Month 8 | The Holidays in Vietri sul Mare, Italy
Where this month found me
To think we’ve been in Italy for 8 months is beyond crazy. We’re already talking about what’s next: returning to Canada for the summer, and seriously considering our next move abroad for the end of the year. This time we’re thinking somewhere in the southern hemisphere.
We spent this past month witnessing how the Italians do the holidays, and were fortunate enough to be included in the traditions.
This is also marks the first monthly update to be published while the site is live, which is both exciting and a little terrifying!
Language & learning
I won’t lie, we fell off a little on our Italian this past month. There were other things that stole our focus and it just wasn’t given the attention it should have been. But I guess that’s the reality of learning, it ebbs and flows. Just means that this coming month I’m going to have to work twice as hard.
My goal for month 9? Stronger listening skills. If you have any podcasts or shows to recommend in Italian, send them my way! Duolingo isn’t cutting it.
People & connection
Being back in Italy with no visitors meant we got to spend so much time with our friends who live here. In early December, we got together with everyone for a book club/catch up. And we spent the crisp evening on a patio with casual cocktails, aperitivi, and good company. Last week we also got together for a casual games night at our friends’ place with home-cooked snacks and endless laughs. It was a great first social calendar event for 2026.
Christmas Eve is the big family oriented day in Italy — everyone comes together for a home cooked meal (typically seafood mains) and to exchange gifts. We were lucky enough to be welcomed into our friends’ mother’s house for hours of laughter, family time, gifts and food… so. much. food. No exaggeration I have never been so full in my life. Even though the communication was mainly through broken sentences, hand gestures and our friends being willing to spend a lot of time translating, we felt so welcome and privileged to be there. I find it’s in moments like these — where you don’t necessarily come from the same place or speak the same language — that you feel most connected.
On Christmas day, the same friends picked us up and brought us to an agroturismo, a farm-to-table style experience, where slow dining and home-cooked meals are staples. Here we met up with their family, who we had met the night before. The food was incredible, the wine was smooth and every bite was grown, raised, harvested and cooked on-site. The connections not only with the people at the table, but the passion seen in every course and interaction with the staff was incredible.
After all of the holiday excitement, I took the down time to schedule some calls with some of my international friends… despite time zones some friendships truly feel effortless. Those are the ones that will last through it all.
Culture shocks
Back home, Christmas has always been very family focused, at least in mine and my friend’s traditions. The 24th and 25th often are reserved for visiting, and staying home with loved ones. Italy absolutely does that too, through their favourite love language: food. Hours-long meals slowly enjoyed with the whole family. But before the family time, in Salerno at least, what feels like the entire population of the city shows up in the historical centre to drink and meet up with friends.
The tradition is called struscio, which basically translates to “rubbing shoulders”, an extremely fitting name for the event. Think: trying to get to the front row at a sold out concert, but the concert is through narrow, cobbled streets and everyone is heading in different directions. Chaos. In the best way. If you miss it on the 24th, fear not… On New Year’s Eve it happens all over again!
If you’re from North America like me, you can probably relate that spending an entire afternoon in a restaurant eating dish after dish is far from the norm. The agroturismo we visited on Christmas day was about four hours of eating and drinking. And though I was beyond full by the end of it, I can see the appeal in slow dining, and enjoying the time around the table with friends and family as course after course is brought out.
Another New Year’s tradition is eating lentils — essential in Italy if you want good luck and fortune in the year to come. Tys cooked up a delicious lentil ragu pasta that will be making its way into our regular meal rotation.
Finally, even after eight months of being startled by fireworks at all hours of the day, we still couldn’t have anticipated the New Year’s Eve celebrations. We brought a glass of wine down to the viewpoint near our home and watched as the coastline lit up with relentless bursts of light all the way to Agropoli (about 50 km away). Compared to Canada, where there are restrictions on the use of fireworks, this felt absolutely unreal.
On my bookshelf
Before we dive into the reads of month 8, I have to make note of the fact that I achieved my reading goal for the year of 50 books! Over double what I read last year and I’m quite proud of myself. Four years ago I would have been proud of 10 books, so this is great!
Book Club Pick: Wild Dark Shore, Charlotte MacConaghy | 4.5/5
Another great pick from book club! The story starts when a woman’s boat is shipwrecked and she washes up on the shore of a small island research station, somewhere between Australia and Antarctica. The researchers have all left and only the lighthouse keeper and his three children remain. It kept me guessing the entire time. It was different than my usual reads but I loved it.
Personal Read: Avalon Tower, CN Crawford & Alex Rivers | 2.5/5
Our world has been invaded by the Fae, ripping through dimensions to take over parts of France. The knights of the round table are fighting back with their own network of spies… If this hadn’t been included in my Kindle Unlimited subscription, I’d have been pretty disappointed. The premise had potential, the writing however, took me right out of it (sorry).
Small joys
There were so many that it’s hard to narrow down. But the strengthening of connections, has really made this month stand out for me. It feels like we’re officially past just visiting, and edging into forming real roots with people I already know I’ll miss when we go.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the incredible food we had over the holidays. The eggplant parm I had on Christmas Eve was absolutely exceptional — I will be dreaming of her recipe for years to come!
The hard parts
This was the first month that I had a truly hard time being away from home. My mom called me a little before Christmas to let me know that my great-uncle, Brian had passed. Struggling with grief is never easy and the distance only made it harder.
Him and I connected a few years back when we recognized each other in a Toronto diner near my apartment that he had been frequenting for decades (what a small world). In the years since then, we met up a few times a year to grab dinner, share a coffee or just catch up at his or my place. He was a kind, sassy, funny, and an overall wonderful human and I will miss him dearly. I consider myself very lucky to have known him and thankful that we were able to spend a few hours with him while we were home in November.
A couple days after I also received the call that another family member had passed. Though we may not have been as close as I was with my uncle Brian, the news still came as a shock and was a difficult pill to swallow — especially with the distance.
What this month taught me
I think through both the good and the bad, this month really taught me to appreciate the people in my life. It’s the relationships and connections with loved ones that give life meaning… and it’s important to prioritize that.
Looking ahead
This coming month we’ve got a lot happening! We’re spending a couple of days down in Palermo, Sicily, we have our permesso appointments eight months after applying — wish us luck with the bureaucracy we’re bracing for, and Tys is heading to Canada for a few weeks to work during the Olympics for CBC. And I’ll be staying here in Italy, getting a taste of living abroad on my own.
With our permesso (hopefully) finally taken care of it’ll pretty much be time to lock in what’s next for us. Things can still change, but the plan as of right now is home to Canada for the summer to regroup, refill our bank accounts, and apply for the next visa… we’re thinking a country in the southern hemisphere might be in the cards!
Since moving abroad, I’ve had a lot of people ask how we managed visas, work, and housing logistics. We figured most of it out ourselves — but in hindsight, having support would’ve saved a lot of stress.
I’ve recently partnered with Languages Canada, who help Canadians apply for Youth Mobility Visas, find work, and get settled abroad. If you apply through them using my referral link, you’ll receive a $200 Air Canada voucher. I didn’t use this service personally, but something like this would’ve been so helpful during our planning stage.
If you’re in the “thinking about it” phase, this might be a good place to start.
