Ciao da Venezia, and happy summer! It’s been quite a week in Italy, so I’m excited to share my adventure with you. I spent most of it adjusting to Venice and fighting jet lag, but I’ve also experienced some pretty cool things and learned quite a lot already!
Language
The first thing I noticed about being in Italy was the language change. I’m definitely rusty on my Italian, but conversing with locals in a language I understand has been incredible! So far, I’ve been able to request rides from the airport, order food, and buy from stores, all in Italian, which is super cool!
Unfortunately, a language change can’t remove my social awkwardness and shyness, so I don’t find myself talking to too many people. But when needed, I’ve been able to speak entirely in the language and understand most conversations. I hope to get more comfortable talking with people throughout my time here!
Living Alone and Budgeting
On the other hand, a less obvious thing I’ve learned while in Italy is budgeting and planning my life with only myself in mind. It has been gratifying and refreshing to buy groceries, cook meals, and organize my dorm room on my own terms. I’ve noticed myself budgeting and tracking my spending more than usual, and even planning activities within Venice around how much I’ve spent. I don’t feel like my money habits were abysmal before coming here, but I’ve become much more comfortable knowing I can care for myself when living alone, especially in a foreign country!
Regarding grocery shopping and cooking food, I’ve only made pasta so far. It’s far cheaper to eat my own food than going out and buying some at restaurants, so I would like to get more comfortable navigating my kitchen here. Hopefully, I will learn different recipes during my stay! I would love to try some more Italian recipes, so if you have any suggestions, let me know.
Food
Speaking of recipes, the food here in Italy is PHENOMENAL. I know that’s not a shocking revelation, but this week, I’ve had some of the best food I’ve ever had. It’s been great! I haven’t allocated my budget to include many restaurant meals, so I’ve mostly eaten home-cooked food. However, I’ve tried Venetian pizza, garganelli con pomodori, a limoncello spritz, and Veneziana spaghetti with shrimp and cod at restaurants. They were all super yummy! My favorite so far was probably the garganelli, which consisted of garganelli pasta with fresh basil, tomatoes, and traditional Venetian mozzarella.
I also got to try some gelato. I chose my favorite flavor, strawberry, and it did not disappoint! Being in Venice for only six weeks is a shame because it’s made me realize that I won’t ever be able to eat gelato the same back home. Here, it’s refreshing, sweet, and the perfect way to cool off on a hot summer day!
I hope to try more traditional Venetian foods, including sarde in saor and risotto. I’m not a huge risotto fan, but I’d love to give it another try in its hometown!
Il Vaporetto
Also known as the water bus, the vaporetto is Venice’s most commonly used form of public transit. As the name suggests, it’s a boat that operates like a bus, except instead of sinking into the canal like one, it glides across it from stop to stop.
I’ve never lived near the ocean nor had many chances to ride a boat on the water, so riding the vaporetto for the first time was incredible! They have outside seating where you can get a unique view of Venice from the water. I’m sure I’ll be using the vaporetto much more as I stay here and may eventually get used to the view, but the experience of riding it for the first time was unforgettable.
San Giorgio Maggiore
My favorite tourist site has been la Chiesa di San Giorgio Maggiore. It’s unique in that it’s situated on its own island, which is only accessible via boat or vaporetto. The church features traditional Renaissance architecture and is much larger on the inside than I thought it would be! There are a ton of beautiful paintings, sculptures, altars, and carvings on the inside, and since it is isolated on its own island, it feels very serene and quiet.
After touring the church, I got to go atop the attached bell tower. The view from above is incredible! You can see all of Venice, the neighboring islands of Murano and Burano, and even the Swiss Alps in the distance. The sea breeze blowing from below felt terrific on my skin, and I got some fantastic shots of the surrounding areas, including la Piazza di San Marco, which I hope to visit next.
Classes
I am taking painting and drawing classes for my study abroad program. I’ve taken a few of these before back at Yale, but I chose to take some abroad because I thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make art within such a uniquely artistic city!
So far, I’ve only made one drawing and one watercolor painting, neither of which turned out exactly as I had hoped. However, I have taken many photos that I would love to draw or paint! I hope to revisit San Croce to capture some of the beautifully colorful buildings there. Their vibrancy makes me so happy!
Zazà Bookstore
On my way to class this week, I stumbled across a small bookstore full of Italian-translated manga I read! It was a great surprise to see many of my favorites available to purchase on-site in Italian, as well as some I’ve been wanting to read.
I’ve been getting back into reading a lot more this year, and since manga is usually pretty easy to follow, given its use of pictures, I think reading some in Italian would be a great and unique way to stay in touch with my language learning! The cherry on top of this store was that each volume only cost around 5 or 6 euros, which is much cheaper than in the States. It’s only a matter of time before I bring a whole stack of them back home with me as souvenirs to practice with! If you have suggestions for a series to read, please send them my way!
Next Week
That’s all I have for this first week, but I have some exciting things happening next week! My study abroad group is planning a trip to Padua, and I am also hoping to visit some nearby islands and beach towns. I will also be making more art too, so stay tuned!
I can’t wait to continue sharing my adventures with you all! A presto e vi voglio bene!
