Oct 144 min read

Back in Italy!

October 14, 2024

Fun, Friends, and Fluency?

I’ve been back in Italy for eleven days now, and it feels like I never left. If it weren’t for the proof on my camera roll, I might believe that Portugal was only a dream. It’s good to be back in Piacenza though. I missed mornings at my Italian mom’s café, I missed the smell of coffee beans roasting on my walk to the bus before school, I missed my cozy apartment, I missed aperitivo hour, and mostly I missed my friends.

It’s been nice getting to catch up with the gals after our summer apart; I’ve been loving having time to catch up with friends on the phone after two months of having no time to chat; and I’ve been lucky because in the past week and a half, three friends from home have visited!

Two days after arriving in Italy, I spontaneously visited my sorority big sis and her husband in Florence. We went to Boboli Gardens, visited the leather school, and I ate dinner at my favorite restaurant from when I studied abroad there. It was a quick day trip, but a perfect way to kick off my time in Italy: with some of my favorite people in my favorite city. Two days after that, a sweet friend who I used to work with in Chelan spontaneously came to Milan, so we spent the day café hopping and trudging through the pouring down rain. Then this weekend, a friend from high school swung through town during his 6-week European backpacking adventure, and I gave him the full Piacentini experience.

On Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early (9 am) and headed out to Saturday market. That morning, I had an eye doctor appointment where I had to speak Italian, so I was proud of myself for that. I visited my go-to café and my Italian mother introduced me to a few old men, so we had a conversation about school and my internship, also fully in Italian. I started feeling pretty inspired to keep on learning the language because even though I suck at speaking it, I’m understanding more and more. Maybe it will click soon and I'll be speaking fluent Italian! (Said with heavy hope and heavier sarcasm.)

I picked up my friend from the station around noon, then we spent the afternoon walking around, playing cribbage, enjoying an aperitivo, and eating local food. That night, a few of the girls threw a party to celebrate one year of them living together, so we spent the evening sipping wine and chatting. Sunday, I kept my routine of going on a walk, watching church and SNL from the night before on YouTube, and resting. It was pretty much the perfect weekend!

Fall Semester

School wise, this semester might kick my butt. I only have three classes, and they are extremely interesting, but I don’t have a background in science which makes things difficult. One class is on environment and biota microbiology (I don’t know what that means either), one is on wine economics and policy, and one is on topics in enology. I’m really loving that class because it covers a bit of everything. So far, we’ve talked about how smoke from wildfires impacts wine and how to combat that, how oak barrels affect the chemical composition of wine, and the importance of sensory analysis. Good stuff!

Falling back in love with Food

In other news, I rediscovered my love of cooking. All of last year I was insanely uninspired by food “Italy has the best food in the world! Isn’t moving there supposed to inspire you?” you might ask. And to that I would respond, “Absolutely not. Italians use the same ten ingredients for everything (flour, onions, garlic, tomatoes, pork, parmesan, mozzarella, oregano, basil, and olive oil), and I’m so incredibly bored of their food and lack of flavor diversity that I’d rather eat plain oatmeal for every meal (which is essentially what I did last year)”. Also, my kitchen is in a closet and consists of a two-burner gas stove and a sink, so I don’t get to be too creative with my meals. But I digress.

Last week I was craving a hearty soup to combat the autumn chill, so I made a big pot of lentil chili. As I was sautéing the onions, garlic, and oil I began tearing up, partially because I had just chopped onions but mostly because I forgot how heavenly that smell is. (I will admit, I’ll never get sick of those three things despite what I just said in my rant about Italian ingredients.) Chopping, stirring, waiting, and tasting, reminded me of how soothing it is to make a good meal.

Future

As I settle back into my little Italian life, I’m happy to report that I’m excited for the coming year. After my internship, I honestly didn’t want to come back to Italy. I feel ready to start working, to settle down somewhere, to be closer to my family. But I’m so thankful to be back in Piacenza, and I’m praying that I can be present and soak up this final year of school and living abroad, because wow, what a blessing it’s been!

So, here’s to a year full of learning and laughing and exploring and resting and aperitivoing with friends.

Cheers!!