Language

Language was a challenge for me on this trip, but luckily English was a prevalent enough language for me to get my point across after a few words. It was interesting to note the contrast in culture as we traveled through Italy compared with Slovenia and Croatia. In Italy, there seemed to be more of an expectation that the visitor speaks at least some of their language when greeting. When this wasn't done, they treated me a different way, like an outsider. I even received a few sharp remarks that I of course could not translate. I associate this as pride in their culture and way of life. They believe you should put in the work! It would have been nice to have a reference handy. Good learning for future reference.