Week 2: Italy

 Buongiorno! 

We arrived in Italy a week and a half ago in Roma, Italy! Since then, we have to Siena, Italy and Florence, Italy and will be on our way to Venice tomorrow. We have been able to tour many of the museums and architecture sites of Italy. 

There are two things that I loved about the culture of Italy. I have found that many Italians are very proud of their history and where they came from, and they also really love their food. Italians work hard to preserve the history of their city. Many locals also work in tourism. Italians have different food and times of eatings. For breakfast, they eat sweet foods like pastries. For lunch, they eat pasta with multiple courses. Lunch is considered the most important meal of the day. They normally eat with family. Then for dinner they eat late. When we were in Siena, we had the opportunity how learn how to cook authentic Italian food. It's crazy to me that each course only takes a few ingredients, but is absolutely delicious! The Chef Aldo was super kind to us and loved that I was trying to learn Italian. He said that his favorite part of Italy is the fact that the men know romance. 

To go along with that, I find that Italians are very expressive and open. This could also be considered straight-forward. When we were in the Vatican museum, our tour guide was getting in a slight argument with the other tour guides about which group was going to go first. It happened around three times. This is very different than the U.S., where we are passive-aggressive rather than straight-forward. Although I do believe in communication, I don't necessarily know if this is the approach for me. They do forgive quickly though. That's a plus!

I have enjoyed my time in Italy and I am glad I will have another week of Venice and Milan. I find although it's not a culture I'm used to it -- it doesn't mean it's wrong. There are many ways to do the right thing and in required to culture, there are many ways to express culture. I have loved learning about the art and history of Italy. It is truly magical.