Perhaps Italy?

Recently I have been presented with the opportunity to move to Venice, Italy for the next three years. What a chance of a life time!

I was born to two very young parents. My mother being only seventeen and my father at nineteen, growing up this meant we pretty much got by but typically didn’t get to travel much. Luckily I had grandparents who took me to various states within the U.S. to visit family but aside from things like that places such as Disneyland, let alone another country, were a no. Most of my high school career I spent learning German. Let me tell you it is hard to maintain a non-native language! Fortunately each of the years I spent in the class there was one or two exchange students which in a way helped. My sophomore year I made friends with girl named Reena. I had the best time teaching her how to drive, going shopping, learning about German traditions, and so forth.

So now being given this chance to experience the world of course I want nothing more than to jump into it! I think right now the biggest thing holding me back from committing 100% is my family. I’m afraid that if I go they will be very upset about me taking their newborn grandson on my big adventure (they aren’t very understanding with things like this). Another thing is I’m not really sure what to expect when it comes to government, weather and the types of crimes there.

On the other hand how amazing would it be to travel through Europe? The answer is freaking amazing! It would be so wonderful to be able to give my child things I wasn’t able to have at his age. If I chose to go, I think that the thing I am most excited about is learning and being a part of other cultures. In Europe you can jump on a train and go to France, Germany, Spain, or Romania and so many more places for a new diverse culture. I believe that these are experiences to help better individuals and help their understanding of one another.  

Pros:

• -          Touring Europe
• -          Gaining a new perspective and understanding of the world (being a better parent because of it)
• -          Perfecting my German
• -          Learning other languages (being able to add that to my resume)
• -          Getting  a visa

Cons:

• -          Isis
• -          Not the United States (less security)
• -          I would probably get lost constantly
• -          Difficulty communicating
• -          May be too “touristy” (disliked)
• -          Upset parents
• -          Uhm ISIS hello that’s a huge one

Would you go?

Have you been?

What would your pros and cons be?

One last thought, as I have been debating this the past few weeks, I was watching the news a couple of nights ago and they were talking about bombs being pointed at, or dropped near Italy. That’s such a horrifying idea! This world can be such a beautiful place and it terrifying to think that if we wanted to travel across to the other side of it we would fear for our very own lives!

To people who live in Germany and Italy it’s probably not a very big deal and they probably feel moderately safe but for Americans it’s sad that we would feel so threatened to experience other parts of the world.