Alexis Takes Italy

Week 7: Florence and The Coronavirus

February 21-29

This week has been insane! But I want to start with my weekend. I went to Florence for the weekend and for those who don’t know I studied in Florence for a school year a few years ago. I actually ended up visiting where I studied and it was a bit of a surreal experience. Being in a familiar environment I could clearly see how much my Italian has improved. To be able to hold conversations with people in Italian when I wasn’t able to do so the last time I was there was a bit crazy. I was also able just to see my overall growth which was a cool juxtaposition. I was able to hangout with my best friend who I haven’t seen in just about three years was great too. Florence will always have a place in my heart. There I also challenged myself to answer a question I’ve struggled with, whether or not I enjoy particular foods because of warm memories or is does it just taste really good. After talking to my best friend we decided that it’s a little bit of both. As much as I wanted to stay in Florence longer I had classes on Monday so I could only stay the weekend.

On the bus ride back from Florence I started to get texts and emails about what was happening in northern Italy in regards to how fast the corona virus was spreading there. My school was sending emails asking people if they’ve travelled to northern Italy recently and tell those who had been to not go to class on Monday. Apparently that weekend so many people went to northern Italy from the umbra Institute they cancelled classes for the day, not me though since I don’t take classes there. I still woke up bright and early to get the Italian high school for my English tutoring session. On the way back from my tutoring session I got an email saying for health concerns tutoring would be cancelled until March 16th, and of course I was bummed.

By Thursday the panic in America regarding Italy was real but here in Italy it was calm, everyone was just talking about how Americans were overreacting. My mom was worried about me but I wasn’t afraid of getting the virus because Perugia is pretty isolated from the rest of the country. I tried to call my mom down by explaining how kids were still running around outside and how the Italians seemed a bit unfazed by what was happening in northern Italy. There were whispers of students deciding if they should just leave first or try to stick it out. I told my friends that the only way I would leave Italy is if someone physically forced me onto a plane.

One student from umbra Institute ended up going home because his parents were worried. I started getting worried once the health advisory was moved to a 2 and UMD sent out emails saying that if it was moved to 3 all study abroad programs in Italy would be suspended. On Friday I was told my one of the administrators at umbra that umd was going to start asking it’s students to come home and I was completely against it. I was told that I had the opportunity to sign a waiver and stay to continue my studies so I was okay that I had that option. On Saturday morning I woke up to an email saying that umd was pulling all of its students because the warning was moved to a 3. And soon after that I received an email from the Umbra Institute that our program was being suspended.

Update

So as everyone knows I’ve been home for about two months. I continued blogging I just didn’t post it. I decided I would continue writing past covid and we’ll see where this goes. I’m first going to post my old posts and then work my way to the present. So stay tuned.

Week 6: A quarter of a century down

So this week was a bit crazy, me and my roommate moved out of our apartment to an empty one below us because we were having some issues with the other people we were living with. From the moment we moved in we felt a bit uneasy. We live in a small apartment building for only female university students. When we moved in there were already 3 students living there one from Italy, one from France, and the last from Serbia. From the beginning we could tell that the Italian had been there the longest because she immediately asserted her dominance over the space, so much so that at first we thought she was the landlord.

There wasn’t much space made for us when we got there the fridge was filled and so were the food cabinets so we felt uneasy about using the kitchen. It felt like we were staying in someone else’s apartment and we behaved that way. We were supposed to share the things in the apartment but only in the way she wanted it to be shared. After relaying this information to the administrators in our program they decided it would be best for us to move. So the beginning of the week was spent unpacking and getting used to our apartment and the second half was spent getting ready for my birthday weekend in Malta.

So there’s a small airport in Perugia that only has flights to certain places and one of them is Malta. I was able to get a round trip ticket for twenty euros. The trip started out a bit bumpy because one of my friends who was supposed to come with us lost her wallet so we had to leave her behind. I was afraid that my trip was going to be ruined but that wasn’t the case.

