Riley’s Journals

March 8, 2025

Between Two Worlds

Listening to:

    The View Between Villages (Extended)- Noah Kahan

    Balorda Nostalgia- Olly

    Devestante- Olly and Juli

It's funny how quickly humans can adapt to a new environment. When you first get braces on your teeth, it hurts for a while, and you feel like your teeth will never rest on top of each other comfortably again. You have doubts, you feel sore, and you question the feasability of them. Is it really supposed to hurt this much? Are my teeth really meant to be in this position? How will I ever be able to eat like this? Thoughts like these are relentless in their persual, because this, like many things in life, is a form of change, and change is never easy. But after a few days, the pain starts to relent. You don't notice the position of your teeth, and you can eat mindlessly once again. What is different from a few days ago? Your teeth are still in a new position, there are still metal brackets tugging them in new directions, and food is still getting caught between your teeth. So why don't you feel the same discomfort?

I believe that inside of us is a great capacity for change, for discomfort, and acceptance. It's how we are all molded by our surroundings- the people, culture, what makes us comfortable and what pushes outside of those boundaries of safety. Just like how our mouths can adapt to a new addition that is meant to cause pain, we can all adapt to new lifestyles or opinions just by being present in that lifestyle. We don't have to work ourselves up over some huge change, some life-changing decision, because we were built to adapt to it. Of course, mindset can help speed things along, but in the end, we were all built to survive in the environment we find ourselves in. So while change can be big, it doesn't have to be scary, because we are made to withstand it.

At this point, I am past almost any form of cultural discomfort in my exchange, and speaking Italian has not only gotten easier but if feels natural. I can tell when I make a mistake, but also when others make a mistake (much to the chagrin of my host family who I catch every so often making errors in the more difficult tenses of Italian). I even dreamed in Italian a few weeks ago, a sure sign that I'm becoming more fluent. But it isn't just the language I've grown accustomed to. It's the streets, the food, the school, the conversation. It's setting the table with the fork and knife on the right, it's staying long after we've finished eating to talk, it's the belief that Italians don't really drive that crazily. It's the 3.5 meals a day, it's the interrogations, and, yes, it's the school on Saturday. It's the way of life. I can't imagine living life another way, even though I've lived it differently my whole life. I think that's why it's so difficult to believe that I'm really in Italy- something that every exchange student I've talked to has struggled with as well. From afar, another country is place with different people, cool places, and all of these superficial stereotypical notions that are a very small part of a very big thing. So saying that I'm in Italy, a place that for me in my American mindset is pasta, pizza, and ???? feels completely wrong. And honestly, it is completely wrong. Because I'm not living in that Italy, I'm living in a place where there are real people with this different way of life that just isn't explained by the word 'Italy'.

But enough with the hypothetical blabber. I have a whole month to write about, and somehow I've written 3 giant blocks of text that have very little to do with the main subject of this blog. So. The last month. Feburary was by far the fastest month yet of my exchange, and while I know I did a lot, it feels like it never even happened. Where did all of my time go? I'm sure starting to wish I had more.

Right after I finished my last blog, me and some of my exchange friends created a new day in addition to our ongoing Bakery Friday (once every 2 weeks we go to a bakery in the area or sometimes in another city to try to explore more of the town we live in): Travel Thursday. The concept is that every Thursday we take a train to a nearby city that most of us haven't been to. So far, we've done 3, and they have been so much fun. I took a lot of pictures (around 700 in total) and spent more time deleting them than I did taking them. However, every photo was worth it and I can't wait to take more on the next trip.

In addition, my new family has a lot of walking paths that begin basically in their backyard, and I've been exploring them often over the past month. I love the freedom to just go on a walk in the wilderness whenever I feel the desire, not to mention that there are many animals and farms hidden along the trails in the forest. In addition to hiking here, I've been hiking a few times now with my host family in the mountains near us, the most recent time being the Sunday before last, in which I was accompanied also by my first host family.

