As I’m writing this post, I’m at the airport waiting to get on a plane to Italy (well… actually to Munich and then to Italy)! 

I’ve taken six years of Italian classes but I honestly have no idea what to expect going into this. I imagine people in Italy to be more laid back than in the US–everyone in Boston is perpetually busy and angry–but generally, I think people all over the world are more similar than they are different. I have never traveled out of the US and I have no basis for this claim, so I am ready to be proven wrong. 

Annalisa asked me to write about any preconceived notions I have about Italians which feels like I’m being asked to write about Italian stereotypes, so here goes: Italians are family-oriented, they love to eat (who doesn’t), they’re loud, they talk with their hands a lot… that’s all I got. I know it’s normal in Italy to eat a big lunch and then take a nap and that’s a concept I can really get behind. 

Living in another country is going to be weird. I think I’m going to feel like a bumbling tourist for a while. I’ll probably make a fool of myself in many interactions with the locals. If it wasn’t for google maps, I’d probably get lost a lot–maybe I still will get lost. Not knowing the language will force me to be more adventurous with food because I’ll have to order food without being totally sure what it is. I hope my mild knowledge of the Italian language comes in handy and that I’ll be a better Italian speaker by the end of the trip. 

I have never been out of the US and thus I have never immersed myself in another culture like I will for this trip. Hopefully, it will be fun and I’ll gain some new perspectives. I’ll try to push myself to try new things (food, activities) to really experience Italian culture. 

Andiamo al Italia!