I ended having a great time with the small group of people that came with me. This trip was filled with things I like doing the most. For me what makes a great trip is discovering new cultures, food, beautiful places, and people. One really cool thing about the Maltese language is that it is a mixture of Arabic, Italian, and a bit of French and English. So there were some words I understood. It was crazy because all of there signs were in English, I think that is in part to the fact that were a part of Britain for so long. They even used the same outlets as the brits. From my research I learned that a big part of the maltese people can speak Italian, English, and their native language. One thing to differentiate is that their Italian is closer to the Sicilian dialect which is really cool because they say grazi (Sicilian dialect) instead of grazie. But one thing they share with Sicily is they’re bomb cannoli, when I tell it was so good I’m not lying.

One of my favorite things about visiting different countries is checking out what different foods they have at their McDonald’s. So you know how at our McDonald’s we have apple slices as a side well they had mango slices, which as a lover of tropical fruits made my trip! And it was only one euro! Other than that their McDonald’s is really similar to the McDonald’s in Italy.

I found that the Maltese people were really friendly. On the day of my birthday we traveled to the top of the island to go to the blue lagoon. Thee they had a stand where they sold drinks in pineapples, when I told the guys it was my birthday they gave us free cups of fruit with our drinks. It was such a great experience the water was so blue. I feel like my ancestors lived near the water because every time I’m near water I feel like a whole different type of peace. I want to live near the water.

Staring out into the blue waters, with a pineapple in my hand, I couldn’t help but think of how thankful I was to be able to experience things like this. I was surrounded by a group of people I was so lucky to call friends and I was filled with so much warmth. It’s so easy to get caught up and forget to enjoy the moment. Starting the first day of my 25th year of life in a beautiful place surrounded by love I couldn’t have been happier. Every year of my life God brings people into my life that really fill something that I need in that time.

LESSON NUMBER 6: People come and go. It’s okay to let them go when your time together is done.

Sitting at the blue lagoon with my feet in the water I was thinking of the friends I lost and how it was so hard for me to let them go. I’m the type of friend who wants to hold onto people even when the relationship is broken. I had been looking for closure in a couple of my friendships that were obviously long over and in that moment I found my closure. Different people play different roles in your life but when they’re no longer able to, you have to let them go. I appreciate every friend I’ve ever had and I think I will always love them but sometimes that love has to come from afar.

Leaving Malta was bittersweet but I think I’ll be back sooner or later. When we got back to Italy there were people at the airport waiting for us in hazmat suits scanning everyone who got off of the plane. And that’s when I realized that maybe the corona virus was a bit more serious than I previously thought. The next day my tutoring teacher threw me a belated birthday celebration and I felt so loved.

The 25th year of my life is going to be my best year yet!

Week 5: English Tutoring

My first day of English tutoring went really well. I thought getting to the class on time was going to be a problem but I ended up getting there early, the same time as all of the students. So there I was completely blending in with all of the Italian high school students, that with my uncertainty and anxiety written all over my face, I was mistaken for a new student. My mind went blank as soon as they started speaking to me in Italian asking if I needed help finding my class, although I knew exactly what they were saying to me my nerves got the best of me and so what came out of my mouth was close to “I am a volunteer to teach english” in broken Italian and of course I forgot the word for volunteer so I said it in English. The worker was so through by my trash Italian she asked a teacher for help because he could speak English. Thankfully that was the teacher I was assigned to. So after a super embarrassing encounter I tried my best to get myself together and give off mature/confident vibes. Walking to the classroom really calmed me down because the teacher was just walking me through what he was going to have me do and some things to expect from the class. I learned that my class was preparing for an English exam and they were required to take a number of their classes in English. They expected me to only speak to the students in English so they could get experience talking to a native English speaker.

