Falling in love with Padova

I am sure my story is not the only one that looks like this. And I am also sure that many other international students will completely relate to what I am about to share.

Before moving to Italy, as many other romantics and storytellers, I was caught up in this beautiful illusion: the moment I move to Italy, all of my problems will fade away, I will be projected into la dolce far niente and my whole Romanian identity will fade away, since this was also an important motivation, to leave behind who I used to be, and if being absorbed into a new culture does not mean shifting your identity, then I don’t what change means.

In theory, my plan looked perfect; moving abroad seemed to solve all my problems. But, there is always a beautiful BUT that rewrites the whole theory. The truth is, the moment I stepped out of the bus, into the well-known Stazione, my eyes were instantly filled with tears. It was heavily raining, windy, very cold, and there I was: a girl with a backpack in the middle of nowhere, not knowing the language or anybody.

I panicked. It was the first time in my life when I felt completely alone. The truth is, I was not exactly alone; I had communities that I could reach out to, but my lack of social skills and creativity left me behind. Probably, I got scared; therefore, my nervous system stopped working.

However, let’s say that my tricky start reshaped my impression of Padua. One thing was sure: there was no Italian dream, only rain, and cold weather.

As days were passing by one by one, I started to make friends, the classes also began, and my mind was too busy to think about the illusion I projected about Italy. However, from time to time, I was still longing after something that I could not explain. Padua did not feel as I expected. It was small, overcrowded, and it seemed as if there was nothing to do at all. In three words: I HATED IT, and I did not know how to escape it faster.

To understand my despair, I was even considering an academic transfer to a bigger city or even going back to Romania.

But there is a saying about the magical power of time. Somehow, I think I learned to love Padua to the point that I started to write poems about it. This city has something special indeed. In the first place, you migh hate it, not feel at ease, but slowly you discover its secrets, its hidden gems, and you realise that it was never about rushing anything, but about letting the magic unfold in front of you.