The Florentine — the top English-language publication for the international community in Florence — published a nice little profile of Speakeasy Multilingual in their April issue. Our original goal in founding Speakeasy was to create a platform for language learners to come together and practice while having fund. But finding friendships and building community have been excellent side effects!
Speakeasy Multilingual: finding friendships
Miriam Hurley and Lexie Cimko created the Speakeasy Multilingual get-togethers in Florence in 2014.
Many an expat has found the familiar problem of meeting friends who then leave for their respective country. Miriam Hurley arrived in Florence for the first time in 1994, before several back and forths, and eventually finally settling here in 2004. “Each time I came back, I found that I had no friends again,” Miriam comments on the phenomenon of frequent friendship changes in the city. “Every foreigner in Florence I know has this problem because people come and leave, and come back again.”
To stay sociable in spite of the regular flux of friends, Miriam, along with co-founder Lexie Cimko, created the Speakeasy Multilingual get-togethers in 2014, starting with one or two attendees before quickly growing to groups of a 100 during peak summer sessions, with average numbers pre-pandemic at 40 and currently around 20. The social meet-ups have taken place in various venues on Wednesday evenings, with many nationalities attending the international aperitivos that are also well-attended by Florentines in a successful integration of communities. ….
Read the full article here: https://www.theflorentine.net/2022/04/01/speakeasy-multilingual-finding-friendships/