Lastly comes the most exciting part of this month, for me at least: my Surprise Trip. My family warned me that they would keep my Sunday's busy- and they have. They planned this trip soon after I started living with them, and while it didn't have to be a surprise, I asked them to keep where we were going a secret, which I was happy about in the end. After four hours in the car, we arrived in a beautiful town called Santa Margherita Ligure, and spent little time wandering before we began a long hike into the mountains there, which overlooked the astonishing Ligurian Sea. The hike was absolutely exhausting but 100% worth it as the views and villages we saw were breathtaking. The first portion of the hike led us to an alcove called San Fruttuoso, which was basically just a few houses, a resturaunt, and a sparkling beach. There, we ate lunch and dipped our toes in the frisk water. The only thing that stopped me from taking a swim was the pleading of my host dad as he got cold feet (literally) from how frigid the water was. The second half of the hike led us to a small city called Portofino, which, if you couldn't tell from the name, had a small port and an amazing view. After walking around a bit, we took the bus back to the car and, after an hour's ride, arrived at the real destination of the trip: a small town right outside of the Cinque Terre.

Quick pause- if you don't know what the Cinque Terre is, it is 5 different beachside towns that are nestled into the Appenines (a mountain range in Italy that is by far inferior to the grandeur of the Alps) that are famous worldwide for their beauty and beaches. It is also where Luca, the Disney film, is set.

Day 2 of this surprise started with losing something, a sciopero (strike), and a lot of general confusion. What we lost was the train- which we arrived just in time to press the button and bang on the window, hoping for some miracle to allow us on. For better or worse, because of this we discovered that there was a sciopero that day and therefore we sat at the train station, stood on the sidewalk, and stopped in the street for an hour and a half, debating whether to risk the train (we might get there and never make it back) or just take the car (we can only see three of the villages because we have to walk there and back). All we knew was that there would surely be trains after 9 pm, when the sciopero ended, and that's when I, with my super-smart thinking skills, proposed an amazing plan that would solve everything, and so we left, only 2.5 hours behind schedule. You may clap now. Unfortunately, not everything goes according to plan, and parking was unavailabe, so we weren't able to see the first village in the Cinque Terre, but the first is also supposedly the worst, so that's fine by me. We finally reached the second town (our first), named Manarola, at 11:30. It was incredible, and had a beach that it seemed like the entire city was curved around in a protective hug. The colored houses and beautiful architecture made for an incredible scene. After Manarola, we hiked 3 hours, walked 15,000 steps, and climbed 79 floors (if each floor is about 16 steps or around 10 feet or 3 meters) all to reach the third town, Corniglia. Corniglia was our least favorite because the views weren't as stunning and the city itself wasn't very beautiful, however it was still worth the visit. Afterwards, we took the train (which despite being on "strike" was still running every train) to the fourth city, Vernazza, which was a beautiful city that had a small alcove which opened up to the sea. It was a sunny day, with a good 60 ºF (15 ℃) and I decided it was the perfect time for a swim. I was well prepared, as I had been waiting to swim at a beach for months, and so I had my bathing suit at the ready. Somehow no one in my host family was prepared like I was, despite my continuous insistence for at least one member of my host family be, so unfortunately they missed out on an amazing experience. While the water was cold, once you were inside you didn't feel your body anyway so it wasn't really a problem. Plus once I got out I felt incredible, and it is definitely something I will try to do again before I leave. After my quick beach excursion, we took the train again to the last city, Monterosso. Monterosso had a bigger beach that was incredible, especially at tramonto or sunset. Finally, after an exhausting day filled with activities, we headed back to the apartment and ate at a local resturaunt. The next day we went back home, but not before a quick stop at a castle in a small town along the way.

One of the most important lessons I've learned on this exchange is not letting the opportunities come to you. Of course, when they do, you should absolutely say 'yes'; you never know what relationships or opportunities might spring from any small event. But it's not just about saying yes to others- it's also about creating those amazing opportunities for yourself. My host family surely was not the one to propose swimming in 50 ℉ (15℃) water, and yet it was one of the best experiences of the trip. (Seriously, if you've never tried a cold water bath, now is the time to start.) I don't have to do Bakery Friday every Friday, or go on Travel Thursday, or take walks in the woods behind my house when I have a free moment. These weren't opportunities that existed when I got here, they are things me and my friends created for ourselves so we can have a better year. But it doesn't just have to be about this year, about making the best of our lives in this short period of time. Think long term, think of the little things you can do for yourself to make your life the best.

And with that, arrivederci i miei lettori, ci vediamo alla prossima volta!

--Riley

As always, for more pictures and information, visit me on my blog --> 

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