The BIG blog

SO we've been in Italy going on 2 months and WOW, what a journey it's been so far. I don't think Heather and I were quite prepared for the magnitude of changes we would have to endure once we got here but we're slowly easing into the facets of Italian life.

DRIVING
Some would say that Italians drive like maniacs, and I have to agree to some extent. Italian driving translates into a mixture of practicality and subtle disregard for traffic laws. For instance, if an Italian is driving and encounters a slower vehicle in front of him/her, the driver will simply pass the slower vehicle. Now, throw in a couple more variables like a solid line(no passing zone) or oncomming traffic. It doesn't really matter to Italians. They will pass no matter what. Americans that witness this kind of driving behavior call it the "ghost lane". There really isn't a lane when they attempt a pass but miraculously there's a lane once their commited to passing. I call it a well orchastrated game of chicken where someone always moves out of the way.

There are very few carbinieri, or police as we refer to them, out on the roads monitoring speed. Most speeding tickets are issued by electronic cameras that get your plate number in certain zones that are always marked. This leaves Italians with a few unspoken rules. 1. Drive as fast as you want, except around electronic velocity signs. 2. ALWAYS use your blinker. (Blinker discipline here amazes me considering the lack of regard for everything else) 3. Don't hit cyclists. Pedestrians are fair game.
Surviving the roads in Italy is a combination of EVERYONE paying attention. This is precisely why you'll never see an Italian nor I doing anything else but driving while behind the wheel.

THE GOOD SHIP LOLLIPOP
Speaking of carbinieri. You won't find them on the road too much, but on the side of the road mainly. They travel in two's. One will have a white stick with a red lite up circle on the end, resembling a lollipop. They other will have....an uzi. If they wave the "lollipop" at you, you're required to pull over. The scenerio is simple. You pull over or they shoot. Seems kind of harsh right? It is. Most people just take the easy route and pull over.
They can pull you over for no reason at all. They can also search your vehicle without probable cause. This doesn't bother the people that are following the rules.

FOOD
Oh yes, food. What a great place to be if you like to eat. Our expectation was that once we were here, we'd be so indulged by the amazing food here that we'd look like blimps within a year. However, we've found the opposite to be true. Italians take food very seriously. If you're the kind of person that likes to make a midnight run to jack in the box, then this is a place that will require some adjustment. Fast food in the american sense is almost non-existant. Even Italian fast food isn't so fast. They take a lot of pride in the food they cook and take their time doing it, regardless of where you go.
Dining is also considered a social event, to be enjoyed with family and friends. This means that almost every time Italians dine out, it's an all night event, lasting from about 8 to sometimes midnight. I'm working nights and I'm usually driving home at about midnight and I'm always amazed at the amount of people I see walking back from their favorite neighborhood ristorante.

DOMANI
Domani, means tomorrow or get to it when I get to it. This seems to be the theme of Italian culture. They're never in a big hurry to do anything except while driving. Our internet took 2 weeks to get hooked up. Our phone took almost 3 weeks. They don't work from noon to 3PM every day. They shut down during the month of August and go on holiday.

HOME SWEET HOME
In the States, you can walk around most neighborhoods and walk right up to someone's front door. I guess that's our cushion of space. However, here in Italy, every house has some kind of buffer zone. Usually a fence then a yard then the house. At the entrance gate at the fence there's a buzzer. A visitor has to ring the buzzer at the gate and ask to be invited. If you know them, then you remotely unlatch the gate from inside the house. To sum it up, in America, our front doors are literally the front door. In Italy, the front door is the gate at the fence line. In my opinion, italians are this way because theft is a real problem here. It's one more obstacle for a potential house burgler.

TAX
I believe theft is a problem because of the taxes here. Our landlord explained to me that the Italian government takes almost %50 of his profits in taxes. This results in most businesses being cash only, for the purpose of evading taxes. Can't say that I blame them.

CONCLUDE
We're learning more and more about this place every day. At the moment, because of the language barrier and cultural specific protocols, going out to do anything takes a reasonable amount of energy. Even simple things like going to the hardware store or going shopping for stuff for the house can be a sizable adventure. We're taking it one step at a time though. Most people say it takes about 6 months to be totally comfortable here and I think they're right.