The Big Bang

My First week in Italy!!

Since I have been in Italy, I have experienced a lot of cultural differences along the way. First being, when I met everyone at the airport. I was nervous because I was not flying with everyone else since I needed to make sure I found the group so I wouldn't be left behind. When I arrived at the airport I was able to meet with everyone but the one thing that caught my attention was the military presence throughout the whole airport. I was in shock on how many soldiers and police officers were throughout the airport. The soldiers were carrying M16s which makes people think twice about trying to do something. It also makes travelers feel safer after all the problems that have been going on in Italy.


After this, we were walking outside as a group, trying to find the bus that would take us to Montepulciano. When we were outside the airport, Professor Tudor put his bag down to help find the bus. In about 5 minutes, his bag was stolen by one of the locals at the airport. I became more aware of my surroundings immediately after that. It was a good reminder that you can't let your guard down wherever you are just because you think you are in a "safe place".

I would say my favorite part about this trip so far was the view I have from my room. When we got to Montepulcaino, I was not expecting to have anything special, I was thinking we would have a normal dorm room like we did back in Kennesaw. Once the bus took us into town, we were dropped off at the bottom of this three story apartment. When we were taken to the room, I was able to see the view we had and it was priceless. You can not get a view like that anywhere in Kennesaw and it reassured that I made the right decision to come on this study abroad trip.

The first full day in Montepulciano, I noticed there was not an ice machine in the refrigerator or ice trays. For me, I love having a nice tall glass of ice cold water since that is the most refreshing drink to have in my opinion. When I realized, I will not have ice cold water for the next seven weeks I became disappointed but I also looked at it as an opportunity to experience new things.

One of the most interesting things that has happened to me on this trip has been me getting locked in my room. At first, I was extremely concerned because if there was a fire in the apartment, I would have no way out and could have possibly become severely injured. But once I realized that I was not going to be able to change the situation, I just took a deep breath and just chilled with the people I was in the room with. It was definitely an experience I will tell for years to come since that would never happen in the United States.

Some of the biggest differences I have seen were in the food industry. The first thing that was the prices of the food were a lot cheaper than America. I am able to get a panini and a cappuccino all for 5 euros. In America, that could easily be 8-10 dollars for everything. All the food here in Italy is also fresher than back in America since they do not put any chemicals on their food. I was expecting to pay more since the food is fresher but it turned out to be the opposite. The other thing I noticed when I was eating in the restaurants was no one was pressuring me to leave by bringing my check early. Instead, I walked up to the counter when I was done and got to decide when I wanted to leave. It was a very enjoyable experience to not be rushed in a restaurant because I could really enjoy the time I spend there.

Language Barrier is Not a Joke

Later during day, we went out around the town and I was able to experience the language barrier first hand. Some friends and I went to a restaurant near the Piazza Grande and ordered a beer. It was hard to communicate with him because the only words I knew in Italian at the time were ciao, vino, birra, and prego. The only words he was able to say were hungry, thirsty, and okay. As hard as it was to communicate with our waiter, it was great to experience new things and realize the world is bigger than us.

Our first night here, some friends and I went to go experience the opera show that night. We got to sit in the bleachers and watch the performances take place. It was hard to understand them the whole time we were there watching them because they only spoke english when they were on stage. I was still able to enjoy the performance and was glad to experience something different.

I am excited to see what happens the next couple of weeks while I am here.