The past four months of my life were incredible. I wouldn't give them up for anything in the world. I learned so much about myself between living in Italy and speaking zero Italian, travelling on low-cost budget airlines around Europe by myself, maneuvering my way around in strange European cities with my friends, reading maps, catching trains, living on an extremely tight budget, managing an unmanageable workload in an extremely limited time period, trying new foods, and finally truly understanding another culture. Being able to live in another country so different from America was an experience I will treasure for the rest of my life. It has given me the opportunity to reflect on everything I love so much about America, but take for granted, and an opportunity to see another culture's way of dealing with the things that irritate me in America. These are the things I will miss about Rome.
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| Travis |
1. Cappuccinos: Italian coffee is the best in the world… There isn’t a single Starbucks in the country and to-go cups are very hard to come by. I will miss having a cappuccino standing, with one brown sugar, at the bar on the special mornings I woke up early enough. I will even miss the espresso and cappuccino machine at Temple Rome. But be careful! You'll be laughed at if you order a cappuccino after 10 AM; stick to espresso for your late afternoon java kick. For just 30 cents, you can get a mediocre espresso without leaving the building. Very clutch during midterms and when I am up all night writing a paper or when you need something to warm you up after getting soaked in a torrential down pour.
2. The food. Even though I picked the worst possible country to study abroad in as a Celiac, I was still able to enjoy my fair share of Italian cuisine! Proccuito and melon or a caprese salad were my go to lunch and dinner options. The mozzarella in Italy is like nothing I have ever tasted before in my life. For starters, it takes NOTHING like the mozzarella we have in the states. The real thing comes from water buffalos (not cows) in southern Italy; when you slice into your ball of fresh mozzarella at dinner, out comes fresh milk, almost as if the cheese were a sponge filled with as much buffalo milk as possible for maximum flavor... yummmy! The Parmigiana is also UNBELIEVABLE its that GOOD. My roommate and I would literally buy a brick of it a week. We used it on everything. I also swear that the tomatoes in Italy are different than at home. They just taste so much fresher and sweeter. Although I cannot comment on the pasta and pizza dishes, I can say that based on my friends reviews and reactions, they are quite delectable.  |
| Naples |
3. Gelato. On another note, now that I have had the real, Italian gelato, I will never eat anything else. It is not like ice cream, or frozen yogurt, or sorbet, or anything in between. Its not too heavy and creamy and its not too sweet and rich...its totally indescribable. You'll know what I'm talking about once you try it. Its perfect. My favorite gelato comes from Old Bridge Gelateria, right across from the Vatican Museum entrance. Stracciatella (also one of my favorite Italian words to say), Nutella, and Ananas taste fantabulous together.
4. The Italians and their Culture. Ooohhh how I wish I was Italian! Italians are the epitome of effortless class and flawless beauty. From their mannerisms to their style, everything is perfectly polished. Their makeup is perfect; the would never dream of leaving the house with wet hair; ponytails are unheard of; flipflops are strictly for the beach; shorts are rare, but increasingly a topic of interest as are fair skinned, blonde haired, blue-eyed girls... hello alien status! To have the effortless grace of an Italian! My thirty minute walk to school in the morning proved to be a prime people watching period: men and women on their way to work. For Italians, appearance is the number one, most important quality. I am pretty sure they spend more time getting ready for work, school, dates, and interviews than they spend at the activity itself. The men always sport pristinely polished loafers (Ferragamo) and perfectly tailored custom high end designer suits by [insert: any expensive high end Italian or French designer]. This is how you can separate the real Italians from the tourists and the immigrants. No one dresses more perfectly than an Italian. I made a game out of this on the metro, but it quickly became boring once I realized how easy it was to spot a real Italian in a crowd. The women wear leather heels, flats if they are above the age of 60, and they are usually a perfect match to their leather handbag, with the exception of the fashionista, who tends to be a bit more daring with her wardrobe choices. The shoes and purse (briefcase for the men) is always a high-end Italian or French designer.
5. The matrimonial bed. By the beginning of October, my adorable roommate Isabel and I were inspired to push our twin-size beds together to form a "matrimonial bed" by some of our friends in Temple who had done so earlier. The term "matrimonial bed" was coined by the maids at our Residence, who did not understand why two girls would want their beds pushed together if they weren't dating or married. Each day for the first month we pushed our beds together, the maids would push them back apart when they cleaned our room. But for Isabel and I, there was no turning back. The matrimonial bed was revolutionary!! Instead of struggling to fall asleep in our prison-like separated beds, while awkwardly straining our necks to watch season one of Modern Family on my laptop each night that was set up on a chair in between our beds, we decided we'd be much happier snuggling and watching television with our beds pushed together. Definitely a major highlight of my semester. It made late night philosophizing sessions, snuggling, movie nights, naps, and even waking up in the morning a billion zillion times better! I highly recommend the matrimonial bed for all of you future study abroaders.
6. Walking. Since I've been back in America, I have realized how little we walk. I can get through an entire day barely even walking a half mile. Granted, I am home for the holidays and posted up in the 'burbs, but I think its slightly oxymoronic that we walk almost nowhere on a day to day basis and make up for it by sweating profusely for two hours 3-5 times a week at the gym. How much time does driving everywhere really save us? I understand the connivence of having a car but perhaps we wouldn't need to spend so much time destressing and burning off all those extra calories (gosh darn Starbucks Mocha Frapps are killin' me!) if we just walked everywhere! In Rome, I grew to genuinely looked forward to my walk to and from school everyday. It was relaxed, peaceful, and I could rock out to some of my favorite beats on the way to class. Couldn't ask for a more perfect start to the day!
Check back soon for Part II!
xx, E
