The first few days have been amazing. It has been surprisingly simple communicating with the Italians using a combination of English, hand gestures, and the little Italian words and phrases we have learned. There have been quite a few words in the past few days that we continue to hear in everyday interaction. I quickly learned the word "prego," which is commonly said after someone says "grazie" or "thank you" in Italian. From the context, I assumed the word meant "you're welcome." I began to hear the word in places in context I didn't quite understand.
During the second day, I was walking out of a bathroom in a small restaurant and ran into one of those awkward situations where someone is trying to go through a door that you are walking out of but the doorway is too small for you both to walk through. After juking left and right, the woman turned to the side, and said "prego," gesturing for me to walk through the opening. Confused, I said "grazie." It seemed incredibly condescending- "you're welcome."
On the second night, we went out to eat at a restaurant for a traditional Sardinian meal. As I was walking into the restaurant, the waiter held the door and said "prego" with a big smile on his face. That's when I knew the word must mean more than "thank you." I quickly learned that the word can take on a few different meanings, like "please" and "after you." This began happening with more words, and I started noticing patterns and taking note of common phrases and social interactions.
The Sardinian dinner was amazing- wine was plentiful and delicious, and the food was spectacular. As a whole, I really enjoy the food here. Yesterday, we went to one of our professor's colleague's house outside of the city to go to the beach, eat, drink and hang out with students from the University of Padova, a school in northeastern mainland Italy. We had a great time talking with the students and eating delicious meats, cheeses, breads, and other Sardinian favorites. Overall, I can tell already that this trip is going to be an amazing experience.
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