The Locals of Mantova

Meeting new people in Mantova didn’t start off easy. After all, I was in a new country in whose language I wasn’t particularly fluent and whose towns, cities, and streets I was unfamiliar with. I had to struggle for a bit, repeatedly making mistakes with my speech that led to both confusion and embarrassment, but eventually small talk became a much more simple thing. I found eventually that the easiest places to meet new people were the studentato where we were all staying along with several other students, the school we were studying at, and also at local bars and clubs.

At the studentato, it was relatively easy to meet people, because they generally spoke about as much English as we spoke Italian, which led to many hilarious broken-language conversations. It was the same at the school, though their English typically wasn’t as good as we were studying at a high school while the students we were living with were of the college level. And people at the bars and clubs were typically always there to have a good time and meet new people, it’s sort of the culture in Italy that when you go out, you go out to make friends. It’s honestly a wonderful change of pace from the United States where everyone is so unfriendly.

It’s difficult to pin down the most interesting thing I’ve bought while abroad. Although I would have to say the strangest thing I’ve bought is the striped V-neck shirt with rhinestones I bought at the local market. Originally, I didn’t notice the rhinestones were there. Once I did, it was too late to bring it back as the market only lasts one day. But I’m fine with it, it makes for one hilarious conversation starter! Despite my inability to make sound purchases, I didn’t really have much on an issue keeping a budget. The food there wasn’t too expensive, and I brought most of the items I needed. While in Mantova, I probably spent around $200 the whole month. I just wasn’t very frivolous with my money there. Once I got to Venezia, however, I began to have a spending problem. Luckily we were only there for three days, so I couldn’t do too much damage. I still managed to spend around $150 there on all the expensive seafood, gondola rides, and beautiful souvenirs. My best advice when going to Italy, prepare to spend a lot, but try your best not to.