All in the Family: Italian Family Club Fosters Cross-Cultural Bonds

written by Savvy Sleevar for SPEL: Journalism

When international students arrive in Italy for their term at Florence University of the Arts - The American University of Florence on the tail end of Tuscany’s blistering summer, culture shock meets claustrophobia. The streets are flooded with tourists, sticky cones of melting gelato in one hand, at-the-ready cell phone cameras in the other. There’s something ornate and historic to admire almost everywhere you turn, but sometimes it feels like everyone else on planet Earth wants to be there, too — all at the exact same time.

Even after peak tourist season dies down, though, FUA-AUF students might still feel overwhelmed. Especially with so much to do in each corner of the cobbled city, what’s one of the best ways to truly get a taste of what everyday life, culture and connection in Florence are really like? It’s almost like you literally need to knock on a Florentine’s door, say “buonasera” and join their family at the table for dinner.

And for a handful of curious students, that’s exactly what they’ll do this semester.

Through FUA-AUF’s Italian Family Club, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, students are paired with “adoptive” Italian families and meet with them throughout the semester. Depending on the pairing, a student could potentially accompany their Italian family on trips, join them for meals, practice their language skills with them or even hang out with the family’s kids for an afternoon. So not only does Italian Family Club foster cultural exchange, it also creates genuine connections.

“We had a student that stayed two semesters, and she wanted to continue with the same family,” says Camilla Magini, a Student Life & Development advisor at FUA-AUF. “And that’s something that, like, never happened. And it means that the matching side of it was really good, and then the program went really well.”

The connections forged in Italian Family Club are made possible by Magini and the SLD team. Each year, SLD advisors encourage students to take part in a range of semesterly extracurricular activities, whether it’s a pick-up soccer game or picking up a pencil and drawing at an art therapy event.

But with FUA-AUF opening its doors to hundreds of students from all over the world every semester, the SLD team isn’t just responsible for ordinary extracurricular events and student services. Instead, the department is also a catalyst for cultural integration, emboldening students to explore their host country, embrace the rich new culture that surrounds them and engage with the Florentine community. Additionally, Magini says joining Italian Family Club is one of the most transformative opportunities for students aiming to make all that happen.

“I think that’s the best activity,” Magini says. “At the end of the semester, you can see differences [in students] and how the pair really match to each other.”

Students interested in being paired with an Italian family do have a few things to keep in mind. First, this activity includes an application process, along with an interview. SLD advisors do their best to pair students with a family that will be compatible with them in terms of shared interests, availability and the kinds of experiences they want to gain from the program.

Depending on the number of applicants, there may also be more interested students than there are available families. Magini says the number of Italian families in the program can vary by semester. In Fall 2023, around six families participated, and this past spring semester, that number bumped up to around nine. Sometimes, though, participating families are happy to take more than one student per semester.

For students who are eager to apply for Italian Family Club this semester, here’s a sense of what the full process will look like for Fall 2024: after an initial informational meeting, which is set to take place September 18, applications roll in over the next few days. Students who apply will then be interviewed, usually over the course of one week. To get involved, send an email to: sld-studentservices@florencecampus.org

After that, matches are finalized, and students have the opportunity to chat with their Italian families over a meal at a meet-and-greet event in early October. Typically held at either Fedora, FUA-AUF’s pastry shop and bistro, or Ganzo, the school’s restaurant, the event allows families and students to break the ice, get to know one another and lay the foundation for a cross-cultural connection that will span the entire semester — or even a lifetime.