I came. I saw. I lived.

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Reflections from My Time in Italy



 As I write this memento on my trip back to the States, I don’t leave Italy with any regrets because I lived. No, I didn’t visit every small town on the weekends or travel to Brussels or Geneva for fun, but I can say I became integrated into the local thread of Bologna.

I entered Italy knowing zero Italian to speaking Italian every day with my italiana roommate. And I could understand between 60 to 70 percent depending on the context and accent. I had an Italian boyfriend and became exposed to the culture of love. We visited the palazzi, danced in the streets and drank classic red wine in Eataly and local bars on Saturday nights. There is no better life than the one the Italians live.

Yes, it was hard adjusting to European culture those first two months. I didn’t know the language, I had to commute via cycling (which was frightening among the taxis, motorinos, and other cyclists), and I broke my foot. And let’s not even mention the devastation of Donald Trump winning the U.S. election nor the rise of populism in Europe. A week after the election, I almost became a political refugee in Italy, but I chose to return to the U.S. because I believed that democracy was stronger than just one election.
The Two Towers (Due Torri) of Bologna

So why study in Bologna, Italy? Italy’s a betterenvironment for travel bloggers, romance  writers, and photographers as well as for vacationers or for those happily married to Italians. However, with the University of Bologna (the oldest European university), the question should be, “Why not study in Bologna?” Rome and Florence have too many tourists, and Milan is too expensive, but Bologna is a quieter university town with a strong international presence. And I love it for that.

Although sometimes I had to compromise a traveler’s lifestyle for studying, I was still living in Italy! It was my first time living (not vacationing) in Europe, which is very different. When you live in a country, you become integrated into its fabric. In Italy, I enjoyed dinners with such zest that dinner was something to look forward to and not something to rush through.

What am I’m going to miss most about Italy? Definitely the culture. You can’t replicate the Mediterranean lifestyle, even if you tried because it’s been refined over thousands of years. From the Phoenicians to the Greeks, the Romans to the Italian Republic, those people found a good thing in this life when it came to their lifestyle of sublime food and amazing wine to be shared with others.

After culture, some of my sweetest moments are with Italians - my roommate and I sharing dinners together, conversing in Italian and laughing about the other’s language differences – visiting San Luca with my boyfriend and learning how to French kiss in a garden on a hill – going with amici for that well-needed aperitivo with pane, prosciutto, and vino bianco in the local café. You can’t replicate this lifestyle even if you tried because it’s culture, and it’s authentic to the region and the people. But you can be adopted into it, which I was so fortunate to have been.

I’m a traveler, not a tourist. I seek out new places to challenge myself and become integrated into the local culture. I learn to speak like the locals, eat like the locals, and live like the locals. As traveler Andrew Zimmern said, "I believe travel is transformative - physically, emotionally, spiritually and behaviorally - and that is the surest way to become the best version of yourself." 

But I don’t abandon my Americanness either; rather, I bring it to the table because we know that the tavolo is the best place for sharing food, relationship, and culture. It’s been a pleasure, Bologna - until my next adventure there. 

Ciao Italia! Ci vediamo in futuro!
Florence, Italy
Location: Saint Louis, MO, USA

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