When class started he first introduced me and had the class interview me by asking some questions about me. First the questions were pretty basic; name, age, hobbies, what I studied in school, then the answers moved “why would I want to come to Italy?f That question threw me a bit because I see Italy as such a magical place but to them Italy is so “old and boring”. They see America as a new country with all the new technology, one kid told me about how she went to New York and was amazed by how big and bright New York is. Now me when I think of New York I think of crowded and dirty, it is interesting to see America from an Italian perspective. Here they were trying to learn English and they thought my pursuit of learning Italian was pointless because I already knew English. Another jarring question was about the rivalry between Canada and America lol, who knew we had a rivalry? I told them I had never heard of that before and they all were surprised, apparently there is a tv series and a part of it focuses on our rivalry and it makes it seem like we hate each other.

I really enjoyed just talking and interacting with the students. When I left I even thought for a second that maybe I missed my calling as a teacher. But then I remembered that I hate repeating myself so that wouldn’t be a great idea lol. I would love to continue working with kids somehow though, maybe volunteering or something when I get back home. After answering all of my questions the teacher had me go around the class while the students spoke to help with vocabulary and prompts to keep the conversations flowing. I was impressed with how good their English was. Overall it was a great experience and I can’t wait to continue working with them.

Week 4: One Month Down

So I’ve been here for about a month now and I thought I’d do a check-in on the progress of my Italian.

I realize when I don’t think before I speak, I speak way better. I got annoyed at one of my friends and yelled at him in frustration and the Italian came out effortlessly lol.
I really need to stop speaking English lol. It’s better to struggle through italian than to the fall back on my english.
I’m not as bad as I think I am. I’m improving little by little. (LESSON NUMBER 6: Celebrate your victories no matter how small. Any progress is good progress.)

So one month down and I’m finally getting the hang of Perugia. One thing I wish I would have known is how hilly and steep Perugia is, like literally Perugia is all steep hills and steps. After this trip I will have the strongest legs in the world. It’s funny because I see old people passing on the steps and I feel so weak lol, but I’m getting used to it slowly, I think, I hope, I pray.

This week I got assigned my class for English tutoring and I’m excited to shape Italy’s young minds. I start next Monday and the my students range from the ages of 17 and 18. The only bad thing is I have to be there at 8 am and I’m so not a morning person. It’s about a 30 minute walk from my apartment so we’ll see how that goes.

One cool thing about taking classes with other international students is getting to understand other cultures from my fellow classmates. I don’t know if anyone remembers but a couple of years ago there were campaigns in America about stopping a festival in China where they ate dogs. Like most Americans I was outraged that this was happening. I asked one of my fellow Chinese classmates about this festival and if she thought it was okay to eat dogs. She said something that really made me think, she asked what made it okay to eat chickens, cows, or pigs? I really started to think about who decided which animals were okay to eat and which were not. In our American society we have decided that cats and dogs are off limits for us to eat but that doesn’t mean we should police other cultures about what is off limits for them. When you think about it eating a dog is just as bad as eating a chicken. Also I’m really close to becoming a vegetarian lol.

So during my 2nd week here I discovered that I may have dyslexia. During my first year studying abroad I discovered that I might have had a learning disability so when I got home I got tested and diagnosed for ADHD. Now I discovered that sometimes people get misdiagnosed with ADHD when they really have dyslexia. Right now I’m working with a counselor here and they think that I have based on my learning experiences. Unfortunately it’s looking like I won’t get an actual diagnosis until I return back home. One thing that they told me is that learning a second language for people with dyslexia is really difficult, which explains why after four years I’m not as far along as I would want to be with Italian. But I’m glad I might have finally figured out my problem. I’ve been given some accommodations and extra tutoring time.

I’m really thankful for the staff at the Umbra Institute, they really have been going out of their way to help me. I feel like this time around I have a great support system. In the past I’ve been told that I wasn’t picking up Italian the way I should have because I didn’t care. Being told this like that really discouraged me because I knew I was trying my hardest but my professors didn’t see that. I think this has been the best learning environment I’ve been in while learning Italian. Everyone is really supportive of me and I just thank God for placing these people around me. I’ve been in learning environments where people would literally laugh at me when I messed up when I was speaking Italian, which didn’t make me want to continue practicing. No matter what I don’t want to give up, no matter what I have to do, I will improve my Italian.

Italian phrase of the week: Ancora imparo – I am still learning.

