Coming from the US I spent a month in Italy and wanted to be a local. I had no clue if I did it correctly until my final night.

So yesterday I finished a month long work trip in Italy and with my extra free time I decided to try to immerse myself with the locals. <br><br>Now I get it’s not the same as living there but just the idea of going to the same place every day and being recognized and greeted like a regular was always something I wanted to do while in Italy. <br><br>So here’s what I did. <br><br>Gym: in the morning I would go to the local gym. It’s not a gym like we have in the US. It’s mostly just a room with a bunch of equipment and a shower. <br><br>I would for the most part have the entire gym to myself, and for the first week of my stay the employees would see me and say hello. It wasn’t until one morning I was working out and it was just myself and one of the employees, a young Italian girl who was probably my age (30ish) when she approached me and started talking to me in English. She had overheard me talking to someone else in the gym one day in English and wanted to know where I was from. From that point on she would chat with me every morning. <br><br>I would finish my workout and head to a coffee shop. <br><br>Coffee shop: I would walk in and it was mostly men sitting at a table playing cards. It wasn’t until my 3rd week that they acknowledged I was there. I think it was mostly because I didn’t speak Italian that much so it made it hard for them to interact with me but they would say hello or ciao and smile whenever I walked in. <br><br>I learned enough Italian where I could say “un caffè pls” and one of the older men would laugh for the first week or so but one morning he approached me with a cup and asked how everything was going and if I liked his coffee. The rest of my stay he would make sure I had my coffee every morning before I left. <br><br>Breakfast: I would head to a local bakery for breakfast. I think it was run by a family because every day I would see an older man and a younger girl working. So I’m assuming it was a dad and daughter. <br><br>The first week or so it was me explaining in broken Italian that I wanted cornetto (an Italian croissant) and cappuccino to go. Through the weeks that turned into “buenos días” with a smile every morning and the last two weeks I asked if they spoke English. The man said a little and the daughter said no but through the first month I think they knew I was American so they never charged me the full price. I never did the math, but I’m almost positive of it lol. <br><br>I would finish my day with dinner at a local restaurant. They had a very modern take on Italian food as it was part restaurant part food market but the owner spoke very good English and we would chat every night. <br><br>So last night, my final night I decided to open a bottle of wine and walk around the neighborhood before heading to the airport the next day. I walked into my favorite cafe and there were the older men playing cards. <br><br>I walked in and the owner greeted me with a big smile and said “hello my friend” in English. I took a seat at the bar and he came over and asked me how my last night was going. I told him it was good and he said “let me get you a drink” and handed me a glass of wine. He said “do you like this wine?” And I said yes. <br><br>He smiled and said it’s a bottle he had been saving and wanted to give it to me. We chatted for a bit and I thanked him and was about to leave when I heard two older men behind me yell “ciao” followed by “arrivederci” and I turned around and they were both smiling and waving at me. <br><br>I left and walked to the bakery and ran into the daughter. I said “hello” and she smiled and said “hello” back. I told her I was leaving the next day and she said “ok” and that was it. <br><br>Then I finished off with dinner at the restaurant. When I walked in the owner greeted me like a long lost friend. We talked for a bit and she asked if I was sad that I was leaving. I told her yes. She said “don’t be sad. You can always come back” and smiled. <br><br>I finished dinner and she came over and gave me a hug. I told her thank you for everything and she said “grazie” and I left. <br><br>I learned that night that what I thought was me immersing myself in the locals was in fact them accepting me as one of them. <br><br>So if you’re an American traveling to Italy for an extended period of time and you want to feel like you’re a local just be open to the people, learn some Italian and they will take you in as one of them.