and improve my English.
Has your English improved?
AR: Yes, thanks to the practice and the opportunity to chat about different topics.
What do you usually talk about?
AR: General topics such as the city, life in the students’ home countries, and life here in Italy.
See more of Florence and Italy at FUA’s FB, Instagram, and Twitter.