Submitted by Samantha Green on the 2019 summer session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Behavioral Health and Nutrition…
The moment I had been waiting for finally came. I was finally packing my suitcase and leaving to study abroad in Italy for three weeks. After an eight hour flight, I arrived in Rome. It felt so unreal knowing that I was over 4,000 miles away from home. The first day at lunch, I experienced culture shock since most of the menu was in Italian and I know very few words in Italian. However, now that I have been here for a few days, I have noticed that most of the Italians speak English as well and most menus at restaurants have an English translation. Surprisingly, I found that my background from taking Spanish for three years helped me recognize and learn words faster which has helped me to say words or phrases in Italian. Another aspect of the Italian culture I am not used to, is the time of the meals throughout the day, especially dinner. Breakfast is a light meal usually consisting of pastries, croissants or rolls, some meats like prosciutto and ham, fruit, and coffee, whereas at home, I am used to eating a very filling meal of scrambled eggs or omelets, toast, hash browns, etc. Lunch in Italy happens to be a larger meal and longer meal time as opposed to what I am used to at home. Lunch in Italy is usually very slow and relaxing and also composed of different courses. One day at lunch, I only ordered a slice of pizza and was asked if that was enough. I had to adjust most for dinner because the appropriate meal time for dinner is so late. In Italy, most people do not start dinner until at least 7:30 pm or even 8:00pm compared to my normal time at home around 6:00-6:30 pm. Dinner in Italy is also composed of many courses such as antipasto, primo, secondo, formaggio, contorno, fruit, and dolce cake. My first week has been amazing and I cannot wait to see what the next two weeks have in store!
