Traveling changes people. In my opinion, this is one of the main allures of travel: change. Traveling allows us to leave not only our homes and routines but also our comfort zones and experience new places, foods, people, and cultures. This was one of the things I was looking most forward to before my stay in Italy. That is, throwing myself into a world of change and new things and experiences. I had the expectation to learn new things about life and find new ways to live mine, and my stay of 68 days was definitely long enough to experience some things. So….what did I learn? What am I taking from Italy and Italian culture and bringing back to my life in America?
Slow It Down
We here in America should pump the brakes and slow down a bit. This is one of the things that I knew I would “learn” in Italy. It’s a bit obvious, at least to me, to learn to slow down in Italy, especially coming from America, especially coming from New Jersey/New York. American life out in NJ/NY is fast-paced. Productivity is the name of the game. Life is about doing as many things as possible, making as much money as possible, and constantly trying to climb figurative ladders for advancement in our chosen areas of life. Personally, I’m a bit two-sided when it comes to this. I take pride in being a productive person and being able to both do and handle a lot of things and get stuff done. I’m always trying to be productive and work towards something. However, at the same time, I also value free time, relaxation, and slowing down to see what’s happening around me and enjoy it. I once heard that life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it…
Don’t Sacrifice Quality & Freshness
Food is a very important part of Italian culture. I wouldn’t say it’s too much of a stretch to say that Italian life revolves around food, whether it be the preparation, consumption, or both. However, Italians don’t just eat any random food. Italian cuisine is rooted deep in simplicity, and Italian cooking, in general, puts great emphasis on fresh ingredients. It was a noticeable difference in the quality and freshness of the food that I ate in Italy as compared to at home in America. My body definitely felt better-eating food without so many preservatives, and my taste buds definitely appreciated the freshness of fruits and vegetables. Back at home, I am definitely paying closer attention to the quality of food that I eat.
Appreciating Being A Native Speaker Of Any Language
I love Italian. It’s such a beautiful and amazing language to not only speak but also listen to and use. While in Italy, I focused solely on using Italian as my communication tool, I really didn’t want to use English. While I used the language very well, it definitely was a struggle at times, and most definitely tired me out. Only after struggling to follow conversations, hear even the most basic phrases in a busy cafe, and read street signs on parking rules, does it reach this point. While I loved it all, it was frustrating at times. It wasn’t until I would listen to English music and watch Youtube and video chat with my family that I would realize how grateful I am for being a native speaker of a language. While I love Italian and would love to use it exclusively every day, it’s the effortless understanding and use of my own language that gave me this great appreciation. This is one of those things that you need to experience on your own in order to understand it and gain perspective.
Dai! Not Die! (and gestures)
Everyone knows that Italians use a lot of hand gestures, it’s one of the truest Italian stereotypes. There’s a lot more to communicating than just what comes out of the mouth, and Italians are world-famous for this communication method. Personally, I’m a bit animated when I talk, my hands do a lot of moving. Though it wasn’t until I began to study Italian and form relationships with Italians and truly be there that my once random hand movements solidified into “proper” gestures with meaning. This is something that I’ve definitely fully incorporated into my life, and will now even gesture in response to reading Reddit while alone.
Along with gestures, my brain is constantly wanting to respond to people in Italian and is quick to react with a “vabbè° or °va bene°. Most of the time I catch myself and speak in English, but it is fun to just comment and react in Italian. Funnily enough, I’ve noticed most people don’t even notice that I’ll respond or react in Italian. This either shows how much people actually pay attention to others, or if they just don’t care. Anyway, back on topic, one of the most used responses and exclamations in Italian is “dai!”, which has the same pronunciation as the English “die”. In Italian, “dai” literally means “you give” but is most commonly used to say “come on!” in all its forms. To say “dai” is common would be an understatement. For this reason, “dai” has fully entered my daily lexicon, and while in America, I have to be careful to tell respond to people with “dai”. Because while it’s an auto-response, to them it’s “die!”.
A Whole New Level Of Friendship
This is definitely something a little unique to me and my situation, but, I’m bringing back with me strengthened friendships that now have a physical or material component to them. I have many Italian acquaintances and friendships, and a couple of close friends. However, before my trip, all of these friendships were strictly through a digital medium, the Internet. Though after meeting all of these wonderful people and spending time together, these friendships are now more “real” and are more than just a face and text on a screen. This is possibly the greatest thing that I am bringing back with me.
