I’ve been back home from Rome for about 2 weeks and I can confidently say that Rome was an unforgettable place to visit and the experience was truly unlike anything I’ve ever done.
I did miss home a lot. Towards the end of the final week, I started feeling really homesick so I didn’t feel much sadness about leaving Rome. However, I do want to caution people when purchasing flight tickets, I made the mistake of purchasing my tickets for the day of the program end date instead of a day extra which was troublesome for my classes in terms of finals. The flights were brutal for me and the jet lag was absolutely horrible arriving back in the States. It took a week for my sleep schedule to finally reach some form of normalcy.
Being back home felt different now that I’ve experienced a different country that was inhabited by those of a different culture. I will say that the experience has opened my eyes to a lot of political and social changes that we could implement in the states that could be an asset in improving our economy. Italy has a very rich and diverse economy within narrow scopes, which is highly impressive compared to the United States, yet there are common European practices that I find to be admirable. One such thing is the minimum wage that is paid to common workers. In Italy, common workers such as baristas and customer service employees are paid a minimum wage that is sustainable for the employee to be able to afford a decent life, compared to the States that on our minimum wage has common workers struggling to make ends meet. Another thing is free healthcare which should speak for itself. That’s not to say that the United States doesn’t have it’s advantages, but with the current issues it could be beneficial to take inspiration from other countries that are seeming to thrive where we are falling short.
I will admit, it’s nice to be back around people of my skin color since I don’t feel as out of place or targeted. There was a time in Italy that I went to a fast food place across the street from my apartment late at night and I was watched by two black men then followed for a while. It was a bit scary, but I walked around as to not lead them to my apartment and lost them along the way. These experiences are not entirely unknown to me, I just wasn’t expecting it in Italy. Overall, Italians weren’t very direct with their thoughts on my skin color, but it’s natural I got a lot of stares or being pointed at by both adults and children.
I will say I miss Pico’s (Mexican Restaurant) it was so great! The service was wonderful and food was even better! There were many great restaurants in the Trastevere area that were great. I loved walking around the area trying new places to eat and getting exercise, just taking in the city. I wish I could’ve traveled more outside of Italy, especially with trips being so cheap in Europe, but there’s always time. I will encourage anyone that wants to travel to Rome, to travel around and honestly just enjoy the experience rather than complain about what they don’t have Europe that you want back in the States. It’ll make the experience much more enjoyable!
