That feeling when you arrive in Italy, your new home

Saturday morning I arrived in bright sunny Rome.

I wasn't nervous beforehand. In fact, I wasn't even really scared - which is surprising when, at this point, I didn't even have a place to live. I was going to a foreign country where I didn't speak the language, I didn't know my way around, or a single person for that matter, and I had no idea how the public transport worked.

The truth is, none of that hits you until you step out of the train station onto the warm concrete, sun beaming down, your 34 kilo grams of stuff in your hand (and on your back, and on your arms) and then you have the thought:

'OK. So what now?'

My actual first step was get a coffee. My first Italian coffee. I could sit at a cafe and plan my day to see what the hell I was going to do. I had three houses to view, and as I did not have the foggiest on how to get around Rome, this was my first challenge.

My view from that little corner cafe

With only a name, address and an Italian mobile number for each house I asked in the cafe I was drinking at for some help. That instantly made me realise how much you take for granted knowing your way around somewhere - or at least how the transport works. I was lucky, the man spoke some English and actually lived about 5 minutes away from one of my addresses. He gave me directions that required me to use the metro and the bus and off I went.

Leaving my life in the train station luggage hold, my day continued with a clueless exploration of Rome and some of the grotty apartments it had to offer. 

That evening I met my boss, Gaby, at the theatre - I hadn't spoken to her until I arrived in Rome due to the fact the Erasmus placements are applied for through the university rather than student to employer. I actually think this is a little strange, I think it would be more beneficial for students to have a chance to chat with their future boss first and present themselves.

The was a show on the night I arrived at the theatre - this really was the best possible to instantly throw me into the theatre and give me an idea of how it all worked. I was introduced to lots of people that night - which, at the time, was quite a nerve-racking experience for me. Previously, as silly as this may sound, I hadn't had much interaction around adults on a same-level kind of way. They had always been parents, or teachers.

My first day was packed with challenges. Sussing out a new city, practising a new language and meeting lots of new people. I learnt that the best way to tackle things is without the worry and too much planning. The most important thing for me on my first day was communication. Asking for directions, asking for help and asking how to read the metro maps. The challenging aspect of this was the language barrier.

I was sleeping at Gaby's bohemian flat until I found my own place - needless to say I slept well that night.

My first week of work started on the Wednesday, 2nd October. As I expected I began with email work and database. It was my duty to send out mass emails to the theatre contacts regarding a show change. This was a really long process however it taught me the fundamentals of the companies mailing system and the importance to the company of promoting through the mailing list. It was their primary advertising method.

The next Saturday, a week after arriving, we had another showing at the theatre. My responsibility was to meet and greet the guests and ask them certain questions to gain market research. We wanted to know how they had heard about the theatre most importantly as this is key to knowing your target places to advertise. It was also important to take down the emails of any new customers so that they could be added to the mailing list. 

My first night I was a little shy, approaching a group of people to ask them questions was not something I had done before. I did my job, yet I can't imagine I was exactly exuberating confidence.

During the show I conducted a head count of the audience. The number would be used later when looking at the financial aspects such as profit and turnout.

I ended with seeing the guests out, thanking them for coming and also slipping in a little advertisement for the upcoming show. This role really helped to improve my people skills and the next night (Sunday we had another showing) I was already beginning to feel more relaxed. I learnt the importance of knowing your clientèle and how they know about you. This is vital for targeting promotion as accurately as possible.

I would just like to note that these are being re-written from progress logs I kept from my arrival here. This was written the week commencing May 12th 2014. 

(Well done self for dramatically improved writing skills)