My First Day in Italy by Joelle Toney

I was lucky to have gotten a direct flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Rome, Italy but a 9 hour flight is still a long time to be in the air. When the pilot announced that we would reach our destination in half an hour, I took a video from the window seat. I didn't actually have a window seat, so I unbuckled myself and stealthily snuck to the only open spot in the curtained off flight attendants' section. Only to be promptly asked to return to my assigned seat.

That's how I met a nice elderly couple in the row across from me. They introduced themselves. The woman was Italian and the man was from the United States. They warned me of the pickpocketers and actually frightened me quite a bit. Getting off the plane, I couldn't hold my purse tight enough while fighting through the throngs of people with their luggage all going in seemingly the opposite direction that I was going. Every few minutes a taxi driver would ask me in a commanding voice "TAXI?!" to which I would respond, "No, grazie." One taxi driver actually followed me out of the sliding airport doors to smoke a cigarette and he blew the smoke in my face as I clutched by belongings staying on the lookout for thieves. He left me alone soon enough and after a while my airbnb host picked me up. Here's a picture I took at the airport.

Other than the Italian freeway, and noticing how different Italian cars were from the ones I'm used to, my airbnb host took me to the park with her dogs. Parco degli acquedotti is an archaeological site in Rome right next to where I lived for the first 2 weeks in Italy. I marveled at the ruins that stood at least a couple dozen feet (I'm not good at guessing measurements) above me. And I walked directly beneath a few of them. I was so happy to be in Rome and I actually couldn't believe I made it. It felt like a dream. But I didn't forget the reason I came so later that day I sent an email to Cittadini del Mondo letting them know I had arrived safely and would be stopping by the library the next day. I went to plug in my phone that was low on battery. But wait! How am I going to charge my phone?

We took a class about volunteering abroad and how it may take a while to get used to the differences in food, weather, and taking precautions with diseases, I don't think anyone told me about the differences in power outlets, though! I was grossly underprepared for this.


One picture and google translation later, I was on the search for an "adattatore." It was actually the first word I learned in Italy.
Of course the shop I went to had to order it, but the couple was nice and it would only take about a week for me to receive it so I bought a USB charger for my phone and waited. In the meantime, I did some other cool stuff.