Last week marked 6 months in Italy. To say it has been a journey is an understatement.
Italy is everything you would think- good food and wine, amazing buildings and history, friendly people, rolling green hills and cobblestone piazzas.
What tourists don’t see is the bureaucracy, red tape and the inconvenience factor.
So in 6 months I have learnt to do the following, these are my top ten learning experience ( LE as my Dad likes to call them)
- How to push a double stroller through rain, snow, black ice and on cobblestone streets.
- That my California warm jacket won’t cut it and in fact a puffer jacket in required.
- That sometimes when I am speaking Italian, in fact I am either speaking Spanish or a completely made up language.
- That a big supermarket shops is not a thing here and everyday grocery shopping is, so don’t buy 6 bottles of wine at once as the whole shop looks at you.
- That Australian hips and big boobs ( c cup and above) are hard to shop for with Italian cloths. Ordering online is needed.
- That Italian coffee is some of the best coffee I have ever had.
- That a granny trolly is essential for grocery shops no mater how dorky I look.
- That travel in Europe is so easy and quick we need to do it more often.
- That toddlers are more adaptable then I give them credit and that our children will speak better Italian then we will.
- Finally, that Italy makes some fantastic wine and even better it is a lot cheaper than other parts of the world.
As the year continues, I will continue to learn, appreciate, accept and enjoy everything Italy has to offer.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and this expat wife will continue to grow every day.
This post first appeared on The Expat Loop | A Expat Journey From Australia To, please read the originial post: here
