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In this issue, I want to focus on Italy and Italian.
I love Italy.
My first trip there was when I was a senior in High School. I was 17 at the time.
I had been learning Latin and one of the goals of the class was to take a group trip to Italy. Our teacher had put together a travel itinerary and cost estimate. When it was presented to the parents of the students, many of them protested. Some thought the price should be less. Others wanted a different plan of activities. None of them actually contributed, but it was enough to cancel the trip.
However, I had made a friend in an Italian exchange student the previous year and had promised to visit him. I had saved up money from working over the summer and wanted to make the trip myself. Somehow, my parents agreed to it, and off I went.
It was my first time travelling to Europe and I didn't know what to expect. It was also my first time travelling on my own. I wouldn't be meeting with my friend until I arrived in Rome.
The whole experience opened my eyes and mind to the larger world. It also made me fall in love with the country and language.
We spent two weeks travelling around by train. After Rome, we travelled to Florence, Sienna, Pisa, and Venice before arriving in his home town Martina Franca in the south.
It was fantastic.
When I returned home, the old surroundings seemed smaller. The concerns of my fellow students over studies became simplistic. After a week, I had to take a day off because I was suffering from culture shock... from my own country!
My world would never be the same again.
How has travel changed your life?
