Didn't have time to post this yesterday....
5:00 pm
I'm getting a little frustrated. I realize that this is probably premature since we've only been here for a week, but I'm disappointed that I don't have easy ways to interact with the people of Arezzo -- especially the kids my age.
Of course I can speak some Italian, but that doesn’t help much when you don’t know anyone you can speak it with. And while the Italians are very friendly people, I can't exactly just randomly introduce myself to someone and start making conversation. It’s so much fun to talk to someone new. Unfortunately, there’s no practical (or safe) way that I can think of to meet someone my age.
There are acquaintances around town, and that's fun. I speak to the desk lady (Paola) on a regular basis when entering or leaving the convent, and often I stop in the gelateria to say hi to the owner (Carlo) (and get gelato of course). But these things aren't really satisfactory, they're just ways I can be friendly and practice my conversational skills. Also, before I left for Arezzo, I had been communicating with as many Italians as I could on Skype. While it helps my command of the language a lot, it doesn’t help with this problem. Obviously I can’t just arrange to meet with someone who lives nearby and hang out, because it’s dangerous and creepy. Same thing for conversation at one of the many bars around here.
(By the way, the Italian bar is different than the American bar – what we think of as a sketchy place to drink and eat cheap food late on a Friday night, is actually more of a normal restaurant here in Italy. So if you hear me talking about my friends and me going to a bar, it doesn’t necessarily mean we were drinking the night away with total strangers. Just thought I should clear that up.)
(By the way, the Italian bar is different than the American bar – what we think of as a sketchy place to drink and eat cheap food late on a Friday night, is actually more of a normal restaurant here in Italy. So if you hear me talking about my friends and me going to a bar, it doesn’t necessarily mean we were drinking the night away with total strangers. Just thought I should clear that up.)
I’m feeling a sort of connection with people here that I hadn’t expected. They tease that it's hereditary (they know mia mamma is Sicilian by ancestry), but more likely I just enjoy them for the kind of people they are -- most Italians are relatively carefree, friendly and happy, if not the most industrial…. I just wish there were some way to talk to them without it being weird or dangerous.
Anyway, sometimes I just wonder if I'm unnecessarily missing out on stuff. After all, this is why I decided to take language lessons and attend this program. I find Italy beautiful and fascinating, and I don’t want to pass up great opportunities to explore the culture and get to know the people just because I’m not supposed to talk to strangers. At the same time, I realize that it is completely necessary to be safe, 100% of the time, especially thousands of miles from home. So I hope it makes sense what's frustrating.
There’s got to be some middle ground here, I just haven’t found it yet.
A domani (Until tomorrow),
-Allie
A domani (Until tomorrow),
-Allie
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