To Live in Italy.

What it's like to live in Italy:

First things first, the schedule. Italians wake up later, eat dinner later (8:00 pm / 20:00 is early for most restaurants), and 'riposo' is a highly enforced time in the smaller Italian cities. Riposo is like siesta time in Spain, only it's the Italian version. Every day, from 13:00 to 16:00/16:30, most shops close, restaurants take a break, and most Italians take an afternoon nap. All over the smaller towns the volume diminishes, and neighbors have been known to come by and request you shut off your music or dim the volume, as they are literally attempting to nap, in the middle of the day, ever day. It's brilliant. I once joined an Italian for their lunch break. They left work at 13:00, picked me up, and we went to their parents' house to enjoy a homemade Italian meal. Then, we watched a movie, and at about 16:00, they turned to me and said it was probably time for them to go back to work. I love it.

As for the meals, breakfast is similar to that of the French. It's some form of croissant, with Nutella (delicious chocolate liquid substance), cream, or plain, and coffee, an espresso, etc. You will not likely find eggs and bacon as you may know breakfast to include in the States. Lunch in Italy is light, and often skipped altogether. Lunch is also often skipped by many Italians, but if taken, it's later in the day, typically after noon, usually around 13:00 or later. Depending on the job, it's not a hard-and-fast lunch hour break either, but as I learned from my friend, lunch time is flexible, savored, and sometimes even slightly prolonged.

When the Italians communicate, they're louder than we might imagine. What sounds like a verbal fight to an American is simply casual conversation to an Italian. It's not uncommon to find a man walk into a store to order something, and engage in what looks like a verbal altercation with the employee, only to find them depart from the interaction pleasantly. The onlooking foreigner is often left confused if unaware of the social norms of public conversation. But when they are actually fighting, the Italians aren't afraid to show their emotions of hostility in public, out in the open. I was once at a train station and had front row seats to a woman and her husband engaging in what would be considered a heated domestic dispute in the States.

Also, Italians talk with their hands. If ever you need to interrupt an Italian, you need to physically grab their arms and hold them down to their sides.

What about shopping? Markets are rampant in Italy, and they're typically the best places to find 1) the freshest food, 2) the cheapest deals, and 3) the best and most authentic clothing.

When trying on clothes at an Italian market, clothes are hanging everywhere from a small stand, and you're less likely to be able to look at one item and ask if they have it in another size. If you're lucky, they will. But it's not guaranteed as in the big department stores, etc. When you find what you like and want to try it on, you'll be guided to a van with a sliding door, that's been gutted for this sole purpose, and to hold all the merchandise at the end of the day. They bring you a mirror and let you change, hoping that any approaching the van will at least knock before entering. You're also able to barter in the Italian market system.

Depending on the city, markets are open all around the area, on various days of the week. Some are larger, some are smaller, all are filled with vendors selling a variety of clothing, shoes, household objects (including the occasional giant wooden spoon), food, even pets, etc. These markets are different from the ones you'll find at tourist traps; the types of vendors in touristy areas display and sell things like Pinocchio dolls, vulgar cooking aprons, and mups that lean with a picture of the Tower of Pisa on the front, that also lights up.

With no Walmart equivalent in the country of Italy, medicine, etc is found at the Pharmacia, while stamps, phone cards, cigarettes, etc are found at the local Tobacci store. A separate grocery shop/market (indoors) holds the food, perishable and nonperishable, and typically all stores close down at the late hour of 20:00, 21:00 if they're a bit rebellious.

The food in Italy is, as you've probably heard, incredible. My favorite? Proscuitto crudo. It will set you free. 'Prosciutto' is the Italian word for ham, and the 'crudo' style is a dry-cured ham, sliced thinly and served uncooked. It is to be distinguished from 'prosciutto cotto', which is cooked, and, in my opinion, less delicious. :)

Fruit and veggies are freshest at the local markets, and open six days a week, Italian hours. Often the 'grocery stores' have less fresh food, and they'll often require you to bag each item individually. (Italy is less environmental than some countries and cultures, which I will get to later.)

You won't find frozen ice for purchase in Italy, and they have less quantities of bottled water than you'll find in the States. 

Environmentally, Italy is less concerned with the issue of Italy than Texas is, home of the "Don't Mess with Texas" motto, a program against littering statewide. I've seen Italians throw entire meals out their car window, and walking along the streets you'll find anything from cigarette butts to whole pieces of food discarded. Not all of Italy/Italians feel this way, however. Italy has free water fountains all over the cities, with delicious drinking water available, and flowing nonstop.

As far as the beaches go, nudity in the Mediterranean is more common that we're accustomed to in the States. It's not uncommon for girls at toddler age to run around in only half a bathing suit, and the adult male is more often than not found donning the infamous speedo.

In terms of their homes, Italy is not a country that believes highly in the use of indoor air-conditioning. Instead, most houses have large awnings they can extend when the sun is beating down, and windows also come equipped with large shutters that can easily be opened, closed, slightly cracked, or completely sealed, shutting off all light and a great deal of heat from the outside. Homes will often have individual AC units, only broken out in dire situations, or for sleeping at night.

While most homes do have a washer for laundry, the load size is significantly smaller than the American standard, and it is rare to find a house equipped with a dryer for the clothes as well. For dishes and clothing, most Europeans don't dry either by machine, but instead allow nature and time to take its course. Each house is equipped with lines outside some window or balcony to hang clothes amidst the daylight warmth and air, and every European I've ever met owns a clothes-drying stand easily purchased at IKEA, for drying clothes inside when the weather is cold or the night falls.

In August, Italians, and all creatures of the Mediterranean, head on 'holiday' ('vacation' in the States, 'holiday' in Europe), anxious to escape the heat. The country typically has a month of holiday, as is the case in a great portion of Europe. In some places holiday has dwindled to a mere two weeks, but overall, Europe is more general with their vacation time as a culture than the United States. A friend in France has a standard annual holiday allotment of five weeks (she's worked at the company for 3 months), a number that will only increase with her tenure at the company.

Dogs in Italy are fiercely loyal to their masters, and all over Europe they're allowed almost anywhere, it seems. I've seen dogs in the streets, in the shops, of course on the beaches, on the trains, on the metro, even in the Apple store. Often they'll be walking alongside their owner sans leash, and never seem to stray very far, regardless of being completely unhindered from doing so.

The Italian personality is fascinating. Italians are passionate and have a zest for life, but when it comes to logistics, they're frequently unreliable, and proud to be so. Italian planes and trains always run on their own timetable, indifferent to whether you are in the know or not. It is not unusual for an Italian train to be 45 minutes behind schedule, or for an Italian plane company to shut down a flight and simply not reschedule it. Often Italian trains will switch platforms, despite what the board says. So if you aren't paying attention, you just might be standing at the wrong platform as your train leaves from a nearby platform.



And this only scratches the surface. Italy is a fascinating place, filled with a zest for life, passionate personalities, and culture that is intellectual, diverse, and thriving.

Italy: Add it to your bucket list. ;)