In my last blog post, I left off on a question of what makes Italy different from New York? With that in mind, I started looking at my surroundings with a new perspective. I decided that the best way to document the similarities and differences between the two was to photograph particular things that stood out to me. Originally, I thought that my surroundings would be the only comparison. As I spent more time in Italy, I realized that the culture has its own notifiable differences. I started to write down my observations in my journal. 

One example of a cultural difference between New York City and Italy is the Easter holiday. In Italy, Easter is a huge holiday in comparison to how we celebrate it in New York City. Sunday and Monday are celebratory days, meaning no one was working. Every store and attraction was closed, and there were only a few restaurants open. I had a 5 hour Easter lunch which consisted of 14 different courses, something I’ve never seen before in New York City. 

Being in Italy has given me a new list of things that only New York City has. I realized that everything I missed while I was in Italy was something to appreciate when I got home. I was noticing everything that I missed was exactly what I wanted to show in my film. For example, Orvieto closes at 7pm. Yep, the whole town goes to bed at 7pm. After the 10 hour flight back to NYC, I cannot express the joy on my face when I walked down the street at night and looked up and saw a deli sign that read, “Open 24 hours.” I know it may sound silly, but it’s the small things like that that makes me love NYC. I want to get more footage of the things that we take for granted in the city because that’s the stuff that subconsciously ties New Yorkers to the city and that’s exactly what I want to express through my film. 

So far, I’ve absolutely loved my senior project experience. The beauty within Italy is truly overwhelming from the historical paintings to the architecture of the castles we drive past. I’ve picked up on more Italian just by being around native speakers. I’ve spent time with Italians my age which allowed me to see how different my life is compared to them. Working with Viera, the local restorative artist, has been amazing. It’s such a gift to work on pieces that have deteriorated over the years and bring them back to a state where others can appreciate them as the original artist intended. Although I’m leaving Italy, I’m taking so many new memories, experiences, and knowledge with me back to New York and I can’t wait to use what I’ve learned to progress my passion as an artist and incorporate new concepts into my film.