Week 3: Reflection

I’ve been struggling with what to write today because I’ve had so much going on recently. I’ve been so stuck on trying to write something perfect it’s kept me from writing at all. I was watching my friend’s YouTube video and she inspired me to just write even if it’s not exactly how I wanted it to be. So maybe I’ll write about that but while I’m still processing I just want to write a quick check in on my time so far.

Being a perfectionist is trash. I’ve always struggled with trying to do everything perfectly, so you can imagine how learning a different language is a bit difficult. I’ve been trying to push myself to struggle through speaking even if I mess up but it’s hard. If you’re a perfectionist like me you get that messing up is not the worst part but it’s after when you can’t help but thinking over the mistake over and over again. I’m way to hard on myself is what I’ve been realizing. I’ve only been here for 3 weeks, it’s going to take a whole lot of time to improve than that.

I’m so grateful for my friends I’ve made here so far. Especially my friend Maria who’s really been there for me academically, emotionally, and I think it’s so important to have supportive friends around you because it makes a difference. I’ve been in some horrible learning environments before but this is by far the best. When I don’t get something the professors and my classmates explain it to me until I get. The staff at the Umbra Institute are also so helpful, I’m grateful to be surrounded by such wonderful people. And I seem to meet great people almost everyday I’m here.

I got a little overwhelmed last week so me and my friends went to Rome for the day which was amazing to visit just for a day. I realize I often forget about how great of an experience this is when I get stuck in my head and focus on everything that’s going wrong. I’m still learning and I have a lot more room to grow.

It’s funny just when you think you have everything figured out, you realize you actually don’t know anything lol. I’m reminded everyday how much more I still have to figure out and that’s okay, life is about growing everyday. For me I sometimes feel that a part of being an adult is acting like you have everything figured out. A wise person told me that it’s okay to not know everything and just go with the flow.

If I had a euro for every time someone told me to go with the flow, I would be a millionaire. Being a perfectionist you hear that all the time. It’s difficult but I’ve been making an effort to force myself to just go with the flow.

Italian Phrase of the Week: “Le cose belle arrivano quando non le cerchi” – Beautiful things come when you’re not looking.

And this is what I ultimately learned this week; when I wasn’t worrying and just going with the flow I really enjoyed myself. I’m going to continue forcing myself to go with the flow because honestly it’s WAAAAYYYYY better than worrying and over thinking.

LESSON NUMBER 5: Go with the flow.

Like I said this isn’t a new lesson for me but, sometimes it’s important to relearn something more than once, especially when you’re not putting it into practice. Maybe being an adult is just about being open to learning new and old things.

Week 2: Making Friends

This week was slightly more hectic than last week which is why this post is coming a little later. So I’m doing my study abroad semester through the Umbra Institute but I’m doing the direct enrollment program which means instead of taking classes at Umbra I’m taking classes at an Italian university. I’m studying at the Università per Stranieri di Perugia, (fun fact! This is the same school Amanda Knox went to) so all of my classes are with other international students who want to learn Italian. Now because I’m taking classes there it’s been a bit difficult making friends with the other Umbra students because we’re not around each other often (which is a blessing in disguise).

LESSON NUMBER 3: It’s important to make friends with people who speak the language you want to learn.

From my last year abroad I fell into the bad habit of only hanging around other American students and I never practiced Italian. My main reason for coming back to Italy was to improve my Italian, so not having a huge friend group of Americans is actually not that bad. I have a couple of American friends who actually want to learn Italian so we practice with each other and we’re about on the same level of Italian.

This year I really wanted to make friends with people that could help me improve my Italian. But if you’re like me and have a bit of social anxiety just walking up to a group of Italians is a huge feat. Which brings me to my next lesson.

LESSON NUMBER 4: If you have social anxiety finding one friend that has the same goals as you and wants to do the same things together will help you put yourself out there.

Most people don’t know I have social anxiety because I’ve been using this trick for as long as I can remember. I find that once I find someone I’m comfortable with I can put myself out there to make more friends.

