Keener Team
What is the most familiar and comfortable situation you have experienced since you are in Milan?

SeungChaeYang
I think I've gotten used to the pandemic situations right now. Living with a mask, taking online lessons, etc. The pandemic has completely changed my daily life. As we now live this way, it seems more unusual to see people not wearing masks.

Keener Team
What is the first memory that comes to mind when you think about unfamiliarity?

Hyunwoo Kim
I think the Green sausage. It may seem strange but, when I was a child, every time I went on a picnic my mom used to prepare the kimbap with the green sausage. In fact, green sausage is an organic product, so it's more expensive than other products. But I hated it because it was different from the classic one that others ate. I was wondering why I ate only green sausage. It was a very strange thing.

KT
Have you experienced an unusual situation recently?

HW
A lot of new community application platforms have been created due to the pandemic, right? So, through the app, I met many new people who live and work in Milan. It was an unusual moment after a long time, meeting new people, you know...

KT
What is the most strange and absurd thing you have found in Italy?

SC
Actually nothing so incredible, I've always been passionate about cars and football since I was a child, so Italy from this point of view was a very familiar country for me. But I admit that when Italian friends sing Italian songs together, it makes me a little strange and I think: "Oh, these guys listen to this music".

KT
Then did you feel unfamiliar when you were in Korea?

SC
For example, before doing the military service or before coming to Italy, when I went to the usual bar or places or while I walked the same street every day, the fact that it could be the last time made me strange. Even when I am at Incheon International Airport it has an unfamiliar effect on me. We are students abroad and we don't really know what to do or where to go.

KT
How do you usually react to unfamiliar situations?

HW
Mmh... I’m very afraid of unfamiliarity, but a bit like the saying: "It is better to be whipped first", I just move on! After that, it all passes, now I'm pretty proud of myself. As if I had climbed a mountain.

KT
How do you feel emotionally about these situations?

SC
Certainly not in a tragic way. If unfamiliarity were a person, for me it is like seeing the latter from multiple points of view.

KT
How would you represent unfamiliarity in music or fashion?

HW
In terms of fashion, I think I would describe it as "the soul of things", which is the topic I'm reflecting on recently. It is an imagination where things come to life when we sleep. If you think about it, isn't that very bizarre and unfamiliar?

KT
Many things have changed in this pandemic period. What do you think about it?

SC
I try to adapt, hoping that this situation will end. I like to go out, and I often go to places like clubs, but now I'm forced to stay at home, so I work a lot or live with various thoughts, trying to think that basically it's not too bad.

KT
It's a more specific question, but how was it when you first came to Italy?

SC
I was anxious because I was not good with either English or Italian. At the market, the clerk asked me "Bag?", But I didn't understand, so he replied "Yes?", And again he asked me "Bag?". So I asked what a "bag" was, and he shook the plastic bag, so I figured it out and put things in there. But after the first time I have no problems now.

KT
The first time you went to school in Italy?

HW
Everyone seems to be very curious… but guys! Don't be too afraid! Honestly, at first I too shivered a lot. I couldn’t speak and didn’t know where the structures of the various services were, so I was very scared, but luckily I had made many Italian friends who helped me a lot. Guys who are the same age as me with whom I got along quickly.

KT
How was it the first time you went out with Italian friends? What are the differences with Korean friends? Were there any unfamiliar situations?

HW
I remember a welcome party organized by the school. It was my first time, so I dressed well, but it was embarrassing because I had never received a hug and kiss on the cheek. The culture of entertainment is also very different. For example, Italians hold their glass while smoking or drink while walking. But over a drink after all, wherever you come from, we all become friends.

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