I really did enjoy my time in Italy. It was so nice to see all my friends again and experience Italy again!
During my ten-day trip, I went to Milan (Milano), Mantua (Mantova), and Salo'.
I have never lived in Milan, but my friend Annica moved to the city with her parents a month ago, so I went to stay with them for a few days. I have known Annica all my life (our parents were friends before we were born) and she feels more like a cousin to me rather than just a friend, just like her parents are like my aunt and uncle and her brother is also like my cousin. The funny thing is that people have actually thought that our mothers are sisters and that Annica and I are cousins! =)
Anyway, my time was nice in Milan because I got to spend time with Annica and her parents and I also got to see another friend of mine who is also like family to me.
It was nice to get used to speaking and hearing Italian again and it was nice to see old Italian-style buildings again. I've missed seeing them these last three years.
(Here's a picture of Annica and I in front of the cathedral in Milan).
The weird thing about being in Milan was re-experiencing the fashion obsessed part of the Italian culture. That part is definitely not something I've missed about Italy! It's strange, especially in Milan, how people walk around like they're on a cat walk. All the women have make-up, nice clothing, and nice shoes (mostly with high heels) and the men have their hair all done and are also wearing nice clothing that give a nice shape to their body. I haven't really experienced this anywhere else and it makes me feel a little uncomfortable.
Annica and I went around some of the shops one day, just for fun, and the prices on everything scared me. There were also stores that didn't have any price tags on anything, which means that the people that shop there don't even care how expensive the items are.
The next stop on my trip was Mantova, the city where I lived from the age of 4 to the age of 10 and where Annica lived her whole life until now. (Mantova is most well-known for the fact that Romeo Montague, from Romeo and Juliet, went into exile there.)
Annica and I went by train together to Mantova. It was interesting taking public transportation in Italy again (first to the metro, then to the train). I've been spoiled and had forgotten that I wouldn't have escalators or air conditioning. So, needless to say, carrying our suitcases up and down stairs and feeling a little suffocated in the train/oven was very exhausting. But we had a lot of fun and we laughed so hardabout it. Other people probably thought we were nuts.
My culture shock in Mantova was seeing how nothing had really changed. Most of my friends (all my age) still live with their parents or live in an apartment paid by their parents, they have never had a job, they don't know how to cook, and they don't really help out at home. They also have all their university expenses covered by their parents (granted, university in Italy is only around $1500 a year compared to the $35000+ a year I'm going to haveto pay in the States).
I've known all my life that Italians do this; they live with and off of their parents until they graduated from university and get a good job and get married (which is usually around when they're 30 or more years old), but it was just weird to see my friends who are my age being that way when I've already lived away from my parents for 2 years, have had many different kinds of jobs, and I know how to do all house chores.
We had a lot of fun though. We even got locked out of my friend's house 'cause the door was jammed, her parents were away, and her brother did not wake up to our constant yelling, pounding on the door, and calling both the house phone and his cell phone. We ended up just sitting in front of the door until her grandparents (who live next door) woke up at 6 am and her grandfather climbed up a ladder and got into the bathroom window haha.
Here's a picture of me and my friends Sara and Giada. We were in the same class our first four years of elementary school.
After Mantova I went to Salo' (where I lived from when I was 10 to when I was 18). My surprise here was actually being excited about being there and finding the town beautiful. See, ever since the first day we moved there I was set on not liking the place and leaving as soon as I could, so it was weird having such good feelings about the place!
It was definitely nice to see the mountains again. I had really missed seeing them and all the green and beauty of Salo' and Lake Garda. It was also nice to see some of my friends there, too. Unfortunately, there were a few people I really wanted to see that I wasn't able to get in touch with, but hopefully I'll see them the next time I'm there, whenever that will be.
Here's a picture of Amira, who was in my middle school class.
It's weird to think that I'm leaving Europe again.
No comments:
Post a Comment