a breezy day in Firenze (Florence)
enjoying a beer in Lugano (Switzerland)
There are a million aspects of life that change dramatically when you move to a new country. Here's a few that I come face to face with every day that still catch me off guard.
1. Having to "close up" the house at night. Italian houses all have these heavy wooden enclosures on the outside of the actual glass window that must be opened and closed every day. I keep forgetting to close them and Massi freaks out every morning thanking the Lord we weren't robbed or murdered in the night.
2. Keeping my purse closed. There is not a huge likelihood of getting mugged or pick-pocketed on the streets of my hometown, thought I'm sure it happens every now and then. I'm used to a sense of security therefore not having to clutch my purse to my chest on public transit.
3. People being un-Canadian. This really just goes for one instance where we were at the supermarket and we had bought and paid for a cookie sheet. We made it all the way home before realizing we must not have put it into our bags. We returned to the store immediately and I honestly expected them to have held it for us but turns out the cashier hadn't noticed anything, meaning the people behind us in the line swiped it for themselves! I was blessed to grow up in Canada because I would bet a pretty penny that if you left something at the cash (that you paid for!), everyone would be running after you in a jiffy.
4. Not acknowledging people as they pass by. This could have gone under the last point I suppose although I'm not sure it's just Canadians that do this. Here in Italy, people either a) totally avert eye contact as they pass or b) stare intensely without smiling (maybe just in my case as I'm clearly not from these parts). I often have to bite my tongue because I get an instant urge to say hello and smile to every passerby and it's just not done here.
5. No carpets. Yes, I know carpets are 'disgusting' and slowly getting phased out but having grew up in a house full of carpets, I still miss being able to stretch out on the living room floor and roll around as I pleased. Not ever happening on our tiled floors.
6. Cooler house temperatures. The average temperature that Massi likes to keep in our house is between 16-18 degrees C (18 is the very max). I'm basically freezing in my own house all day because I'm not quite used to it yet. In Canada we keep our houses above 20 degrees. I miss walking through the door and feeling that whoosh of tropical heat. I'm also convinced that this is the reason all the Italian girls are so skinny (combined with the smoking)- they must burn 1000 calories to stay warm!
7. Waving down the bus. So I missed a bus the other day and had to wait another whole hour and a bit simply because I was not informed that they won't stop unless you make the 'hailing a taxi gesture'. I figured it was enough to be waiting at the stop. Guess not.
8. The lack of line-forming skills. The concept of forming a line-up does not exist here. I'm not sure why there's even a word for it (fila or coda) because no one knows what it means. I struggle with this alot because people will squeeze their way in front of me but my Canadian-ness prevents me from bringing this to their attention, I have this grin and bear it affliction unfortunately. This results in me often getting pushed to the end of the crowd (I can't even call it a line, it's usually just a mass of pushing bodies).
9. Dubbing. I can't stand all the movies and English television programs that are dubbed in Italian. I hate that the words don't match the lips and that Ben Affleck doesn't sound like Ben Affleck. I know this is just being greedy but I honestly think they should subtitle original programs like they do in Northern Europe.
10. Wine at every meal. Just kidding, I'm not having problems with this at all.
Cheers friends and thanks for stopping by!
1. Having to "close up" the house at night. Italian houses all have these heavy wooden enclosures on the outside of the actual glass window that must be opened and closed every day. I keep forgetting to close them and Massi freaks out every morning thanking the Lord we weren't robbed or murdered in the night.
2. Keeping my purse closed. There is not a huge likelihood of getting mugged or pick-pocketed on the streets of my hometown, thought I'm sure it happens every now and then. I'm used to a sense of security therefore not having to clutch my purse to my chest on public transit.
3. People being un-Canadian. This really just goes for one instance where we were at the supermarket and we had bought and paid for a cookie sheet. We made it all the way home before realizing we must not have put it into our bags. We returned to the store immediately and I honestly expected them to have held it for us but turns out the cashier hadn't noticed anything, meaning the people behind us in the line swiped it for themselves! I was blessed to grow up in Canada because I would bet a pretty penny that if you left something at the cash (that you paid for!), everyone would be running after you in a jiffy.
4. Not acknowledging people as they pass by. This could have gone under the last point I suppose although I'm not sure it's just Canadians that do this. Here in Italy, people either a) totally avert eye contact as they pass or b) stare intensely without smiling (maybe just in my case as I'm clearly not from these parts). I often have to bite my tongue because I get an instant urge to say hello and smile to every passerby and it's just not done here.
5. No carpets. Yes, I know carpets are 'disgusting' and slowly getting phased out but having grew up in a house full of carpets, I still miss being able to stretch out on the living room floor and roll around as I pleased. Not ever happening on our tiled floors.
6. Cooler house temperatures. The average temperature that Massi likes to keep in our house is between 16-18 degrees C (18 is the very max). I'm basically freezing in my own house all day because I'm not quite used to it yet. In Canada we keep our houses above 20 degrees. I miss walking through the door and feeling that whoosh of tropical heat. I'm also convinced that this is the reason all the Italian girls are so skinny (combined with the smoking)- they must burn 1000 calories to stay warm!
7. Waving down the bus. So I missed a bus the other day and had to wait another whole hour and a bit simply because I was not informed that they won't stop unless you make the 'hailing a taxi gesture'. I figured it was enough to be waiting at the stop. Guess not.
8. The lack of line-forming skills. The concept of forming a line-up does not exist here. I'm not sure why there's even a word for it (fila or coda) because no one knows what it means. I struggle with this alot because people will squeeze their way in front of me but my Canadian-ness prevents me from bringing this to their attention, I have this grin and bear it affliction unfortunately. This results in me often getting pushed to the end of the crowd (I can't even call it a line, it's usually just a mass of pushing bodies).
9. Dubbing. I can't stand all the movies and English television programs that are dubbed in Italian. I hate that the words don't match the lips and that Ben Affleck doesn't sound like Ben Affleck. I know this is just being greedy but I honestly think they should subtitle original programs like they do in Northern Europe.
10. Wine at every meal. Just kidding, I'm not having problems with this at all.
Cheers friends and thanks for stopping by!
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