Day #20

For my last day in Italy we started out later in the evening. We slept in for the first time in awhile and ate lunch at the hotel. Around 4 we took the bus and metro into Torino. 

Our first stop was Borgo Medieval, which is a medieval castle.

 It had an open courtyard that was cool with a market going on in it. There was this really sweet shop there as well. I ended up buying some jewelry there. A lot of the jewelry had to do with astrology. It was too late to get a tour of the castle inside so we just explored the outside of it for a while. 

We walked along the river the rest of the way until we hit the main part of Torino.

Our next spot was Museo Nazionale del Cinema where did we did a panoramic tour of the city. 

An elevator brought us to the top of the building. We got to look out and see all of Torino from high up and take pictures. 

There was a cool cinema museum inside. That’s something I wish I had more time to see. It had a lot of American actors and actresses in it. Afterwards we walked to a wine store and bought a bottle of white wine for my last night. We walked to this awesome restaurant. I got gnocchi—my favorite dish in Italy, a salad, white wine and plenty of bread. The restaurant is so pretty and they have candles lit at your table. I felt like I was in heaven because the only music that played was like soulful r&b in English. It was my favorite music, food and the atmosphere was perfect. 

We got a cab back to the hotel afterwards and stayed up drinking wine with Pollo. This morning Marie left for camp and I said bye to her. I will miss her. She was a good roommate. We spent every minute of every day for 3 weeks together. After 3 weeks---we still like one another haha.

The same guy who picked me from the airport, dropped me off to the airport. I got there pretty early. I had 2 hours to kill with no wifi. I wrote some stuff, got some ritz crackers and walked around for a bit. The first plane was only an hour to Frankfurt, Germany. I fell asleep for most of it. By the time we landed it was about 4:20 and my next flight was at 5:10. I was worried I wouldn’t make it in time. We had to take a shuttle when we got off the bus. By now it was about 4:40. I was freaking out. I was gate Z. When I got in I started like running to get where I needed to go. All of a sudden there was a long line for passport control. Thank god it moved fast and they let me go through a quicker line because of my flight time.

Again I was running to get to my gate. I was paranoid I was going to miss it. I got to gate Z 54 and I see all these Asian people in line. I look at the name of the destination and it’s like Shainpoo or something like that. I’m freaking out. I asked the lady at the counter and she told me it was Z 62 only a few gates down. Thank god. I was able to board my plane on time. I was sweating by the time I got on from running around so much.

As I’m sitting on the plane right now I figured it would be a perfect time to write a reflection of my trip. The plane ride is a lot more enjoyable then the way there. I started the trip with tonsillitis. I cried in the Germany airport because I felt like shit and no one would help me find the medical center. I cursed out a German police officer because he refused to show me where it was. No one knew English and I could barely understand their directions. I remember feeling so helpless, confused, and alone. It was a lot harder than I imagined it would be. Thank god I found it and got an antibiotic. By the 2^nd day of the trip I felt 90% better. My first 3-4 days were hard. They were hard emotionally and mentally. I never thought I was the type that would miss home or I never considered myself a homebody.

I had planned this trip as something to look forward to after a very challenging first year of teaching. I had survived the year from hell and here I was 25 years old and crying in my room because I missed home. I was also alone in a foreign country. The 1 person I knew I had just met. My roommate arrived 2 days late. Everything was a process--ordering dinner, getting the right bus, buying things at the store, etc. It was stuff I never even thought would be hard. It was something that I guess I always took for granted. I thought I would just show up and this stuff would miraculously happen for me. I think the hardest part was feeling lonely. This was a feeling that I’ve never really felt before. I have great family and friends.

I’ve lived with Melissa for 8 years. I always had someone to go to. I can text my mom at any time. She texts me all the time.  I usually get annoyed at how much she calls and texts me. Here I am in Italy and I can’t text or call anyone. It made me appreciate the people close to me. Being alone and outside my comfort zone made me think about the people I love and care about the most. During those first 3-4 days, I couldn’t stop missing my mom or Melissa. I didn’t realize how I had taken those relationships for granted while I was home.

I didn’t know how I was going to last 3 weeks. I was starting to question my decision to go to Italy alone. I was in a room with a girl I barely knew, in a place I had never been, and no one spoke English besides 1 person at the hotel. I kept telling myself I had to stick it out and that it would get better.

I am glad I did because the experience did get a lot better for me. Camp made things a lot homier for me. I think it was kids that put me more at ease. The fact that they didn’t speak English and wanted to be around you was a very rewarding feeling. The food and wine definitely helped a lot---it was amazing! I’ve probably gained 10 pounds from all the bread and pasta. I got to know my roommate Marie and we got along great. We made friends with a bunch of men at dinner from Naples. Eventually I fell into the groove of Italy. It was a rewarding and eye opening experience.

