This will be my final entry about Italy. I don’t have enough time to detail my last weekend in Sorrento, Capri, Positano and Pompeii, aside from saying that it was by far the best weekend on the trip. Capri and Sorrento were absolutely beautiful, I took several boat rides, swam through caves, took a chairlift so high that my ears popped, saw ancient pornographic paintings, went to a karaoke bar and jumped off of a small cliff. That weekend I gained new perspective on my trip in the most beautiful setting I’ve ever seen, and I savored every minute of it.
Now, for some final post-departure thoughts:
I was surprised with how prevalent English is in Italy. A lot of signs and menus are in Italian and English. Words on most clothes, notebooks and bags are in English, which was disappointing. I had to search for souvenirs with Italian words on them. I went into the Disney Store hoping to find t-shirts with Disney characters talking with Italian word bubbles, but there was no Italian to be found.
Though I was not in Italy very long, I learned that Italians really love President Obama. Language barriers between college-aged Italians and my group of friends sometimes stopped much meaningful communication. However, a few times the barrier lifted when one of the Italians yelled “Obama!” Conversation would stall past that smile-eliciting comment, but I learned that Europeans really are hopeful that Obama will fix the problems the U.S. has helped create. Unfortunately, I’m not good enough at Italian to read a newspaper (though I did browse a few of the free commuter papers) and I never got to see a news cast, but I imagine the tone of Italian media’s coverage of America is much more positive than it was one year ago.
Italians have much different safety standards than Americans. Some of the ancient monuments have steep, difficult staircases and bridges that look like they’ll crumble, but continue to be trampled by tourists. When I was on boats in Capri and Positano I was never told where life vests were (there weren’t signs either), I wasn’t given instructions on safely jumping from the boat or cliff, and there wasn’t a single lifeguard in sight on any of the beaches.
I came to the conclusion that Italians are terrible multi-taskers. A café cashier would spend several minutes finishing a conversation with his friends without acknowledging your presence in his restaurant. Often, people stop in the middle of the sidewalk, not to tie their shoe or look at something in a window, but to put emphasis on a point of the story they’re animatedly telling their friend.
I learned a ton about Italian culture and history, and I loved all of it. I would go back to Italy in a heartbeat, hopefully one day I’ll get to do that. In the meantime, I’m content applying for my next study abroad in the U.K. and continuing to explore Boston. Future study abroad students beware: You WILL get the travel bug. Now, all I want to do now is see the world. Are there any takers for a financier for my future world exploration? Please?
In Italy, I learned to take things that would otherwise bother me and find the bright side. The lack of multi-tasking was endearing when I was finally able to categorize it. I don’t love the beach, but every time I started to get annoyed that sand was stuck all over my me, I snapped myself out of it with the realization that yes, I was covered in sand, but it was ITALIAN sand. It made it immediately better. I was able to take everything that came at me with a more relaxed demeanor than my Type-A personality is usually capable of. I learned patience. I believe that I am now more open to and respectful of points of view different than mine. I also both love and hate America more than I did before I went abroad.
Every experience in Italy, whether positive or negative, has made an impact on the way I view the world and the people around me. I hope that Italy was just the beginning. I look forward to continually learning more and exploring both at home and during any future experiences abroad.
