10 Tips for living in Italy for a year that I've experienced

1.  Italians hate everyone, especially other Italians

This statement isn’t obviously %100 true, but if you’ve ever met an Italian, you’re probably thinking it’s just a little bit true.

 I’m not saying Italians are bad people or racist people, it’s just their culture to have extreme stereotypes of other people. For example, Germans are horrible tourists, Spanish people never work, French people are snobs etc etc. 

For me personally, coming from Australia, a very multicultural country where we are used to having a variety of people from around the world living together, it was a shock how differently I viewed people from other countries compared to my Italian friends. 

When I first began hearing these things about other cultures and people which I thought that they weren’t nice ways to think about people, I was a bit angry. 

However after months of discussion and trying to understand their point of view, I’m beginning to understand that living in Europe, a country with so much more history than my country, and with so many different cultures and people bunched up together, it is inevitable that tension and negative opinions of others would become apart of culture, in order to try to preserve their own Italian culture. 

Regardless of what’s the right way to think or the wrong way to think, I’ve learned mostly to try to really understand why people think the way they do, even if it is difficult for me to understand. 

     2.  Don’t mention putting pineapple on pizza if you value your life

This is a simple one folks, if you ask a pizzeria to add pineapple to your pizza then expect to be kicked out. Don’t bring it up in conversation. Don’t even mention pineapple. Ever.

 Actually, Italians will just start talking to you about how outrageous and shameful pineapple on pizza is, just because you’re foreign. Just nod, say “si si hai ragione”. Then change the conversation topic as quickly as possible. 

    3.  Learning a new language is hard, and it’s okay to have periods where you don’t improve

Learning Italian was something I’ve always wanted to do and for years before coming to Italy I would try to teach myself Italian and find ways to improve. 

I guess you could say it was a passion of mine. However, coming to Italy has taught me that learning a new language is hard, even if it is your passion. 

It’s difficult to stay motivated to learn, especially when you don’t see your improvements quickly enough, and especially when you’re out with friends and some days you just can’t understand a thing, it’s disappointing. But the thing I’ve had to learn, that wasn’t easy, was to be kind to myself.

 It’s okay if I can understand everything, it’s okay if I go a while where I don’t see any improvement and even though often I feel like giving up, I just have to keep going and be patient. 

   

        4.  Don’t be afraid to speak

This goes hand in hand the point above, however it’s something I wish I had learned more quickly.

Probably the hardest thing about learning a new language is getting rid of the fear of speaking and making mistakes. You just have to say, f*** it, I’m just going to say something and if I’m wrong who gives a shit. 

Generally, the Italian people are very supportive of people trying to learn their language, so that is a bonus, but I have to continually tell myself, just speak, just speak who cares if you’re wrong just speak! 

Something I found that really helped me with my speaking confidence is reading books in Italian out loud. It helped my mouth get used to way words were spoken and helped my brain get used to thinking in Italian.

         5.  Generally, things don’t turn out how you planned, but that’s okay

Before coming to Italy, I had heaps of ideas of what I would do, the places I would go, how long I would stay here and there, how wonderful it would be… Ah how lovely would it be if life played the game and went along with our plans. 

Well, in my experience, life generally turns out exactly the opposite of how you planned, but I’ve learned that after the initial disappointment, it can even be a good thing that things didn’t turn out how you planned. 

6.  Get yourself an Italian boyfriend/girlfriend

Italians are hot, let’s be honest, but underneath their gorgeous, Mediterranean good looks, I’ve found, in my experience, that they are the most beautiful and caring people, oh and the best lovers!

Would recommend 10/10.

7.  It’s okay if you don’t find a job straight away

Italy it's a very wonderful place, you can find castles, hot springs, roman ruins and a lot of other incredible stuff, but it's a very hard place where to find a job, even if you are italian. 

So I would recomend you to find a job before to leave, or if don't mind to be a workawaier you can use the site www.workaway.info. 

But stay with us for the next point where I will tell you my workawaier experience.

8.  Sometimes people are just mean

My experience in Italy has been, for the most part, amazing, however, at the beginning of my year I had two bad experiences, which really shook my confidence in myself. 

The first place where I was staying, I was living with a couple who owned a vineyard and trail riding business, so there was lots of work to be done.

I was scared as it was my first place in Italy and wanted to be useful and work hard, but essentially, I was taken advantage of. 

I was made to work from 6am-6pm every day and would go weeks without a day off, as well as many other power games where I was made to feel inadequate. After finally leaving this place I was really destroyed emotionally. 

Thankfully it was shortly after that I found my amazing boyfriend, Mattia, who if it weren’t for him I surely would have returned home.

The second experience was straight after this one, where I went to be a live in Nanny with this, what seemed, lovely family: Mum, Dad and three kids. 

Things were going fine I thought, the kids really adored me, and I adored them, I thought I had good rapport with the mum and dad and was doing a generally good job, I thought to myself, finally I’ve found somewhere I can stay happily! But then out of the blue, the mother messaged me one day, accused me of crazy things, and saying that I was not compatible with their family and that I needed to leave.

 I was devastated and more than anything, shocked. I could not believe what was happening. In that afternoon I had to pack up all my things and leave. Thank god again for Mattia who came to get me and took me to his home, if it weren’t for him, I honestly don’t know what I would have done.

As you can imagine, I was terribly injured by these experiences. 

I left Australia feeling strong, independent, and like I could conquer the world, and after 3 months in Italy I felt like a child again and was convinced all this must be my fault.

However, after these experiences I came to realise eventually something very important. Some people are just mean. Some people don’t care or understand how their actions make others feel. 

You just have to realise that just because people treat you badly doesn’t mean there is something wrong with you. Usually it is something wrong with them.

9.  Nonnas really do make the best food ever

My boyfriend’s Nonna literally makes the best food I’ve ever eaten. From gnocchi to pasta ragù to chocolate salami (yes it exists – google it) everything Nonna cooks is absolutely delicious. 

Another good reason to get yourself an Italian boyfriend/girlfriend – to take advantage of their Nonna’s cooking hehehe.

10.  You will get fatter, just accept it.

Going to a country where the main staple foods are pizza and pasta what can you expect? But honestly, who cares if you gain a bit of “ciccia”. 

Kate Moss once said, “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” But girl you ever had Nonna’s ragu? Obviously, no.

Food equals beautiful experiences! Mangia!

Thanks for reading, see ya later mate!