In America we see those group of Asians who can’t speak English and we laugh or avoid them. It was different being on the opposite side of the line. Here I was the Asian who couldn’t speak Italian. People would stare at you, avoid you, get agitated with you and at times were rude to you. We tend to think that if you can’t speak our language that you don’t know what is going on which is just pure ignorance. Since I couldn’t speak the language I think I was more aware of body language and observed more than ever. It’s very easy to pick up on vibes and people even if you don’t know the language. I told Marie I would definitely think twice when I saw someone out in public who spoke a different language or who was struggling to find a place because of the language. I knew how hard it was for me.

On my last day I felt a mix of emotions. I felt sad leaving but I felt excited to go back to the USA and see everyone. I felt proud of myself for sticking through a rough patch of the trip to get an amazing experience in the end. When you remove yourself from your everyday life, you’re forced to think a lot. You evaluate yourself and your relationships.

 I felt happy about who I was and whom I have in my life. Seeing and living in a different culture is interesting to note the similarities and differences of your own.  You realize that your way of life isn’t the only way. It humbles you. You realize there’s more to life than just you.  Adversity and diversity are good for the soul. After my 3 weeks in Italy, I can make one final note: 

I am proud to be an American.

Day # 18

Yesterday we spent the day in Florence. We woke up around 5:45 and got a cab to the train station. We took the 7:47 train and we got into Florence around 10:25. Florence is beautiful. It is probably my favorite place so far that I have visited in Italy.

 It was about 90 degrees out and sunny the entire day. We first went to the Duomo Cathedral 

where we walked around and I lit another candle for my mom. 

We had to buy ponchos before going in because I had shorts on and Marie had a tank top on. They think it’s showing too much skin for being in a church. A lot of people had to buy these ponchos before entering. They were 2 euros. 

After we went into a few shops. I liked Florence shopping better than Milan because the stores were more unique. In Milan everything was just brand name stores. 

We got lunch at this really cute place in the middle of Florence. 

I got gnocchi that I love now, and grilled chicken over a salad. 

We got white wine like we get at every meal. 

I think I’ve drank white wine every night I have been here. We also were given lemon cello after our meal. 

This is like an after meal drink to sip on. They look like shots but they’re not. They’re just little drinks to sip on. They reminded me of lemon drops. After lunch we walked in the Palazzo Vecchio and I took some pictures. 

We did more shopping and then we went to the bridge—Ponte Vecchio. The bridge was my favorite part. It’s a bridge with all these little houses and shops on it. 

While we were taking pictures we saw a bride and groom getting their pictures taken on the bridge. 

We also met a bunch of girls from Chicago who were studying abroad in Rome. They asked us to take their picture. All the shops on the bridge were jewelry shops and they were pretty pricey. 

We did more shopping and got gelato & wine to end our Florence day. We were suppose to get the 6:25 train back but lucked out and were able to get the 5:25 back free of charge. It was a long day and we were ready to go back on the 5:25 one. We didn’t get back into Torino until 8:05 and from there we had to take the metro and the bus back to our hotel. We didn’t get back till 9:00. We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant for my final hotel meal. I got pasta with butter and saliva, potatoes and salad. 

We were excited because this morning would be the actual first time in 2 weeks we could sleep in. We have plans on going into Torino for one last final time before I leave tomorrow. We plan on going into town in the evening.

Day #16:

On Wednesday, I went canoeing with the camp for the first time. 

There were about 18 kids and 3 counselors. We went down the river and then back.

 Each kid had a paddle and we paddled to the beat of the drum. There was a woman at the front of the canoe with a drum. 

She gave us the beat while we paddled. It was cool being out by the river.

 It was something I never really experienced with a bunch of kids before. In the afternoon we did Art Attack, which is just like arts & crafts. My group made balls. We took cloth, put dirt inside of it, and tied them and attached string and streamers. At first I thought it was weird but I after launching one I realized how far you could throw them. The kids really liked them. Wednesday night we ate dinner in the hotel restaurant and said goodbye to our gentlemen friends. We won’t see them again. They are headed back to Naples. On Thursday, the kids went swimming in the morning. 

It was soooo hot out. Marie and I just layed in the sun with a bunch of them. 

For lunch we had spaghetti with pesto sauce, which was delicious. In the afternoon we did Olympic games with the kids. Today was my last day of camp. In the morning we played rugby. It is like nothing I have ever seen. The kids get so physical with one another and no one says anything. In America we could never do that. It would take about 2 minutes before a fistfight would break out.  Again it was SO hot out. I was dying by noon. For lunch we had pizza again. It was pizza with ham on it so I picked off the ham. The cook laughed at me when he saw my plate full of ham. In the afternoon they had a nutrionist come in and talk with the kids in their age groups. Each age group had to act out a skit on nutrition. I was with the youngest kids and they were off the wall at the end of the day. There’s this one kid Matteo who definitely needs medication. He is nuts. My favorite is Chiara. She is 5 years old and so cute. She’s really tan and chubby. She hangs out with Margarita who is another one of my favorites. She is 7, chubby and wears tinted sunglasses all the time. At first I thought it was a style thing but I learned that she has an eye disease that she has to wear them in the sun. 

I said good bye to everyone before I left.  

Tonight we ate dinner at the hotel and drank some wine. We plan on going into Florence tomorrow on the train. I am excited because Marie said Florence is one of the best places in Italy.