Before arriving in Torino, I thought I would be one of the few Black women among a sea of white Italians. Friends of mine, who had visited Italy before, warned me about racism in the country. Even though I grew up in the American South, I can honestly say I hadn’t had a terribly racist experience before. As I prepared to travel to Torino, I was nervous. How would I respond if someone treated me unjustly? Would there be something similar to NAACP in Torino? Were there simply no Blacks in Italy?

My first week in Torino definitely proved me wrong. On my street alone, are several Nigerian families. I fell asleep my first night listening to the soukous music playing from my neighbor’s stereo. (African music is sweet o!) as I explore my neighbourhood throughout the week, I come to see that I live in a very diverse area. Just to name a few, there are many Senegalese, Morrocans, Albanians, Nigerians, Romanians, Chinese, and Brazilians living in this area (and they all speak great Italian!). It truly is a beautiful melting pot!

Seeing this completely eliminates my nervousness, and I push away my worries. Its funny, even though I’m in Italy, Ive had very little interaction with Italians. The only real interaction Ive had with them are in my office, and that’s just 6 or 7 of them.

This is playing out to be an interesting summer!