It feels strange not returning to Italy as it’s been my home for one of the most important years of my life. I’ve become used to seeing the mountains in the morning and greeting my grocer as I walked by.
Living in another country is also the best way to learn and make use of another language. Now that I’m in London, the only person I practise my Italian with is my laptop (and the app Duolingo). Let’s be honest, my laptop is an object not a person. It’s strange going from using a language everyday to forgetting to practise it. I have to continue because I think languages are wonderful and I love to communicate with people as much as possible. Also, I plan to return to Italy as I have yet to see Milan, Sicily and parts of the Amalfi Coast. It will be great to return after improving my Italian even more.
In Campobasso I met so many kind and generous people. The most inspiring part of their generosity was that they didn’t know they were doing a generous deed. I was given free food at the bar, vegetable shop and free iPhone maintenance without anybody making a point of their deed. It was like generosity in its most simplest and genuine form.
When I first moved there I found it hard to settle in as I’m such a sociable and talkative person who was living in a quiet city. After months in Campobasso I learnt to be patient and enjoy my own company even more. Italy taught me that there is beauty to be found in every place, you just have to open up your eyes (imagination/perspective).
It is great to be back- seeing my family and friends has been wonderful. It just takes a little getting used to. I guess I still have travel fever but it has made me realise I love writing about travel, whether it’s for my blog or freelancing for magazines. Travelling is definitely good for the soul.
There is a good outcome to every decision, a beauty. The beauty of my decision to move to Italy is that I’ve learnt so many valuable things. My favourite is that I wholeheartedly believe everything happens for a reason. There aren’t any bad decisions, only decisions that are right for you in the moment you make them.
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