WTI Magazine #52    2015 January, 23
Author : Matthew Lofstrom      Translation by:

After spending four months in Rome, I have now returned back to my life as a student in the United States. For the last two weeks I was abroad, internally, I felt that I was ready to come home. However, upon landing in Philadelphia, I immediately began missing many of the things that I loved about living the Italian lifestyle.

One of the main things that I will miss about Italy is the food. After four months abroad, I have come to the conclusion that Italian food is easily some of the best in the world. I learned how diverse cooking is throughout Italy and it was exciting to try the various foods, such as rabbit, artichokes, and mortadella. But looking back on the many dishes that I tried, my favorite food was easily pizza.

Pizza in the U.S. is nothing like what I had in Italy. In Rome it was the perfect lunch. It was a treat for me to walk into a pizzeria and choose from the variety of pizzas that had been prepared only a few minutes before I arrived. Now that I'm home, the luxury of walking a block from my apartment for great food is something I will greatly miss.

Furthermore, I loved the fact that everyday I was abroad I experienced something new. In my opinion, in the United States, Americans are guilty of falling into a routine and simply going through life without stopping and appreciating where we currently are.

For Italians, this is not the case. They greatly appreciate their surroundings and I got the impression that they have an easier time slowing down and experiencing everything that they have around them. They have a knack for enjoying life, and that is one of the things that I have taken away from my time in Italy. No matter how dull and gloomy things may seem, we all need to find a way to live in the moment.

Personally, I have to say that the best part of Italy was the sense of belonging that I felt being there. In the early 1900's, my great grandfather emigrated to the United States from Palermo. For this reason, I felt a real connection with my environment and the many cities and towns that I visited. Given my ethnic background, and the fact that I tried to use the Italian language while I lived there, I felt a sense of respect and acceptance from many of the Italians that I came into contact with.

For these reasons I look back on my time in Rome very fondly. Saying goodbye to the people I met and the life that I adjusted to was difficult. However, I could not be happier that I went to Italy this past semester because it has given me a whole new view on what it truly means to be of Italian decent, and it has left me with memories that I will be able to cherish for the rest of my life.