The United State of American-where food portions are big, cities are new and improved, and cars are used to get everywhere. What an interesting change it has been indeed then for myself, an American, to have made this journey from the USA to Italy. Before the departure I had an idealist thought process of how my experience would go. In fact my perspective has changed from my ideal thoughts in my little room in the USA from actually experiencing the adventure and coming to the realization that I had no idea what the experience would actually make me come to realize.
For one, I have never felt so much like a foreigner. I have been to Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji, places from far away that seem to be a culture change. In fact this is false, perhaps not completely but from my point of view at least. Everyone in Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji all spoke English. Although I was in a new and unfamiliar area from what I was used to, I was able to, in a way, keep in control of the situation at hand. When I had a question, all I had to do was ask. Now, for the first time I do not always get that luxury. People here in Italy speak English, true, but they also speak Italian, of course, it is their main language.
As I took my first steps off into the Italian land in the airport, I realized that I never quit understood what it meant to be a foreigner, to be someone who could only speak broken Italian because I am not fluent. The fact that I have lived in the USA all my life, have seen Mexicans who spoke only Spanish come into the country and just learned as they went, had strangers help translate between English and Spanish, never quit hit me until I arrived in Italy and got to experience it first hand.
The moment I stepped off the plane into Italian territory my friends and I went to customs. There was a women directing people where they needed to go, instructing them in Italian. When we walked up to her, she spoke to us in Italian before realizing we had no idea what she was saying. She then simply asked, "USA?" Our head nodding was all she needed to see in order to point us in the right direction. That was one of the most bizarre situations I think I have ever been in. She spoke completely one language, and we spoke completely another, yet somehow we were able to make it to our destination without even saying a word.
For one, I have never felt so much like a foreigner. I have been to Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji, places from far away that seem to be a culture change. In fact this is false, perhaps not completely but from my point of view at least. Everyone in Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji all spoke English. Although I was in a new and unfamiliar area from what I was used to, I was able to, in a way, keep in control of the situation at hand. When I had a question, all I had to do was ask. Now, for the first time I do not always get that luxury. People here in Italy speak English, true, but they also speak Italian, of course, it is their main language.
As I took my first steps off into the Italian land in the airport, I realized that I never quit understood what it meant to be a foreigner, to be someone who could only speak broken Italian because I am not fluent. The fact that I have lived in the USA all my life, have seen Mexicans who spoke only Spanish come into the country and just learned as they went, had strangers help translate between English and Spanish, never quit hit me until I arrived in Italy and got to experience it first hand.
The moment I stepped off the plane into Italian territory my friends and I went to customs. There was a women directing people where they needed to go, instructing them in Italian. When we walked up to her, she spoke to us in Italian before realizing we had no idea what she was saying. She then simply asked, "USA?" Our head nodding was all she needed to see in order to point us in the right direction. That was one of the most bizarre situations I think I have ever been in. She spoke completely one language, and we spoke completely another, yet somehow we were able to make it to our destination without even saying a word.
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