My Tutor in Italy Journey So Far with Jacob G.

Hello, my name is Jacob Gil and I am 19 years old from Canada. I am an aspiring teacher who loves to travel. So I thought why not combine those two and become a tutor in Europe? I made my dreams a reality and landed in Turin at the start of June and was welcomed into a family of 5. Two boys and one girl, whom I would be helping with English.

I was so excited but also so nervous about this adventure, but it ended up being way better than I could have imagined. The family was amazing and showed me the way of life here in Italy and the kids were so excited to learn English that it made every second of it enjoyable. Having no experience speaking Italian I was a bit nervous about how it would go, but you would be surprised by the number of people who speak English in Italy. Of course, you always can use the universal language of smiling as well.

I travelled to Italy with my brother as my Global Work and Travel travel companion and it was amazing to have someone you know by your side. He was with another family only 15 minutes away so it allowed for us to experience many things together. We went on tours like the Juventus Stadium tour, and tried all sorts of food such as pizza, pasta and even sushi! Our trip started out a bit chaotic as our luggage got lost on the way over, but after 8 days we had everything back. We did not let this slow us down and we continued to make every day as enjoyable as possible. The first couple of days are always a bit difficult as you are getting used to a new lifestyle and living with the family but by the end, you feel like you are a part of the family.

One of my favourite and funniest stories of the trip was when we were sitting at lunch and one of the children Luigi and his friends were asking me math questions like 16+20 and stuff after they found out that I am in university for math. Then the food came and Luigi says “Jacob what’s this in English” and puts his finger sideways so I thought he was pointing to the hot dogs. So I said “hot dog” and he goes “okay what’s 16 hot dog 4” and I said “what” and he’s like “16 hotdog 4” and I responded, “I am not sure,”. He then says, “you study math and don’t know 16 hotdog 4”. It turns out he was making a subtraction sign with his finger and was not pointing at the hot dogs. I’ve never laughed that hard in my life and it will be a memory I will never forget. Almost every day Luigi and I laugh at this moment and how easy things are to get lost in translation.

Overall, the experience was amazing and I recommend it to anyone that is interested. If I had to give some advice for those thinking about becoming a tutor abroad or who already are it would be three quotes that I found on the wall of my host family's house. They are, “remember why you started”, “Great things never came from the comfort zone”, and “Don’t wish for it, do it.”. These quotes kept me inspired throughout my trip. When I was missing home, I reminded myself of why I started. When I had the thought of wanting to do something, I made sure to do it. When I felt uncomfortable, I reminded myself that this will help me grow as a human and a teacher. There is nothing negative I could possibly say about this trip and I hope to travel with Global Work and Travel again soon!