Tiny cars. This will come into play later. It's random I know. Just like this specific blog.
I've been wanting to do this specific blog for a while now. It's not on any of my travels, although I did go to the opera Tosca on Tuesday at the Roman Baths and that was really, really cool. I could easily write a blog devoted to that. I think though, that this one is not only more interesting but more important.I want to write about Italian culture the differences and similarites. Since it is my blog and I want to write about that, I'm going to. Now. It's just as long as others, because I guess it's not possible for me to not write something so long. I'm learning to accept this hahaha.
When I first decided to go to Italy I knew, obviously, that it was going to be different. For one there's that language barrier thing and it's a different country so I prepared. Once I got here, however, I realized that whatever I thought I was doing to get ready didn't prepare me for this at all. Even right now this keyboard is different and I STILL struggle with this. I'm not saying that everything is so different that I couldn't handle it. I'd name some similiarties right now, but Rosa just pointed out to me that really there aren't that many that are easily written. The easiest way I can put it is that I didn't feel like a complete alien but I definitely felt different. This blog really isn't devoted to me trying to tell you that it's similar to America though. Again, that would be a lie, it isn't. This paragraph is all kinds of confusing Iguess, so let's just jump into Italian culture and hope that we're all on the same page.
To start. Everyone says 'oh don't worry, everyone speaks english over there.' False. In the tourist-type places yeah the vendors generally do speak some english. Where I live though, on Trastevere, no one speaks english. When we go shopping by our apartment it's all pointing and using whatever Italian we picked up. Even my landlord doesn't speak English. The younger the individual the more likely they are to speak some English, but for the most part people really don't. That's in Rome too, in small cities it's even harder to find English. At first that was really rough, especially because I didn't know any Italian. After a while you pick up key phrases, and taking Italian helps too. It is sort of strange though to be completley surrounded by a different language. It's gotten to the point where if I hear English that's when I start to listen, otherwise there's a lot of time to think to yourself. In America I don't think I realized how much you do listen to what other people are saying, almost all the time. Even if you're not aware of it. Okay so that's obviously the major difference.
In my apartment we had to get used to big differences really quickly too. For instance the voltage over here is different. You need converters and adapters for everything. That can get annoying if you forget to bring one with you. It also sucks when you bring something with you, like a charger, or hair dryer and realize it won't work. Even with a converter. That one though, is generally pretty easy to get used to.
Looks safe.
We don't have dryers. We have a washing machine (in our kitchen) but no dryers. Everytime we do laundry we hang it on clothes lines or drying racks on the balcony. I actually like this difference. It's a cool visual thing to see, and it doesn't take too long to dry the clothes. After we got used to the clothes being sort of stiff (even with fabric softener) it isn't so bad. The washers are a lot smaller here too. The water supply is different, there's not much pressure to it. In America the washers are huge compared to here. In the winter they said if you want hot water in the shower you have to go quick because it runs out so fast. We haven't had to worry about that though because it's so hot here. Maybe that's a good thing. Hahaha, that brings me to my next point.
Air conditioning. I didn't grow up with air conditioning at home, we still don't have it. I'm pretty used to being that hot and only using fans. I'm not used to no establishments having it though. Only very select stores or restuarants have air conditioning becuase it's so expensive. That can be rough. VERY rough. It's so hot here, and not just hot, but humid. I walk out of the apartment and insta-sweat. I'm sure you all wanted to know that, but it's true. Add that on top of the walking. In Rome I walk everywhere. All the time really. I'm used to it now but when it's so hot it doesn't help the sweat issue (hahaha still gross I know). Italians though do not sweat. Hahaha, okay they do sweat but you would never know. It could be 97° outside and they look like it's mid fall. A lot of the men wear long pants and some women too. I think they have a special secret that they're not sharing. It's my goal to figure it out.
Not only is it weird to walk on, it's black and reflects the heat.
Speaking of pants. HAHAHHA...why would anyone start a paragraph that way? I just skimmed through and saw the ridiculousness of that. I'm keeping it in, but still. So ridiculous. ANYWAY. The way Italians dress is so different. I guess I'd say they dress much better. I wouldn't guess, they do. They look stylish, and obviously take time to put themselves together. Especially the women who all have some type of heel on their shoe even on the cobblestone streets. It's one of the more impressive things to watch. A woman walking in a stiletto heel on the cobblestone streets. I respect them. The guy dress well too. There are no sweat pants in Rome. Not any that I've seen anyway. That's an easy way to spot who is American and who isn't, just by the way they're dressed.
