21 Days, 3 Credits, Eternal Memories

Rome via Brooklyn

    rachel19281's avatar

    rachel19281

    2–3 minutes

    1: already dreaming of all the meals I WILL HAVE

    trevi fountain

    369 words, 2 minutes read time.

    In our taxi, I was sitting up front and got to see all the sights from the large Tesla windshield. I liked all the road signs and flowers. Mostly, I was really happy to see the sun for the first time, since it’s been so gloomy in NYC. In the airport itself, something that surprised me was that the signs went Italian, English, Russian, and Chinese, and Russian is not a language I expected to be third on those signs. In the airport as well, I experienced the “slowocracy” that the book was talking about when trying to exchange some cash. Only one guy was working, and he was in NO rush. 

    I did notice how people dressed, and it’s pretty clear who is a tourist. The older Italian ladies were wearing long pants and nice shirts, clearly dressed as described in the book, “ women wear quiet, well-cut, expensive and elegant clothes…” chapter 6 in Culture Smart! It is very noticeable that they maintain a specific appearance. 

    My strongest taste of today is the Hugo spritz I got while walking to the grocery store with Jessica, Mazzy, Elena, Joseph, Moussa, Ace, and Julia. It revived me and gave me a little taste of Italy! My strongest taste that I am thinking of but did not have is the outside tap water, hopefully, I will try it later on. The strongest smell was the bread counter in the grocery store. My roommates and I ran to it after we arrived, and it looked and smelled delicious! All of the vegetables and overall produce also looked so good and fresh, I had to resist and buy them in the outdoor markets tomorrow. I could also tell the immediate difference in quality of food from the US as soon as I saw non-refrigerated eggs and milk. I am very excited to try so many new foods here!

    I think that I am reminded of NYC by everyone’s attitudes and how it feels so full of life and energy, even though this energy has a lot more years of history behind it. All the different things to try, the stores, things to see, and the livelihood of the streets remind me of home.

    One of the statues on the ponte brigde across the tiber river that I really liked

    6 responses to “1: already dreaming of all the meals I WILL HAVE”

    1. jeyanov02 Avatar
      jeyanov02

      Hi Rachel! So on point with the fresh bread smell. I even noticed how fruits here, like strawberries, have a strong smell. Fruits in NYC definitely do not have such a strong smell. Also, I agree with the nicely dressed comment. I also noticed how people wore more conservative clothes than I expected, like long pants and blouses. I feel like I saw people wear more jeans than shorts outside.

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    2. khadijafall905 Avatar
      khadijafall905

      I noticed that too when it came to clothing! The locals and older people definitely dressed very well and even gave me some inspiration for my own outfits. The weather has been an almost complete 180º, from heavy breezes and overcast to clear skies and very (very) hot sun. Despite that weather change, there are a lot of similarities to New York and I feel a lot less lost than I originally thought I would.

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    3. moussatonicisse Avatar
      moussatonicisse

      This was an amazing read! My favorite part by far was you pointing out the “sloworacy” and that it seems embedded in Italian culture. I had a similar experience with one of our greeters at the airport. He was super calm, collected, and had no problem in just waiting around for the whole group to arrive. I asked him how working is and he explained that he is extremely happy because he gets to genuinely live his life! Weekends fully off and Fridays are early days. For a New Yorker this can be seen as somewhat of a dream. Everyone works at their own pace and are not ostracised for it. 

      I wonder if you’ve thought of why this cultural phenomenon happens? Are we-Americans–and our mindsets a direct result of unhinged capitalism? Thought provoking response to Day 1! Nice job!

      –Moussa Toni Cissé

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    4. moussatonicisse Avatar
      moussatonicisse

      Oh, further there is a very interesting read on “80,000” hours. It is part of the EA movement (Effective Altruism, started by Peter Singer). It is about the amount of time the average American adult spends working. William MacAskill is the author. I think it is interesting and could directly be tied to “sloworacy” that was mentioned in your post and CultureSmart!.

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    5. jahmad Avatar
      jahmad

      Hey Rachel, I also noticed the many different languages in Italy, & I don’t think it would be lucrative to say it is very similar to NYC in that manner. I also liked the bread at the stores, and found it interesting how they slice bread with that machine. The states should definitely implement those machines more into grocery stores.

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    6. isabelherrera79 Avatar
      isabelherrera79

      I also observed how people were dressed and being able to differentiate tourists from natives or people who lived there. When I tried Hugo spritz I thought it was amazing! Thank you for putting me on. The food quality was extremely different and cheaper. I will definitely miss good cheap food and free water ☹️

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