Roma

Last summer I visited Rome, Italy for the first time. One of the most charming things about this city is the fact that the people there generally do not know English, or at least don’t bother to speak it. This first became apparent to me on the taxi ride from the airport to our hotel. I asked the cab driver about these ancient ruins we passed on our drive and after a moment’s thought he responded, “Where the party is!” in heavily accented English. When he saw our confused expressions he tried to explain but after fumbling with words for a few seconds he threw up his hands in defeat and laughed. At that moment I knew that I was going to love Rome. In the following days I was often faced with a language barrier. However, this did not inhibit communication. For instance, when my mother and I asked for directions there would be a series of wild gestures between us and the person directing us and we would walk away confident in how to get to our destination. Unlike people in many other countries, Italians do not seem to feel the need to conform to the English language. However, they still manage to interact with tourists such as myself without having a common language, and their friendly and open attitudes are part of what made my stay in Italy so special.