I was born and raised in Italy by Italians. I guess I am legally Italian - but my head is always elsewhere.

I prefer to speak English rather than my own language. I do like to sleep but I also like to get things done which means I do not sleep after lunch like Italians do. I like pasta but my favorite dish is not Spaghetti Alla Bolognese. I love going to the beach but I would never live in a city like the one I go to every summer. I normally have a cappuccino and a croissant for breakfast but if I could choose something else, I'd probably go for pancakes. All I'm saying is that I don't want to be a living stereotype of what people think Italians are. I may or may not be loud, late or using my hands a lot - just like any other human being.

I am not trying to say that I dislike my home country, I love Italy, it is a beautiful place. I just find it "reducing" sometimes to say that I am Italian. I am not only that, in fact, I am Cris. I watch movies in their original language, I love Mexican food and I could not care less about soccer. I like to believe that I am a bit of everything. Even though I love Italy I do not like to speak about it as if it was the greatest country in the whole world, I believe there is something we can learn in every country. In fact, one of the best moments I've experienced when I was abroad was being asked: "Which state are you from?" by a lady who thought that I was American. I felt happy, not necessarily because I want people to think that I am American or I want to be, but because I was able to surprise this lady by telling her that I am actually Italian.

People tend to defend their own countries and claim that theirs is the best in the world but as far as I am concerned I would much rather travel all around before comparing places. I don't like when people talk about things they don't know.

I will probably settle down eventually, I will not be a nomad forever, but at the moment I like to travel around, even if that means that I have to start from zero every time I leave a place to go to the next. This is how I think life has to be lived. Time is precious and we do not know what tomorrow holds. We can not postpone things that we can do today. How do my favourite travel bloggers, Damon and Jo, say? Shut up and go!

- Cris