Went to Italy and stayed sober!
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Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 285
Went to Italy and stayed sober!
Hi all,
I haven't posted in a while, but I am still very actively working my recovery and connecting with others in recovery. I just got back from a week in Italy and am so grateful to have experienced it sober.
Italy is the sort of place that really makes you wish you were a normie. It looks so lovely to sit in an outdoor cafe and have a glass of wine. When I was drinking, sometimes I would have done just that. But sometimes I would have two and then three and then not remember the rest of the night. Unfortunately, I couldn't predict which times those would be.
I was able to get up every morning without a hangover and participate in my conference (the reason I was in Italy) and safely travel a two hour train ride/multiple boat rides the day I had to spend in Venice. I was on my own and it would have been so dangerous for me to be drunk and trying to navigate my way back from Italy. Instead, I spent the entire day soaking up a beautiful city and a couple of nearby islands.
My only uncomfortable time occurred at a dinner with my boss and others from our group. There were about 30 people at dinner and loads of wine being served. I was the only one not drinking. My boss tried several times to get me to have wine. I did not want to reveal my alcohol troubles with him because he's the sort of person to grab onto a bit of information about a person and let it form his opinion - never to be changed. He's not American and has a very different attitude about alcohol too. Anyway, I ended up saying that alcohol has been making me sick lately so I haven't been drinking and then changed the subject. He tried to get me to have a taste but he had a few drinks by then and I could easily get talking with others so he gave up on it.
Even in that situation, I was glad I wasn't drinking. In that group, I was one of maybe 3 Americans. In general, Americans have a louder speaking voice than others and I am no exception. Had I been drinking, I would have been so self-conscious because I know my voice gets louder.
Anyway, all this to say - I am so grateful for my sobriety, 119 days in!
I haven't posted in a while, but I am still very actively working my recovery and connecting with others in recovery. I just got back from a week in Italy and am so grateful to have experienced it sober.
Italy is the sort of place that really makes you wish you were a normie. It looks so lovely to sit in an outdoor cafe and have a glass of wine. When I was drinking, sometimes I would have done just that. But sometimes I would have two and then three and then not remember the rest of the night. Unfortunately, I couldn't predict which times those would be.
I was able to get up every morning without a hangover and participate in my conference (the reason I was in Italy) and safely travel a two hour train ride/multiple boat rides the day I had to spend in Venice. I was on my own and it would have been so dangerous for me to be drunk and trying to navigate my way back from Italy. Instead, I spent the entire day soaking up a beautiful city and a couple of nearby islands.
My only uncomfortable time occurred at a dinner with my boss and others from our group. There were about 30 people at dinner and loads of wine being served. I was the only one not drinking. My boss tried several times to get me to have wine. I did not want to reveal my alcohol troubles with him because he's the sort of person to grab onto a bit of information about a person and let it form his opinion - never to be changed. He's not American and has a very different attitude about alcohol too. Anyway, I ended up saying that alcohol has been making me sick lately so I haven't been drinking and then changed the subject. He tried to get me to have a taste but he had a few drinks by then and I could easily get talking with others so he gave up on it.
Even in that situation, I was glad I wasn't drinking. In that group, I was one of maybe 3 Americans. In general, Americans have a louder speaking voice than others and I am no exception. Had I been drinking, I would have been so self-conscious because I know my voice gets louder.
Anyway, all this to say - I am so grateful for my sobriety, 119 days in!
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Bethlehem, PA
Posts: 230
Originally Posted by applewakesup 
Hi all,
I haven't posted in a while, but I am still very actively working my recovery and connecting with others in recovery. I just got back from a week in Italy and am so grateful to have experienced it sober.
Italy is the sort of place that really makes you wish you were a normie. It looks so lovely to sit in an outdoor cafe and have a glass of wine. When I was drinking, sometimes I would have done just that. But sometimes I would have two and then three and then not remember the rest of the night. Unfortunately, I couldn't predict which times those would be.
I was able to get up every morning without a hangover and participate in my conference (the reason I was in Italy) and safely travel a two hour train ride/multiple boat rides the day I had to spend in Venice. I was on my own and it would have been so dangerous for me to be drunk and trying to navigate my way back from Italy. Instead, I spent the entire day soaking up a beautiful city and a couple of nearby islands.