Small death weapons
Transportation. I've already talked about the mass amount of walking, and again I attribute that a lot to being in a big city. I usually end up taking the tram two or four times a day. I live pretty far away from school so it helps a lot. I've done the whole bus and metro thing before so in some ways I have an idea of how it works. Here it is definitely different though. I realized really quickly that people don't pay for the bus or the tram. They never check. I've heard one story of tickets being checked so far but have never seen it. I have a month pass (for my class) but wouldn't have gotten one otherwise. It's risky because there is a big fine, but most people I know take the chance. With that, a LOT of people use public transportation. If you hit rush hour here the tram and bus are crazy. In America trams and buses run pretty regularly. Trams especially are every few minutes. Here they run whenever they want to, as a result sometimes a lot of people have to pile on. In America if a bus or train is full you wait for the next one, here they make it work. There have been times where I'm sandwhiched in so tight I can barely breathe. People are pushed up against the doors so that when they open they spill out and have to get on again. It's all a really funny experience, also really dirty and gross. It all depends on the people.
I don't know if this even shows the crowdedness well.
The rest of it is all kind of crazy here. In Rome...in Italy driving is very intense. I thought I saw crazy driving in Chicago or Detroit, but no. Here they mean business. Just because a light is red doesn't mean they will stop. Just because you're crossing the street doesn't mean they'll stop, sometimes they'll swerve to hit you (depending on your location). It's weird to see a tiny car or vespa coming at you so fast. Tiny tiny cars. There's no way American cars would make it here. In most cases they wouldn't fit down the streets. I'll put a picture up because that's the only way to really show it.
Nooo sidewalks.
And now onto everyone's favorite food. Of course the food is delicious here, really amazing. It's all carbs, but we walk a lot so hopefully it evens out. The real difference though is how they eat food. It's a big deal. When you go to eat expect to go for an hour, sometimes a few. You never see people walking and eating here, it's always sitting, talking with friends, and eating. I like this tradition too. This is probably my favorite difference about Italy.
Some smaller things, grafitti. is. everywhere. When I got here I thought that meant there were a lot of gangs. Seriously, haha, I was thinking it was going to be a definite experience. My Italian teacher explained they don't really have gangs here, it's all artists. Trastevere especially is full of aspiring artists. When you look at the graffiti it makes sense too. It's not the type I see at home. It's weird because here there is a LOT of theft. A lot. You need to watch your stuff at all times or it is gone. I thought people were exaggerating it but no. It's pretty intense. However, in Italy it's really hard to get a gun. People don't have them. I like that A LOT. It makes me feel safer. I mean obviously there are still threats out there, but I don't know, it's nice to not have to worry about getting shot. Lol, not that I worry about that a lot.
There are a lot of other differences that I can get into, I realize I've already done a lot. Little things like paying for the bathroom because there are hardly any public bathrooms (not so fond of this). The fact that basically everyone smokes. The fact that church is VERY important here, especially the dress codes and codes of conduct. That it seems like not only does everyone have a dog (even the homeless guys) but they take them everywhere. They take them in stores, restuarants, on the tram. Everywhere. Those are all important differences too, but pretty self explainitory.
I guess looking back, this picture is kind of creepy. Hopefully, you can look past that.
The interesting ones are the ones you have to look harder to get understand. If you stop and sit for a while, people watch I guess, you quickly see other things that are so different from home. Everyone here is so social. Always chatting and talking. It makes America seem very very closed off in comparison, and in reality it is. My Italian teacher said there's no word for privacy, and that's also so true. It's nice though, being so in touch with other people. Then again, sometimes you miss having alone time.
The pace of life is SOOOO much slower. No one is in a hurry to get anywhere (unless maybe at the train station, MAYBE). It's all a stroll, no fast walks, just very chill. For some reason this took me the longest to get used to. To switch over in such a big was is surprisingly difficult. I wonder if it will be weird at home?
People are much more blunt. Hahahha. They tell you what they mean and show you in body language too, just in case you don't understand. They don't tip here, at restaurants. This makes restaurants more of an experience hahaha. They do not have to be nice if they don't want, it's definitely not always smiling friendly service. If they're upset you know it. That too is surprisngly nice. I mean, me being me I never thought I'd like that. I do though, it's nice to know what people are thinking and feeling. I feel like at home sometimes there is a small fake-ness to things that can be problematic sometimes.
These three things are probably, aside from language, the biggest changes to me. They're not the first I noticed, but biggest in cultural difference. To finish, this blog is mostly for me. I wanted to make sure I got down these things so I don't forget. I think if I get anything out of this experience I want it to be my understanding of another culture, so I don't want to forget this stuff. If you're reading this I still think it's kind of neat (such a quaint little word....neat) to hear about differences. Maybe not. You can always just look at the pictures and make up your own story. Maybe something about clothes and a vespa. I don't know, just make it cool hahaha.
Theeeeeeee end.
Ciao!
Anna
