The first week in Italy has come to a close, and I am already learning much more than I expected. When I thought of Italy before I came on this trip, I imagined a very relaxed culture where life is taken as it comes. Although this thought does have some truth, I have been surprised at the intentionality and thoughtfulness of the Italians.
On our second day in Arricia, Cinzia (our incredible resident tour guide) spent about 20 minutes explaining how the recycling/trash system works in Italy. There are separate containers for organic, non-organic, paper, plastic, metal, and glass items. Cinzia explained the importance of making sure each object is put in the right bin because what is placed in the organic bin is used to fertilize the soil, and the Italians try to minimize as much waste as possible.
Similarly, during a lunch in Frascati (a charming city in Castelli Romai), Cinzia explained how much of the preservatives found in food in America are considered illegal to put in food in Italy. I knew that the United States had preservatives in their food, but I was shocked to see how conscious the Italians are at making sure their food remained as preservative free as possible. Likewise, when going to the grocery store, food can only be bought in small quantities because it goes bad quickly due to the lack of preservatives.
Although I had heard that Europeans tended to eat fresher and more organic than Americans, I was surprised at the prevalence of this practice as well as how intentional the Italian people are about preserving the land, respecting the environment, and being mindful about what they ingest. This has caused me to want to be much more cognizant of what preservatives I am putting into my body as well as what I am throwing away and try to recycle more instead of throwing something away solely for convenience sake.
Coming to Italy, I expected to learn mostly about the ancient sites and history that took place in Rome. However, being in Ariccia and having the opportunity to live in a small, authentic Italian community has allowed me to make observations such as these that have greatly enriched my understanding of the Italian culture.

These are strawberries that were for sale in Nemi (a small town in the Castelli Romani region), and they are a perfect example of the freshness of the food.

My first Saturday in Italy was spent doing a scavenger hunt throughout Rome. Because it was supposed to rain that day, my group and I decided to take the early train from Albano to Rome in order to get a head start. This was going to be my first time being in Rome so; I was extremely excited for this day trip. As we exited the train station and made our way into the city, the rain started as a sprinkle and eventually turned into a downpour. We all put on our rain jackets and opened our umbrellas and tried our best to continue on with the scavenger hunt. As the day went on, the rain grew heavier and the temperature only got colder. By 10:00 am, we had walked over 10,000 steps, and all of our tennis shoes were soaking wet. Each step we took, we could all feel the water squish between our toes beneath our drenched socks. At this point we were all cold, wet, and tired, but all I could think about was how we were all in this together. That was the point in time when I realized that by the end of this summer, I would have so many crazy but wonderful memories with these 21 people I had just met. It has only been one week and I already feel like I have made so many lasting friendships with the people I will eventually call my family. I cannot wait to find out how the rest of the summer will turn out, but I am almost positive it will be nothing short of amazing.
We ended up finishing the scavenger hunt that day, and although we were freezing, we, of course, had to end the day with some delicious Italian gelato!

We managed to get a group photo on Bernini’s Angel Bridge in front of Castel Sant’Angelo during the few minutes it was not raining!