Today was the last day of the Milano trip. As much as I missed Viterbo and my host family, I was sad to wrap up my first long school trip. I must admit, Bologna was the best way to wrap up the Milano trip because the city was bigger than Viterbo but smaller than Milano. So it served us as a transitional stop from a metropolitan to a rural city.
The Bolognese food was very good, as promised by local Italians. Their tortellini were "on-point," and their chocolate was also delicious. But besides food, Bologna was a big commercial town. So everyone spoke English pretty much fluently. Although our teachers told us to practice our Italian with the Bolognesi, we felt pressured to speak English because the local people told us that meeting us was the only time they could truly practice their English. Well, their outwardly attitude led us to make many local friends, including the "New Balance guy," who had a "Pretty Hurts" tattoo on his forearm.
Thanks to "the world's oldest" university in Bologna (French claim that they have the first university), the majority of the population are students and therefore, most people commute by bikes. They even close the city center to traffic on weekends, so people can walk or bike around the town.
Anyway, I am glad to be back in Viterbo. This weeklong trip reminded me why I decided to participate in SYA Italy.
