Culture Shock

Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to sit down and write a blog...I would have completed one last night but I ran into an issue with my keys (haha!). Anyway, I'm here to tell you all about the adventures of my first week in Italy, except that probably won't happen. If I told you every single detail so far, well, let's just say I wouldn't be having any more adventures for a while. Enough about that! This week: culture shock.

As far as experiencing culture shock goes, I didn't have too many problems with the Italian way of life mainly because everything just excited me, but there were a couple things I wasn't used to that made me scratch my head. First of all, the DRIVING! Wow, Italian drivers are insane!! There will be three lanes on one street, and everyone ignores them. It's all just a jumbled mess, but surprisingly, it works. The conjestion doesn't last for very long, and everyone honks at each other, though it does nothing to make anything go faster or more smoothly. On the way to our apartment, I was a little bit scared for my life and the lives of my roommates, so I had to look out the window so that I wouldn't pay attention to his driving. But, we got there safely, so I can't complain too much :)

Another thing that ended up shocking me was all the walking! I'm more used to it now, but my feet can't say the same. They are blistered and bruised and wounded, especially since my red boots died in the rain and I had to break in new shoes. They are still trying to heal, but every time I wear a different shoe, a new blister pops up (no pun intended) and turns into a stinging cut that I have to put a band-aid on. Which reminds me that I should have brought a million band-aids from home because they are expensive here! Anyway, you also have to be careful when you walk around because pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way. If you don't get out of the way, you will find that you have a broken arm, crushed foot, and a face without a nose...or dead! Especially with the buses..those things are scary! The roads are also very dangerous because of all the potholes! If I would have worn heels, both of my ankles would have been broken by now. BUT, they have provided me with many a laugh due to all the tripping everyone has been doing (including me!).

The biggest culture shock for me was having to deal with forty new people, sharing an apartment with three new roommates, and socializing with a million different personalities. This is my weakness: groups. I've never done well in groups, which is why I've chosen to be independent most of the time. It's easier to be alone; I'm in control when I'm alone. But, I have to do the things that I'm afraid of, so I've been working on letting go of worrying about who likes me and who doesn't, and just being myself. It turns out that a lot of the people who I thought were spoiled, stupid, rich brats, or ignorant, bitchy, annoying girls, I was completely wrong about. I allowed myself to see a different side, which helped me even more to go with the flow instead of resist and resent. I'm doing my thing and letting everyone else do their own because that's all I can do.

The language has opened up many areas of communication for me. I've been able to meet Italian people who work in bars and supermarkets, and people who wanted me to take their picture in front of the Santa Croce (who only spoke Italian) on my morning excursions. I've been able to translate some things for my friends and ask little questions about where to find certain things or places, and I love that feeling! I even like to struggle with the language, and make a complete fool out of myself in front of Italians saying words the wrong way and mixing up verbs, etc. I've decided that I really like the learning curve, especially because all the Italians I've met have been super nice and helpful (not to mention adorable!!). For example, I was able to communicate with one of my neighbors that I had forgotten my keys and was waiting for my roommates to get home (in Italian!: ho dimenticato i miei chiavi, cosi' aspetto per le mie compagne di stanze). Even though I looked like a bum sleeping outside...it was worth it for the interactions I had. I also really love my Italian teacher. She's really funny and pretty, and she only lets us speak in Italian, and she only speaks to us in Italian...so it's a little hard to understand what she's saying sometimes, but I always feel so accomplished when I do know what she's saying. It helps because we have to ask her questions in the foreign language, so it makes me have to struggle to make her understand what it is that I don't understand about a grammar concept. I hope that made sense to you guys haha!

My apartment is adorable. It is small but very quaint, and it's homey and cozy. All the basic essentials are working, so I don't have anything to complain about; I'm living in an authentic Italian apartment in the center of Florence...how can you get better than that?! The quirks of the apartment are fun to figure out. The water heater is very small, so the hot water doesn't last very long, and I found out that you can't turn the shower on and off to conserve water because the shower thinks that you're taking twenty showers all in one, so the water turns cold. You have to go as fast as you can all in one shot so that the water stays hot. Needless to say, the first two showers I took were cold ones; they woke me up at least!!

The food really is amazing here...they don't lie! I just had the BEST margherita pizza the other day for 6 euros, and I mean the BEST! I love the way they make pizza here. The crust is thin and they don't put on a ton of sauce or cheese...it's perfect! Everything is also very fresh, which I love, especially since everything in the US is preserved with some crap unless it's specifically marked as organic; and even then who knows if it's really organic. Here, you don't have to worry about if it's really fresh or having to pay extra for organic food because it's naturally that way! Thank God they haven't caught on to the American way of doing food!! The ice cream, or gelato, here is way better than anything I've ever had in the States. It's a perfect balance of cream and flavor, and just the right portions...and cheap depending on where you go. My favorite is nocciola (hazelnut) or nocciolosa (chocolate hazelnut). They know how to do hazelnuts...just sayin' ;)

I must be on my way now to a soccer game, so I hope you've enjoyed a taste of what my life has been like so far over here! I hope everyone is doing well and is reaching out of their comfort zones! Ciao!