I wasn't sure what to call this post, but I wanted to talk about some of the things I had to get "used" to, I guess you could say. Nothing has been horrible... there are no "negatives," but, sure, there are certain things that make me laugh, but the positive things definitely overshadow the American conveniences I no longer have.
Where do I start?
My apartment: I love my apartment! I will post pictures, soon, but I have a beautiful terrace that is covered up, but opened on the sides to allow for some air to come in, but to keep the pigeons out. I still get my share of pigeon feathers on my terrace, but it's just a fun place to sit and relax and it's where I hang all my clothes to dry on the drying rack. There are no shortage of pigeons in Arezzo. Sometimes I think it's the only bird that exists here, because I never see any other type of bird. They don't wake me up anymore, but sometimes I hear them on my window seal in my bedroom, especially right when my alarm goes off and I realize they are there. Apparently you can put aluminum foil down to keep them away, but I haven't tried that yet... perhaps I should. Dryers are very rare in Italy and everyone hang dries their clothes. Mastering my washing machine was quiet the process. My settings did not have any words at all, just pictures, so I had to figure out what those pictures meant and even googled it until I figured it out. I had to wash my first load of clothes three times, because they came out still smelling. I finally figured out washing them on a delicate cycle was best. It takes my clothes about three days to dry, but it's better than ruining my clothes on a really fast cycle. I also had to look up the conversions to Celsius to figure out what temperature to put it on. The towels get a little crispy, but my clothes are fine and I haven't had to iron yet, because I bought this awesome spray-on fabric softener. Like I said about dryers, air conditioners are also very rare in Italy, but I actually have one. I love it! Energy has to be conserved here very well and I have to flip the breaker every time I do laundry. Every time. My shower is also a very interesting part of my apartment. There is no shower tub... no base. It's just a faucet, a brain and a shower curtain, so I have to dry the floor up big time after every shower. It's also better for me to shower at night, because when I shower during the day I don't have hardly any water pressure. I guess because so many people are using water at that time and I live right by a restaurant. When you walk outside my apartment entrance you walk into the outdoor seating area of the restaurant! Water here is also conserved very well. Toilets are only filled up with a very small amount of water and you have to use the toilet brush to clean it off... if you know what I mean. :) Bidets are used here and I have one, but it holds my basket that holds all of my showering products and I have yet to use it for its purpose. I'll have to try it before I leave here, though. Hmm... What else about my apartment? Cooking has been interesting. I have two small gas burners and a small toaster oven to cook. You light the burners with a big lighter and hold down the nob for a minute until it gets warm. I have messed sausage and meatballs up, but other than that, I have been able to to eat whatever I cook. I like it, actually! I don't have a microwave or a dishwasher, but that is also very normal. There is a microwave in the office, so that is really nice. What else? I sleep on a twin-sized bed and have a second one pushed up against it, so I can have a little more room. It's not bad. Also, the locks on doors here are very outlandish and mine is no different. It's crazy, but good! When you lock a door it has about three deadbolts and you usually have a button or something to push before you can leave an apartment building door. It's hard to explain, but they are very much about security here in homes, which I like. I also love that I have an elevator in my apartment, because I am on the very top and it would be torture climbing all of those stairs. I like my penthouse suit!
