“Why did you bring me here?” It’s what every parent wants to hear after she’s dreamed of moving to Italy for 16 years; packed up the house with her husband (and ultra-helpful mom) and put literal tons of books into storage; found a charming school that she thinks is the right fit for her kids after dozens of hours of on-line searching plus actually visiting the school (yes, in Italy); tried for 27 days to get an apartment; and finally felt frustrated and unsettled because she’s still living in temporary AirB&Bs with unhappy kids and without the amenities she wants in her kitchen, (or, this time, a washing machine), her own pillow, or simply a routine that would bring tranquility, time for thoughtful consideration, or healthful eating.
But back to the question: “Why did you bring me here?” Well, lots of reasons, actually:
- Adventure: The world is wide and exciting. How can I not demonstrate to you how amazing I think that is?
- Second language acquisition: Yes, it’ll be difficult. Some day, though, you’ll whisper sweet nothings to your future partners in Italian. I mean, really, you’ll thank me later.
- Great jumping-off point for exploring the rest of Europe: See “Adventure,” above.
- Beautiful Dolomite mountains—along with hiking and skiing and via ferrate and…: Yes, it’s true, you come from a land of beautiful mountains. The Cascades are one-of-a-kind. But if you’d just look up from your books to see these old ocean floors, thrust up and eroding away into jagged teeth and plateaus. Stunning, I say.
- Appreciate home: Sometimes it takes being taken away from the comforts of home to appreciate them.
- Strengthen our family relationships, both our nuclear family and our Swiss cousin relationships: We’ve already visited Switzerland once and had cousin fun, and, as a family of four, we’ve played cards, games, and had plenty of laughs. Now, if we could only be kind to each other all of the time…
- Resilience: Doing difficult things and succeeding builds resilience.
- In a big, vague sense, it’s an experience worth having, one you will appreciate later. I know; that’s such a parent-y thing to say. It’s sort of my job.
So I was frustrated when that question was lobbed at me. It seemed like it was time to sit down and brainstorm what we appreciate about being in Italy. Just so you know that it’s not all bad, this living in Italy business, here’s our list:
- Lots of cats to greet (E, but all of us, really)
- How many bikes there are (S, but all of us)
- How many solar panels there are (S)
- How much public transportation there is (S)
- Not having to drive (C)
- Swiss cousins are closer (E and S)
- Cars stop for me when I’m a pedestrian (S)
- The fire tower in Colle (S)
- Fresh eggs and milk straight from the cows and chickens (E)
- Fanny the horse (E)
- Learning Italian (C)
- The bugs (S)
- The combination of walking trails to trains to funivias to buses to playgrounds. You can get nearly anywhere! (J)
- Nice playgrounds, easily accessible (S)
- The mall (E and J)
- Playing games together (J)
Hopefully, this list will grow as we navigate our year abroad.
