BY: BETH PANGIA
When travelling to Italy, I knew I would face some obstacles. This was my first time travelling abroad or being on a plane by myself. I was really nervous about travelling alone and travelling internationally. I was able to ask for lots of guidance and reassurance, and travelling alone ended up going great.
When getting to Italy, the most difficult obstacle I faced at the beginning of the program was the language barrier. I came to Italy a few days prior to my study abroad program so it was difficult to ask for guidance on how to use the taxi system, since many people only spoke Italian where I was staying. When I would ask people around me, many of them spoke Italian since I was outside of the touristy areas. One way I navigated around this obstacle was the use of google translate and some common knowledge I had about the Italian language. Prior to coming to Italy, I used Duolingo to learn some common phrases that would be useful when navigating around, so this enabled me to ask for directions to getting a taxi. I also used google translate to ask how to get a taxi and learned that I needed to call a number to do so. To conclude, to tackle the language barrier I experienced in Italy, I stayed calm, used my common Italian language skills, and used google translate to ask for directions on how to get around Italy.
There were many similarities and differences I found to navigating my daily routines in this new space. Starting with the differences, there were many differences for transportation to and from specific areas. For example, on the weekends, my friends and I would travel to different places around Italy. If I were in the United States, I would usually just jump into my car and travel to another place, however, in Italy, we took the trains. To get around from the central city back to our house, we would have to take a taxi or walk. In the United States, I would usually just drive somewhere in my car, or I would be able to take an uber (uber is illegal in Italy). Another difference in the new space I was living in was the ability to do my laundry. In the United States, there are washing machines and dryers however in Italy, there are no dryers, making it difficult to dry my clothes. I ended up having to hang up all my clothes after washing them and waiting a few days for them to dry. It was very difficult when it would rain outside since I would usually hang my clothes up on the lines outside. However, as time went on, I gained a routine and got used to the new system. Another difference in my daily routine in the new space is the timing and portions of meals. In Italy, they have small breakfasts and larger lunches. I am used to having huge breakfasts and smaller lunches, which made it difficult when I had to get used to just eating a croissant in the morning. Italians also do not eat dinner until late at night, which was a difficult adjustment. Lastly, the time change made it difficult for me to adjust to my daily routine. I had to navigate through many differences in my daily routine in Italy.
Some similarities I found when navigating in this new space was the coffee culture. I was able to get my coffee and enjoy it every morning in Italy like I would do in the United States. Another thing I did not have to change about my daily routine was having a large dinner. Dinner tends to always be my biggest meal, and it also tends to be that way in Italy. Another similarity I found was the whole aspect of slow food and enjoying your meal and time with family. I am used to the whole atmosphere of a sit-down dinner with my family, and taking the time to enjoy the meal and company. I loved the slow food aspect of Italy because it reminded me of home-cooked meals with my family. Although life was very different for me in Italy, there were still some similarities I could keep to my daily routine which made my adjustment easier.
My favorite experience so far in Italy was our class trip to the Chianti region for wine tasting. We were able to go wine tastings at two different wineries. The scenery was beautiful, especially with all the colorful flowers of the countryside. The first winery was a smaller family-run winery. It was an all-organic winery, and we got to try three of their red wines and see their wine cellars. We were able to learn more about the whole process of how wine is made and the significance of it to Italian culture. The second winery we went to was much larger and more well-known. We got to try three of their red wines, a rose, and a dessert wine. They also gave us plenty of food to try with the wines. This was my favorite part of the trip because I just loved the scenery. I love the countryside of Italy and how it is not as touristy and just a relaxing setting. I also loved to learn more about the wine cellars and how they age the wine, and how wine is really produced! It was an amazing experience.
