Here’s what I knew before arriving in Genova, the northern Italian city no one’s ever heard of:
1) it’s on the sea;
2) it’s not very big (600,000 compared to Toronto’s 2.5 million);
3) it’s off the beaten path, touristically speaking;
4) it’s close to other interesting European countries;
5) it has lots of hills.
All of these, except the last, made the city an appealing choice.
And I wasn’t alone, either; Jesus was my roommate.
No, really; he was a very nice guy from Venezuela. We shared an apartment that our Italian-language school arranged.
I would also briefly live with two Greek girls, a Dutch guy, three Germans, and a Russian...but I’m getting ahead of myself and there’s actually no punch line (even though it seems like there should be one)!
On my first night in my new apartment I was looking forward to cooking myself a real meal, after two months of eating as simply and cheaply as possible in hostels. My first Italian dinner, however, was a bit more basic than I’d planned: it was yogurt.......and stop. Who knew that ALL stores in smaller Italian cities like Genova close at 8 pm? Or that those “old-fashioned” gas stoves (you know, the ones you light with a match) have hidden switches with which to turn on the gas?
Adding to this inauspicious start were the facts that I had basically run out of money and, more crucially, with my first load of laundry in the apartment, somehow turned all my clothes pink.
Nevertheless, I was thrilled to finally have arrived in Genova. And looking forward to the completely different kind of travel adventure that comes with living in a new place!
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