My only uncomfortable time occurred at a dinner with my boss and others from our group. There were about 30 people at dinner and loads of wine being served. I was the only one not drinking. My boss tried several times to get me to have wine. I did not want to reveal my alcohol troubles with him because he's the sort of person to grab onto a bit of information about a person and let it form his opinion - never to be changed. He's not American and has a very different attitude about alcohol too. Anyway, I ended up saying that alcohol has been making me sick lately so I haven't been drinking and then changed the subject. He tried to get me to have a taste but he had a few drinks by then and I could easily get talking with others so he gave up on it.
Even in that situation, I was glad I wasn't drinking. In that group, I was one of maybe 3 Americans. In general, Americans have a louder speaking voice than others and I am no exception. Had I been drinking, I would have been so self-conscious because I know my voice gets louder.
Anyway, all this to say - I am so grateful for my sobriety, 119 days in!
I haven't posted in a while, but I am still very actively working my recovery and connecting with others in recovery. I just got back from a week in Italy and am so grateful to have experienced it sober.
Italy is the sort of place that really makes you wish you were a normie. It looks so lovely to sit in an outdoor cafe and have a glass of wine. When I was drinking, sometimes I would have done just that. But sometimes I would have two and then three and then not remember the rest of the night. Unfortunately, I couldn't predict which times those would be.
I was able to get up every morning without a hangover and participate in my conference (the reason I was in Italy) and safely travel a two hour train ride/multiple boat rides the day I had to spend in Venice. I was on my own and it would have been so dangerous for me to be drunk and trying to navigate my way back from Italy. Instead, I spent the entire day soaking up a beautiful city and a couple of nearby islands.
My only uncomfortable time occurred at a dinner with my boss and others from our group. There were about 30 people at dinner and loads of wine being served. I was the only one not drinking. My boss tried several times to get me to have wine. I did not want to reveal my alcohol troubles with him because he's the sort of person to grab onto a bit of information about a person and let it form his opinion - never to be changed. He's not American and has a very different attitude about alcohol too. Anyway, I ended up saying that alcohol has been making me sick lately so I haven't been drinking and then changed the subject. He tried to get me to have a taste but he had a few drinks by then and I could easily get talking with others so he gave up on it.
Even in that situation, I was glad I wasn't drinking. In that group, I was one of maybe 3 Americans. In general, Americans have a louder speaking voice than others and I am no exception. Had I been drinking, I would have been so self-conscious because I know my voice gets louder.
Anyway, all this to say - I am so grateful for my sobriety, 119 days in!
I also find that telling people who get pushy about drinking that it simply upsets your stomach or some type of health reason. It can get annoying constantly answering questions about why you don't drink. Saying because of a health issue is a good way to get people to back off.
Most people will never understand what it is like to be an alcoholic. Others simply do not have any type of empathy when it comes to addiction so it is pointless to try and explain it to them.
Plus sometimes I don't want to explain my personal alcohol problems with people I consider merely an acquaintance or who I just met. For me it is better to just say for a health reason and quickly change the subject, as you did.
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Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 4,251
Good job!!! Italy is beautiful with sober eyes, I can attest to that! It is a culture that puts high emphasis on enjoying all parts of life and enjoying food and wine, but not everyone in Italy drinks. I have come to know many Italians who do not drink, and not just alcoholics, some people choose not to drink for health reasons, they don't like the taste or they simply don't want to. 
Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: United States
Posts: 421
When I'm out with people and don't feel like drinking, I say I'm taking an antibiotic and it upsets my stomach when I drink (which is true! I'm just not on an antibiotic everytime I say that. But in my experience the 'on medication' thing tends to make ppl stop asking).
Big congrats to you for making it thru this event!!
Big congrats to you for making it thru this event!!
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Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: United States
Posts: 421
Originally Posted by Meraviglioso
Good job!!! Italy is beautiful with sober eyes, I can attest to that! It is a culture that puts high emphasis on enjoying all parts of life and enjoying food and wine, but not everyone in Italy drinks. I have come to know many Italians who do not drink, and not just alcoholics, some people choose not to drink for health reasons, they don't like the taste or they simply don't want to.
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Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 285
Thanks all! Yes, my boss is the only person that has pressured me at all. But he will pressure anyone. Including a woman in our lab that has never had a drop of alcohol. Luckily, he was fairly easy to divert.
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