I have been in Italy for more than two weeks now and it has been anything but uneventful. I no longer feel like a tourist anymore; I think it’s finally hit me that I’m living in Italy and not just visiting. I tend to sleep in in the mornings, go to a café for a sandwich and pastry, and walk around the city or find a comfy corner to read a book before attending class. I finally learned how to use public transportation to get around the city. Initially, I was very reluctant to ride the bus for whatever reason but it has become so important especially on the days when it rains and I have a twenty-five-minute walk to class. I’ve been impressing myself with how well I’ve adapted to the culture of Italy. Unfortunately, I’ve also had to learn how to live with roommates that don’t want to be anything more than just people that live together. Dealing with conflict is something I typically try to avoid, but in this case it had to be resolved and ended in a civil conversation laying down certain ground rules. While I may not be close to my roommates, I have made new friends who are my type of people and we’ve been having a blast! It was difficult to admit and accept that my roommates and I just didn’t click very well together but everything happens for a reason and I’m glad we are still cordial with one another.
My weekend trip to the Venetian Islands, Venice, and Verona with my program provider was exhausting but absolutely worth it. Visiting glass blowing factories in the islands, going on a gondola ride in Venice, and visiting Juliet’s courtyard in Verona are my favorite highlights from the trip.
Classes began right after returning from Venice and my cooking class is even better than I imagined it to be. The title of my class is The Italian Sensory Experience: Pairing Food and Wine which I attend every Monday through Thursday from 4:15pm to 6:45pm. Each class is typically structured the same with a small lecture in the beginning followed by tasting two types of wines, cooking a traditional Italian meal, and evaluating the pairing of the food and wine together. We just took our midterm this past Wednesday and I feel pretty confident in my work. Before taking this class, I had been oblivious to the complexities of cooking, wine making, and finding a good food and wine pairing. I can now say that I’m improving my cooking skills, which did not exist beforehand anyway and I genuinely think I’m learning the ins and outs of the culinary arts in regards to Italian cuisine.
This past weekend was a free weekend in which Friday my friends and I joined an excursion to a thermal pool spa, private and family owned vineyard and winery, and a small town in Tuscany called Cortona. Immediately after that Friday excursion, my friends and I travelled to a small town on the southern coast of Tuscany called Follonica where we enjoyed some relaxing beach time. Getting to Follonica was a bit of a mess to say the least. After successfully getting on our train and riding it all the way to our stop in Follonica, the train doors had malfunctioned when trying to exit at our stop and kept us locked in the train. We were forced to ride to the next stop which was a half an hour ride and improvise a way to get back to our destination. After talking to both the train and bus workers, who both said that the next train or bus wasn’t for another two hours at least, our last resort was to take a forty-five-minute taxi ride back to Follonica, which is not cheap. The ride back to Florence went much smoother thankfully. After arriving in Follonica, it was clear that this is small town was not accustomed to tourists as we were most likely the only tourists there and most of the locals didn’t speak any English whatsoever. Although intimidating, it was fun in a way to try to communicate with a language barrier; my limited Italian knowledge from Duolingo actually paid off for the most part.
This weekend I travel with my program provider to Rome for three days. This trip has much more free time incorporated into it than the last. My top priorities for Rome going to the Colosseum and visiting the Vatican.
Now that I’m halfway through my study abroad trip, it’s a little bittersweet to think about. I’ve finally adapted to the culture and have a routine and friends that I love but I also really miss my home and family. But for now, I’m going to make the most out of the rest of my trip and will have another update for you soon. Ciao!
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