Throughout my life, I've had the pleasure of meeting people from all over the world. These people have taught me a lot about their cultures, languages, religions and so much more. In fact, one of the major reasons I decided to study Cultural Anthropology was my fascination with talking to people with cultures than mine.
I've also had the privilege of having two best friends--one from France and one from Italy. We all met during my senior year in high school they were exchange students at my school. Both of them have taught me so much about friendship, love, and their cultures.
I could write about them for days, but for your sake, I'll only focus on why having a best friend from Italy is one of the best things in the world. Here are a few reasons why:
Free Italian lessons.
Whether you're at an Italian restaurant ordering food, on vacation in Rome, or talking to yourself in the mirror in the morning, it's always fun to know a little Italian. You may find that you've been saying "panini" wrong your entire life (panini is actually plural, a singular "panini" is actually called a panino).
I have been lucky that my best friend has been patient through my atrocious Mario accent.
Authentic Italian food.
Here in America, we have Italian food, but real authentic Italian cooking is slightly harder to find. It, also, in my opinion, is some of the best food in the world. Having a best friend who knows how to make real authentic Italian food is a plus because not only can they cook it for you, they can also teach you how to make it. It's an experience that is both fun and educational.
I got the opportunity to learn how to make Risotto with my best friend. We were on the phone with her mom getting direction on how to make the dish, which was fun because it was my first time meeting her mom. Even though it didn't turn out exactly as we planned, it was still one of the best times we had together.
Inside jokes.
One of the best things friendship provides is laughter and with a best friend, laughter comes easy and often. Spending an absurd amount of time together means that certain jokes aren't easily understood by other friends, strangers or even family. In addition to this, English is a hard language to learn and even though many Italians are quick proficient in it, sometimes the miscommunication/misunderstanding between a native speaker and a non-native speaker make for the best inside jokes.
One of my favorite inside jokes was about the number of romance books in America with shirtless cowboys on the cover. We also had an inside joke about her marrying me or one of my brothers to get her green card.
Built-in Tour Guide.
If you ever want to pop on over to Rome, or Florence, or Naples, having an Italian best friend could make it so you can see these beautiful places and learn about them at the same time. They can help you find places that tourist may not know of.
I have never been to Italy, however, I and my best friend have everything planned out for when I do.
Strange calls in the middle of the night.
Rome is nine hours ahead of Seattle. So when it's midnight here, it's nine o'clock in the morning in Rome. The perfect time for gossip about Italian boys over Facetime.
No matter how tired I am, a call from my best friend is the best part of my day. We talk about anything from school to family to the future. The phone calls usually end up with one or both of us laughing so hard we can't breathe. It's also nice to know that even though we are almost 6,000 miles apart, I can dial her number and it's like she never left.
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