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Studying Italian in Milan: Felipe’s story

Do you want to reach a mother tongue level of Italian to complete your university studies? For Felipe a possible mission, which he is working on with the help of an ELLCI Milan course. With the motivation and support of an intensive course, Felipe achieved advanced results in no time.

In ELLCI he found the right stimuli to lay solid foundations for his future. Find out about his experience and his advice.

Then deepen the other stories: you can find them in the interviews section of our blog!

Our chat with Felipe

• Hi Felipe, tell us something about yourself …

I come from Paraguay, I am 26 years old and for the moment, in addition to the Italian lessons, I am doing an internship and applying for admission to the university.

• What prompted you to come to study in Italy?

I came to Italy for the first time years ago and I liked it a lot, from that time I realized that I wanted to know more about the country.

This is why I decided to enroll at the University of Milan and study IT science. I’ve always been interested in tech.

Today, however, I live in Como. I like it very much, whenever I can I go for a walk to the lake.

• When did you start studying Italian and how?

I started studying it in my country, in Paraguay. I took five-hour classes every weekend.

Thanks to this course when I arrived in Italy I didn’t have many difficulties in understanding, my level was almost intermediate. More than anything else, I was a little afraid to speak. Having an intermediate level also helped me with the paperwork for obtaining a student visa.

• What are you studying now?

I am attending the Standard 20 intensive course. I have classes from 10.00 am till 1.15 pm, every day from Monday to Friday. The pace is good and the group is small, so every student has the chance to interact and practice.

• How is your life in Milan?

My life hasn’t changed much from Paraguay to Italy, except for food. Now I eat a lot of pasta, pizza, cheeses, etc.

• One thing you like about living in Italy and one thing you don’t like.

I like Italian food and landscapes. On the other hand, the bureaucracy in the country can be heavy.

• What would you recommend to those who are starting to study Italian and dream of living in Italy?

I would recommend starting to speak Italian with those who know or can. The most useful thing is to talk to Italians and pay attention to how they speak.

• Something you recommend everyone to do in Milan?

To taste and eat everything you can, especially the high-rim pizza. And if you need a residence permit, go to the post office patiently.