The Unexpected Florence
- Shannon Wood
- Feb 4, 2015
- 3 min read
Italians have a much different culture than one from the US, and the rest of Europe for that matter. I wish I could explain all of the many things, which are different. Although I do not have the time to do that and it is hard to explain when you are not experiencing it. However, here are a few unexpected things in Florence.
When traveling to Italy you can only prepare so much. You can meet with other students, read Rick Steves, or just Google information. However, nothing prepares you for the unexpected things of Florence. You just have to figure it our on your own.
“Teddy, would you please take out the trash?” A mother says to her son. “ But… Mom, I am busy and I do not want to,” says Teddy. In America, we see this common situation when parents ask their children to do chores, and their children respond with an answer of not wanting to do their chores. Why do I give this basic example between a mother and her son? Well, living here in Italy for only a month has allowed me to realize the difference in procedures when taking out the trash. In Italy, if you want to take out the trash, the trash is not just a larger trash been in your garage. The trash does not just have to be rolled to the end of your driveway on trash day. There is no single designated trash pickup day in Italy. Instead, you must first sort your trash by organic materials, plastic and glass, and all other trash. After sorting, you must then walk any where from one to five blocks depending on where the trash is located, and then throw your trash away. Also, you must take the trash out everyday to prevent smell, bugs, and pile up. Taking out the trash everyday has turned into something unexpected in Florence.
Another thing many students leave out when talking about Florence is the difference in temperature in your home. As American’s most of us are blessed with a warm and cozy home in the winter. Here in Italy it is a little different. Italy’s winter is much more mild than Ohio’s, but the weather can still get a little chilly. When you live in a house with brick floors, stone walls, and little heat you need the extra blanket, slippers, and a warm and cozy sweatshirt. Italy has a law where heat can only be on for a maximum of ten hours a day. Most of the time the heat starts on between the hours of six to nine, 1200 to 1500, and 1700 pm to 2200. Let’s just say it gets a little chilly here. So if you are always cold pack warm clothes!
How many of you when you go out to a restaurant order water? You receive the check, and next to it there is a $0.00 for water. In Italy, you cannot just order one glass of water and water in Italy is not free. If you order water, they bring your whole table a bottle about the size of a liter. Plus, here is the catch the water is not free. The water costs about as much as a glass of wine. You might as well drink wine when you go to dinner!
Do you like to smile? I do. My grandma always told me if you frown too much you will get wrinkles on your forehead, and smiles are contagious. Well in Italy, smiling does you no good. Italian women don’t smile. I’m sorry but most of the time they just have a scary look on their face. Italian men think you want them to come or see it as a sign of attraction if you smile at them.
Finally, one of the most unexpected things in Florence is the price for stamps. In the U.S. stamps only cost about $0.49. This means you can send many letters very cheap. In Italy, this is not the case. If you want to send one letter to the U.S. it costs 2.30 euro. This is just too expensive for a college student on a budget to keep sending post cards every week.
Also, check out these videos. There is one about Italian gestures. The second one is about how Italians differ from the rest of Europe. Both are great laughs.
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