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At the age of 13, Anastasia Lavrikova together with her parents moved to Northern Italy. Having changed several cities, she eventually remained in Milan — a city that won her heart. And when she grew up, she won Milan’s heart herself: Anastasia actively participates in the local public life, she is a member of the Italian Tourist Guide Association, vicepresident of the Coordinating Council of Associations of Russian Compatriots of Northern Italy, and a founder of the gastronomic project “Party like Russians”. We asked Nastya what moving to Milan from the Soviet Union felt like and how this city had changed over the last three decades. Ellina Raisovna
Was it difficult for you to adapt to the Italian environment? Of course, I felt a bit abandoned. After all, there were no social networks and instant messengers then, and international calls cost a lot, so I lost all my contacts with my friends and relatives. A small number of immigrants in Italy also played its role pretty much complicating the whole process — we were almost the only foreigners in the city. There were no support and adaptation programs popular in Europe nowadays. Sometimes, I even felt humiliated. I remember a teacher of Italian shouting at me saying that it took her cleaning lady only two months to start speaking Italian, while I could not put two words together after having stayed there for four. I had a barrier common among the Soviet children — I could do or say something only when I was sure about it. I was raised in strict discipline, so it was hard for me to talk,
Фото из личного архива героини, depositphotos.com
“Italy Taught Me to Smile”