For me that one friend is my roommate Maria. From the second we met we just connected because we had similar goals, as well as a similar sense of humor. This week we went to a tandem event for international students where we met three amazing girls, Khaoula, Lucia, and Tina. Because me and Maria put ourselves out there we were able to expand our friendship group, and it’s opened us up to some amazing experiences and opportunities. Maria and I have received invites to Jerusalem and Morocco, which of course we said yes to lol.

Italian word of the week: Amicizia – Friendship

Week 1: I thought I knew everything about traveling abroad

And wow was I wrong. Before coming here to Perugia I thought I had taken care of everything I needed to because I’ve done this before,but as soon as I got off the plane I realized I was wrong. So I came with 2 suitcases, 1 carry-on, and my backpack. When packing I just put my things in my bag without any rhyme or reason, I just folded up my things and put them in.

LESSON NUMBER 1: When packing for study abroad, split up your things equally among all of your bags. For example if you’re bringing 9 shirts and have the same amount of luggage that I had, place 3 shirts in each suitcase and 3 in your carry-on. In your carry-on and personal item bring your most important things (electronics, medicine, and personal hygiene products as well as hair products if needed). Also make sure in your carry-on you have at least 3 changes of clothes and something to sleep in.

Why you may be wondering? Well a very common thing that happens when you’re flying to another country is they misplace your luggage. Because I have traveled abroad and studied abroad before and I never had my luggage misplaced I didn’t think I had anything to worry about but again I was sooooo wrong.

I flew from the DCA to FCO with a layover at JFK, and when I arrived to Rome I found out that they left one of my suitcases in New York. And in that suitcase was the majority of my clothes and all of my hair products. The suitcase that made it to Rome with me for the most part only had jeans, jackets, about 3 shirts, one sweatshirt, and my personal hygiene products. Between my carry-on and backpack I had 2 outfits, a pair of pajamas, two pairs of boots, my electronics, and my medicine.

Thankfully because they didn’t misplace both of my suitcases I was able to survive a bit. But I realized if I had equally split up my clothes between my bags I would have had a better week. This is because they didn’t deliver my suitcase until yesterday, January 16th, and I arrived last Friday the 10th. I ended up running out of clothes because I didn’t bring enough for almost a week among my one suitcase and carry-on. I ended up having to buy undergarments, my school gave me a pair of sweatpants and shirt, and the day before I got my luggage I washed my clothes.

The process of getting my bag was horrible. Everyday the costumer service people told me that my suitcase would arrive the next day. So on Friday they said it would arrive on Saturday, on Saturday they said Sunday, on Sunday they said Monday…etc. So you could only imagine how I felt. Which brings me to my second lesson.

LESSON NUMBER 2: Something is going to go wrong. But don’t let that affect your day overall.

Of course not having my things and doing extra to get by didn’t make me feel the best, I didn’t let it get me down. Well at least I didn’t during the day while I was with other people lol, because it’s not good to bottle up your emotions. During the day when I was with my new friends I forced myself to have fun, to stop and smell the roses. At the end of the day I’m abroad in a new city, so what if everything isn’t going right, when do things ever go exactly the way you want it to? I still participated in everything I could despite being a bit disappointed that I didn’t have my things.

I really thought I had all of the answers for studying abroad since this is my second time, but I’m realizing that I still have a lot to learn. Now that I have all of my things I’m ready for what this next week has to teach me.

Italian phrase of the week: In bocca al lupo

Which is similar to break a leg, something you say for good luck to someone, but it directly translates as in the mouth of the wolf. Even though this isn’t a new phrase for me I learned something interesting while in class. I was previously taught that the response to this phrase was “crepi il lupo”, which roughly means “may the wolf die”. Now apparently in and around Rome they say “viva il lupo” which basically means “long live the wolf”. This is because for one they hold wolves in high regard (see the story of Rome) but also mother wolves are known for picking up their pups in their mouth when they sense fear and don’t put them down until they no longer sense danger. Therefore there’s safety in the mouth of a wolf. VIVA IL LUPO!