Walking: Living here you do a lot of walking. In order to get somewhere you have to walk. Good shoes are must, but it's crazy, because a lot of my shoes are already tearing up. I have a feeling I'll have to get rid of all these shoes, because they'll be so torn up from all the walking. I don't mind the walking... sometimes I really like it. It's fun to see everybody as you walk and to people-watch, to count how many people stare at you, and to window shop as you pass by stores. Italians tend to do a lot of staring. I don't take offense to it anymore... I do have naturally blonde hair and bluish eyes, which is the epitome of the beautiful American, according to my co-worker, Lucio. He is one of the two Italian staff members and is the Student Services Coordinator. Marta is the other Italian staff member and is the Office Manager. Anyhow, I have gotten used to the walking, the feet and leg cramps in the middle of the night, and having to leave extra early when I have to be somewhere. Although it is sometimes okay here to run on "Italian time." It's so funny, because no one is ever on time and nothing starts on time. It's Italian time! I love that, because I'm always late... haha
Shopping: I have also had to master shopping, which was quiet the challenge at first. I lived in a residence hall for seven years and this is the first time in my life that I have had to really grocery shop, and I had to learn to do it in Italy. The food is different here. Sure, there is a lot of pizza and pasta and it's delicious, but grocery stores also have items like we have in America, too. Getting fruit is the oddest thing. It is a cultural norm to put a glove on before you grab your fruit... the older ladies get mad at you if you don't. Once you put it in the bag you weight it yourself and a sticker prints out with the price and you stick it to the bag. Everything here is more expensive. Cost of living is much higher and you are always spending more in dollars when you are charged euros. Since I am paid in dollars, this sometimes makes things a bit complicated. When I go to the grocery store I usually go down all the rows until I get enough stuff that looks like it will last be for a little while. I cook a lot on my gas burners and try to stay away from my toaster oven. Something really funny to me is that you are charged per can when you buy a six-pack of Diet Coke (coca cola light), so you can tear open the package and grab however many you want. Also, you are charged for bags, so most people bring their own tote bags to the grocery store. It's hard sometimes when you buy so much and then have to walk back to your apartment. The other day I bought way to much and it was quiet the experience getting it all back. I had bags wrapped all over me, but I made it! I think I'm being smart with my choices of food, or I hope so... we'll see. I'll write an entry about the food sometime this week.
Random thoughts about culture: You don't tip here at all, which is really strange. Also, they never split the check, so you have to learn how to divide that up evenly. Public bathrooms are shared by men and women, which is just still odd to me. When you walk into the bathroom there are normally a couple male stalls and a couple stalls for females and then the hand-washing stations are in the opened area where you wait for a stall. For a lot of sinks you have to push a lever with your foot to get the water to come out. What else? You have to really be careful when walking, because cars typically do not stop for pedestrians, except at crosswalks with lights. Things that Americans would see as rude here are not actually rude, it's just their culture, and that was hard to get used to. There are always beggars out on the streets asking for money, which you reply, "No, grazie" to. People are always selling something, too, or playing instruments to get money. Also, the shops here are amazing! There are boutiques, fruit stands, magazine stands, bread and cheese shops, and more linning the streets everywhere. I have finally determined where the cheapest places are and the best grocery stores. Bars are also everywhere, which is what they call pastry and coffee shops. I love going into fruit stands and buying fresh ficcas (figs), but it is almost time for those to be out of season, which is sad... they are my new favorite fruit! I love them! I have also found the euro store, which is like the dollar store in the States. That's pretty funny to me. There is a really big grocery store called the Ipercoop that I went to about a week ago with two students and spent a couple hours. It's not walking distance, but it's a huge store with everything and it's the cheapest. We took a taxi out there and it was pretty cheap. I finally found a hair straightener, because I burned my American one up the first week I was here. :) It smoked and was really awful, but nothing caught on fire... thank goodness. I also bought hangers, because all I was provided with were a few really large coat-type hangers and a bunch of other stuff I needed for my apartment. The Ipercoop is like nothing I've seen. It's like a Walmart or Target, but also has clothing stores inside of the building and a store that's like a Best Buy. Oh, and a restaurant... what?! It's crazy. The only things I haven't been able to find that I would really like are cotton balls and eye make-up remover. I found stripes of cotton that you pull off to use a little bit at at a time, which will work. It's also imperative to recycle here. Italians are very good about recycling and it's just a cultural norm... everyone does it and you are expected to. For the most part people have been nice to me. They help me out when I ask for it and are understanding of my language skills. The man at the bus station was rude to me once and threw my change at me, but that's okay. You take the bus or train here when you travel long-distances. It's not bad at all and I have learned the ropes of transportation. Going to Siena you ride a bus and it makes me completely sick, so I now sit at the very front. They are a bit careless with their bus driving skills, so you feel even worse on those winding roads. At restaurants you also have to salt your own bread, usually. In this part of Tuscany the bread is not salted, so it's not very flavorful, but I still like it. They put olive oil on everything and that makes it much better! Also, dogs are really funny here... people bring them everywhere! They are in restaurants, they are in stores, everywhere. It is normal to be at a restaurant and a dog to be tied to someone's table outside. I have also seen some of the largest dogs ever here... it's crazy.
I think that is about all I can think of right now. Although I miss being able to jump into my car about run to Walmart for a quick item, there is nothing that I just absolutely miss. American conveniences are, of course, missed, but nothing too severe. I still love it here... even if I have to bag my own fruit and salt my own bread... :)
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