Can you eat vegetarian everywhere abroad? Being vegetarian during your internship abroad is not necessarily the easiest thing to do. The lifestyle is not yet spread out in all countries/cities. And going abroad and wanting to eat vegetarian food requires a bit of research! So, whether it’s for your internship in Italy, your internship in Romania, there’s something for everyone!
Eating vegetarian food during your internship in Italy
According to a recent study carried out in 2015 by Eurispes, Italian vegetarians and vegans represented 8% of the population. Italians are very careful about what they eat. Fruits, vegetables, preferably organic when they can, among others. They do it mainly for reasons of well-being and health! And besides, food is in the top 3 of their conversations around their espresso, just like health! These 2 topics of discussion are very linked in the imagination of Italians. (if you’re doing your internship in Italy, prepare a few topics of conversation around food). Almost all big Italian cities have at least 1 organic shop that will suit your wishes, and the products are very similar to ours. Between Turin, the first vegetarian city in the world and Florence, with its dozens of vegetarian or vegan restaurants, frankly, you’ll be zen 😉
Internship in Romania and vegetarian? Yes or no?
Ahhh, I must confess it’s going to be a bit more complicated! There the organic shops are a little less proliferating; you will obviously find some in Bucharest, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca … but the further away you go, the more chocho it will be. Already you will have the markets, where there will be almost only fruits and vegetables (with some clothes here and there). For the restaurants, I didn’t try that, but askip you can ask for a “meniu de pos”. Basically, a menu without milk or meat. You can ask for “ghiveci”, a kind of stew of several vegetables; “ardei umpluti” (peppers stuffed with rice and mushrooms).
Some tips to stay vegetarian during your internship abroad
Already, vegetarian is not translated word for word in Italian, German, Spanish … Restaurants and shops won’t understand what you’re saying because it can mean a lot of things (it would be silly to end up with a sliced meat dish). You should rather go through a very clear explanation :). Say that you want a dish without meat, without fish, only with fruits, vegetables, etc … . And don’t forget to prepare a little vocabulary list of your favourite products so that you don’t have to spend 3 years looking for them. And above all, if you haven’t already done so, get into the kitchen!
Can we eat vegetarian everywhere abroad? Then, if you want an internship in Italy and you want to eat vegetarian food, just contact us HERE.
If you want to read more, it’s there 😉