January 2024

As the days counted down to winter break, I became more and more excited of being able to explore Viterbo with my family by my side rather than through a phone screen. I started creating numerous of lists of my favorite places around Viterbo I wanted to show my family. And when my family had finally arrived, my first instinct was to hug them in a whole new country, and my new home. But something had felt different between me and my family, they were unfamiliar things about this country, but for me, after living here for four months some things they thought were new had begin to feel like the new normal. 

Our road trip took us around the north of Italy, visiting cities like Florence, Milan and Venice, each leaving us in great admiration. Often, I found myself as a mediator between the Italian locals and my family, communicating with my four months of Italian language knowledge between both sides. While my proficiency is no where near matched with the locals, with the four months I spent living here it surpassed my family’s knowledge of Italian. So at many times, even when it was as simple as asking for a bottle of water, my family would ask me and even though sometimes I might pause for a moment, but I would manage to be able to communicate the correct message. 

Back in Viterbo, we strolled through the different streets including Corso Italia, the street I live on, and I showed my family my favorite places to study, eat, or just to walk around. It was so much more exciting to be able to show my family my favorite places and usual path to school in real life rather than through a phone screen. As we passed through less prominent streets, I realized that some of it I didn’t even recognize. But then I understand that I am not a local that knows every corner of Viterbo, but neither do I fall into the category of a tourist because many of these places and streets are recognizable to me. And after my family visited me in my new routines, I realized that I’m past the tourist phase, but also not a local – perhaps somewhere in between.