5 American Habits I Lost While Living In Italy

After studying abroad in Italy, here are a few things that I learned!

One of the main reasons why I chose to study abroad in Italy was to learn about its culture. I was so excited to be in a new place, learn everything I could, and just entirely immerse in the Italian culture! Throughout my 5 months there, I lost quite a few general and personal American habits I grew accustomed to while growing up. Thus, here are 4 American habits I lost when I moved to Italy.

1) BEING QUIET AND SHY

Italians are all about their hugs, kisses, hand gestures, and loudness. It took me a while to get used to because at first, I couldn't tell if I was being yelled at or if the person speaking to me was hard of hearing. Nope, they're all loud and touchy and I learned to love it! Honestly, reminded me of my Hawaiian-style family and friends back home.

2) EGGS AND BACON FOR BREAKFAST

Italians are all about their desserts for breakfast. There came a time where this was my biggest complaint about living in Italy, then I knew I was acting like a spoiled brat. What can I say? I missed my protein! Breakfast in Italy is all about the Nutella, pastries, coffee, espresso, etc. It was amazing at first, but then I noticed myself gaining weight, and craving eggs and bacon. Once, I asked my host-mom for eggs, and she served it for dinner.

3) NEEDING A CAR

Now I know that public transportation is pretty huge in America, even though most families own 2-3 cars. While in Siena, I learned to looove public transportation. I caught the city bus to school everyday, walked around the city every free moment of time I had, and rode the train to different Italian cities every weekend. I can recall being in a car only twice - when my host parents first picked me up, and on my last day in Siena, my host-dad saw me waiting at the bus stop and picked me up. Anyway, if you ever wonder how Italians stay so fit, it's because they walk everywhere, and there are tons of hills!

4) BEING ATTACHED TO SOCIAL MEDIA

I used to be all about posting everything about my life via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. That all changed mainly because I had no wifi in my home in Italy and the wifi at my school was way too slow. At first, this frustrated me, especially because of the people back home I wanted to keep in touch with, and because I took some pretty great pictures that I wanted to share. I also really wanted to start my blog then, but my lack of internet kept me from doing so. However, becoming unattached was very relieving and was a big reminder for me to remember to look up and appreciate the view.

5) PLANNING EVERY MINUTE OF EVERYDAY

Before moving to Italy, I was very organized and needed to plan everything or else I would go crazy - I blame growing up in fast-paced America. The first couple of weeks in Italy, I had a really hard time getting used to having so much free time and it really annoyed me when professors would be late to class. But, with time, I got used to this. It only took me having to write down things like "relax, take a nap," on my daily to-do lists to realize that I needed to just kick my feet up and enjoy the ride.

Learning to go with the flow also really helped me to find the beauty in getting lost. I no longer planned every trip I went on, and sometimes I wouldn't even use a map, all because finding unfamiliar and unplanned gems were more rewarding than sticking to a itinerary.

Ciao,

C.