These first sixteen days in Italy have been about surviving, adapting and learning. I thought the transition to living in Ariccia would be very simple. I have traveled abroad before, and even been to Italy and other places in Europe. The problem with that assumption is that I have never lived in Italy; I have only traveled through as a tourist. A tourist would usually have to find a way to order at a restaurant, but that’s often the biggest struggle they will have with a language barrier. Living in a small town however, not many people speak English. In order to survive, one must learn the language! It has been vital not only to order food, but also to read labels at the grocery store, or be able to ask for directions if I get lost.
The language is only the most basic of the barriers. The real surprise is in the culture shock. I thought it would not be that different from the United States, and I’ve already visited before, so I thought I knew what it would be like. Both of those I found to be false. There are so many subtle differences that add up and make a completely different culture than the one I was used to. At first, all I could focus on was how much better Italy was than America. I was in the ‘tourist phase’, everything was new and different. The grass is always greener on the other side. It is the same reason we go out and buy new clothes because they are fresh and different, but a couple months later, we are tired of them. After about a week, I started to miss having hot water all the time, my favorite food places and began to spend quite a bit of time focusing on what I didn’t have.
Then last weekend we spent two nights in Rome exploring, shopping, eating and drinking wine. As we were walking back to our apartment on Saturday night, we walked by the Pantheon. I stopped and realized that I was staying in an apartment only a couple hundred feet from a two-thousand-year old temple. How crazy is that? I had been so consumed by the comforts I missed back home and was completely ignoring where I am and how lucky I am to be here and even have this opportunity. The truth is that neither country is better or worse; that is simply the culture shock talking. Every culture is different for many reasons and beautiful in its own way. I think the wisest people soak up what they can from every culture they experience and combine bits and pieces of them into the way they live their own lives.
I am so excited to see what the next three months have to bring and I feel confident if I take it one step at a time, I can make it through and learn so much about myself and the world around me.
-Katherine

The Pantheon – a two-thousand-year old temple in the heart of a modern city