Well, today marks 2 weeks in Italy for me so I just wanted to go over some things that I have found to be a bit different to me. I love this place, but the fact remains that I am a foreigner and I am bound to find things that are strange to me.
Aside from the fact that everything shuts down in the afternoon for nap time, and everyone is driving like they have a burn victim in their car and they are on their way to the trauma unit, there are a couple of little things that will take some getting used to.
Of course, there is the whole hugging and kissing on both cheeks thing. It's really not that bad, but since I am an American, I'm not ready for the whole invasion of personal space when I first meet somebody. I'll come around. They are a very affectionate people. It's a European thing, I get it.
One thing that I am still in the dark about is cell phones. I think that the average Italian has about two to four cell phones. Some how it is cheeper than having one. Even after it was explained to me in english I still don't get it.
Also, everyone seems to be crazy about The Simpsons and Full Metal Jacket. The majority of the people that I have met and talked with have brought up one or both of the subjects up in conversation. I must say that hearing quotes from Full Metal Jacket recited in Italian is very entertaining.
I know that this next one can't possibly be true, but I have paid close attention. It seems to me that they don't go to the bathroom ever. They must though. I mean there are bathrooms hear right? My point is, that during work I'll go probably twice, which I think is about average considering the amount of water I drink. But no one else ever goes. I don't know if everyone here has large bladders or if mine is small, but if I drank as much espresso as they did I would be going every 15 minutes. It's probably all in my head.
The last thing that I found interesting is that to cover up the smell of cigarette smoke in a room, they use tobacco scented air spray. I really have nothing to say about that.
Things are still going really well. Our busy weekend went smoothly and this week is a bit slower. The weather has been cloudy with a bit of rain but still warm. I'm still learning lots of new stuff, and my Italian is improving every day.
This morning I was finally able to get my permesso di soggiorno. Thank goodness that's out of the way. I've included a pic of "The Panda" which is my current mode of transportation. Ciao!!!
