Ciao!
My name is Justine Gilbert, and I am a college student from the United States.
I am interning at About Sorrento while studying at Sant’Anna Institute for the semester!
I had been looking forward to studying in Sorrento because of its beautiful views, delicious food, and classes and experiences (like this internship!) that would immerse me in Italian culture.
I’ve now been in Sorrento for about two weeks, and it’s been an experience filled with new sights, new people, new goals, and more!
Reflections on Sorrento So Far
My first morning in Sorrento, hunger hit, and I could not fall back asleep after waking up early in the morning.
So, my roommate and I went into the streets of Sorrento and explored, looking for a good place to eat breakfast.
After a breakfast of crepes, we walked to Marina Grande, standing on the pier and looking out at the water and enjoying the peaceful view of the quiet waters.
Seeing the beauty of the coast in the early daylight hours and walking around the nearly empty streets made it feel surreal that this beautiful area was where I would be living for the next few months.
That sentiment has continued as I’ve seen more of Sorrento and have started to become more comfortable with navigating the area.
Some of My Favorite Things So Far
One of my favorite things are all the cats wandering around.
Although I don’t have any cats of my own at home, I really like cats and hope to have some as pets in the future.
I have a feeling that by the time I leave Sorrento, my camera roll will be mostly cats.
Some are friendly and talkative; others are timid and can be enticed with food.
A couple of friends and I walked around Sorrento with a can of cat food, hoping to befriend some cats.
Unfortunately, it was getting dark and colder, and we couldn’t find many cats, but we were able to feed one that shied away from us at first.
Another of my favorite things is definitely the food!
There are so many kinds of food to try while I am here, but so far the food I’ve had has been splendid.
For my Italian language class, my professor gave us the assignment to go find and try some sfogliatella.
This was my first homework assignment, and I liked that it was one that would allow me to explore more of Sorrento.
However, I was intimidated by this because I didn’t know where things were, but after learning what it was, I started seeing it everywhere I went.
This sweet pastry has a flaky layered outside and the one I had was filled with a creamy lemon filling.
I’ve had some food out with friends, trying various flavors of gelato (my favorite so far is the Sorrento lemon flavor), some pizza, a sandwich, alongside grocery shopping and cooking a lot of pasta for myself.
Stepping outside of my comfort zone (or flying out of it in this case) was a big change, but I am excited to learn a lot about Italian culture and myself during these next few months!
Ciao,
Justine