“Watch out for those Italian men and whatever you do, don’t come home with an Italian boyfriend,” said my parents right before I boarded the plane to Florence, Italy. I typically regret not listening to my parents because most of the time, they’re right. But, this time I didn’t regret it at all.
Before going abroad to Florence, I was hesitant to believe in love because of our generation’s hook up culture and casual relationships. I never understood how these real relationships began or what exactly caused two people to fall in love with one another. You know that old cliché? People fall in love with the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time when they aren’t searching for it? Well, I actually believe that saying to be true.
It was just another Saturday night abroad, and my friend and I went to a bar to hang out and have some wine. After studying Italian for eight years, I was eager to put my skills to good use and talk to the gorgeous Italian boys that were sitting next to us. One thing I learned from being abroad is that a good amount of wine will give you enough confidence to go up to people and start speaking fluently in another language. Three glasses of wine deep, I start speaking in Italian to the boys sitting next to me. I have no idea what I said, or if I was even making sense, but that’s how I met him.
The next day I wake up with a text saying “È mio numero Luca” and a follow request on Instagram. At first I was thinking, oh god what did I get myself into? But after scrolling through his posts on Instagram, I have to say, I was very very proud of myself. The only slight problem, though, was that Luca did not speak one word of English. It was either I don’t speak to him at all or I speak to him in Italian, I chose the latter.
I had a long list of things that I wanted to do and places I wanted to go before I left Italy. Growing up in a very Italian family made me have so much appreciation for the Italian culture and lifestyle. Honestly, I felt more at home in Italy than I did in America. I felt like I was finally surrounded by people that understood me. So of everything I wanted to accomplish while abroad, the most important was to totally immerse myself into the Italian culture and become fluent in Italian. What better way to achieve that goal than to spend time with a gorgeous Italian boy? So,I texted Luca back.
The next night he picked me up to take me out. Turns out it was the most fun I ever had drinking wine on a Sunday night in a small bar with no one in it except us. We had so much in common and genuinely enjoyed each other’s presence. I felt like a little girl with the biggest crush and some serious butterflies in her stomach.
After that night, we would spend entire days just walking through the city together. We would meet each other after class so we could sit on the Arno River and eat gelato together. We would go to the Gucci cafe together to have cappuccinos and do each other’s English and Italian homework (oops). Luca would take me out to dinner to incredible local places I never would have found with my friends. It got to the point where he would pick me up every morning for “colazione”(breakfast) before I went to class just so he could treat me to a cappuccino and Italian pastries. We had serious feelings for each other, so we spent every breathing moment together until I left.
One day we were talking about traveling and the places in Italy that I still wanted to visit. I brought up Forte dei Marmi and how I’ve always dreamed about going there but since all of my weekends were booked to go other places, there was no way I would have had time to go. Two days later on a Tuesday, Luca picked me up in his smart car and told me to skip my physics class on Wednesday, because we were off to vacation in Forte dei Marmi. Lets just say, waking up and sunbathing on a beach in front of the Alps with a glass of wine in one hand and pizza in another definitely wins the best date I ever had (and probably will ever have). After an amazing day, we got in the car and headed back to Florence. We were driving back and he stopped the car on the side of the road and gets out and tells me “aspetta”(wait). I said, “Cosa stai facendo?”(What are you doing?) as he was walking away from the car. A very confused me gets out of the car, and he’s standing there with a bouquet of flowers he hand picked from the side of the road. He handed them to me and it was adorable, until we both started freaking out because they were covered in bugs. But, it was the thought that counted right? We got back in the car and continued driving to what I thought was Florence. Instead, we took a detour to his summer home in Castiglioncello. He took me to the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, and we sat overlooking the beautiful views.
We were on our way home for real, and asked me if I wanted to have dinner with him and his family. That was when I knew things were getting serious. When we got to his house, his parents made the most incredible dinner for us. Absolutely no English was spoken at the dinner table and I had to tell my life story to them in Italian. They also felt bad for me that American wine is terrible, so they gave me three bottles of Italian wine to take home. As I was sitting there, I was thinking about how I’ve traveled the world and had many amazing experiences like most abroad students do. But moments like those ones were what made my abroad experience exactly what I wanted. Immersing myself into a different culture, speaking a totally different language, having homemade cooked Italian meals, and dating an Italian boy was all I needed for my abroad experience to be complete.
To end my abroad experience, Luca brought me to Piazzale Michaelangelo(the top of Florence) to watch the most incredible sunset I have ever seen in my life. After, he brought me back to his house so his mom could cook for me one last time and I could say goodbye to his family. After dinner was over, it really hit me that I was leaving. I couldn’t believe that I was leaving the life that I created here and the boy that I love behind. I couldn’t help but break down crying in his arms. I told him that I had to go home soon to get everything together before I leave tomorrow. He refused to let me go and wanted me to stay with him until the second I left. So I fell asleep there crying in his arms.
I woke up the next morning at Lucas house and realize I only have three hours to pack up all my stuff and get to the airport. I knew I was going to miss the bus provided for the abroad students to take me to the airport. At this point, I thought I was going to miss my flight in general. We rushed back to my apartment to pack my suitcases. He then says to me “abbiamo un problema”(“we have a problem”) I couldn’t imagine what it would be. “Mia macchina”(“my car”) he said. It was quite an adventure getting the two of us plus a semester’s worth of luggage to the airport into a two person smart car.
We surprisingly made it to the airport in time. He stayed with me all the way up until I walked through security. When it was time for me to say goodbye, we both broke down in tears, in front of the entire abroad population leaving Florence, and wouldn’t let go of each other. With tears running down my face I said to him, “ti amo” (I love you). And at that moment, I realized what it feels like to be in love with someone. I can now officially say that I fell in love for the first time in Italy. He said to me that he never wanted to lose me and I was the most special girl he has ever met in his life. He promised me as soon as he finished school, the first thing he was going to do was fly to America to come see me.
Now, one year later, I don’t go a day without talking on FaceTime and getting a “buon giorno amore!”(“good morning love”) text every morning. And best of all, he didn’t break his promise to come see me. Three months after I got home, he flew here to meet my family and brought presents for them from Italy. My parents also regretted saying “do not come home with an Italian boyfriend” because they absolutely loved him. Since his favorite place in America is Florida, we brought him to Miami with us. Since he’s never been to New York City, we flew back to my house in New York and I brought him to see New York City for the first time.
Falling in love happens when you least expect it and aren’t searching for it. Be yourself and at the right time, the right person will come into your life. And remember this, “Distance is a test to see how far love can travel.”