All posts in category Culture Shock

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Ciao Readers!

Today I delve a bit into cultural differences (though hopefully in a humorous and entertaining way). While the title is meant to grab your attention, I’ll try and be a little less judgmental as I explore the things I appreciate about living in Italy as well as the “things I have yet learned to appreciate.” As one commenter has pointed out, people in other cultures have been doing just fine for millennia – it’s our own perspective from a different culture that creates our discomfort. So, when you hear my surprise/dismay (usually indicated by “seriously!?!!?!?”), please understand, as I do, that this is just one person’s attempt to understand a culture not her own. (However, it is my blog, so enough with the disclaimers already!) Onward.

THINGS I APPRECIATE ABOUT LIVING IN ITALY

Of course, the food (the Italian food) and the art (which are both fabulous and really big deals here).
The fact that I can walk the streets by myself at night and feel safe. This is pretty darn cool.
My health card. This is truly amazing – I’m an immigrant without a job and yet I have this nifty little card that entitles me to free/cheap health care. I haven’t used it yet, so I can’t speak to the quality/wait times, but I can say that compared to the 450$+/month we were paying for employer-subsidized health insurance back in the States (not to mention the very high co-pays) it’s pretty darn civilized.
The fact that prices are what prices are. For example, when I signed up for the basic 19 euro cable package I just naturally assumed that (like in the States) with the added inexplicable fees and taxes we would be paying about 31 – 33 euros/month. Nope, every month I am equally surprised to see exactly 19 euros on the bill. Not sure if it’s just Italy, or perhaps part of the Euro Zone strict financial laws, but I like it!
Not having to tip. Almost everywhere we eat here we’re served by the mom & pop owners themselves, or, if there are employees, waiting is their real job for which they are paid a minimum wage. Now I know your guide books may encourage you to at least round-up and leave the change, and maybe that’s expected in touristy places, but I promise you, I have never seen an Italian leave a tip and if you try to leave one they will yell at you (a habit I have adopted when dining with visiting Americans). The only tips I have ever seen here are left by American tourists. Which brings me back to my previous point – as long as you pay attention to whether there is a “coperto” (cover charge) listed on the menu (usually 1.50 – 2.50 euros per person), then you will know exactly how much your meal will cost as there is no adding tax and tip (exception being super touristy places like Venice where there may also be a “service charge,” though always listed in the menu).
Not waking up to news about another local or national shooting. Since we’ve been living in Florence I haven’t heard of a single murder occurring here (In Albuquerque it is statistically a weekly occurrence). There was apparently a murder of two African immigrants in 2011, but overall violent crime here is rare. It’s hard to get exact numbers, but Italy has at most 1/7th the violent crime of the States.
The festivities. It really is a treat to be able to walk out your front door and happen upon a street market, festival, musical performance and more just about any weekend year-round (and some weekdays as well). I do believe the festivities (and the food and art) are what keep people (mostly) non-violent amidst the things in my next list….

THINGS I HAVE YET LEARNED TO APPRECIATE

To quote the Grinch – “All the NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE.” Seriously – people here are loud. They yell. And they honk. And not the little quick tap of the horn to get someone’s attention, I mean the loud, incessant, you’d-be-too-embarrassed-to-honk-that-way-back-in-the-States (or too scared of starting a road rage incident) honk. My latest theory is that all the honking and yelling is folks’ way of releasing pressure (as everyone seems friendly and happy a minute later), and when combined with the festivities, explains why the violent crime rate is so low.
The inefficiency of offices (post, government, bank, etc.). You usually have to wait between 30 – 90 minutes to accomplish most things (much more for big tasks like immigration – I have heard stories from folks who waited 7 hours at that office), due to the fact that everything is run like a mom-and-pop operation without any thought for efficiency and other folks’ time. For example – if it’s someone’s turn at the post office and they are trying to send mail in some special way, there will be 3 forms to fill out, but instead of having them stand off to the side while they do this, the worker will have them remain there at the window the entire time (I once clocked one person at a post office window for 25 minutes). I suppose it would be too complicated to let the next person come up because then the “take a number” system will get out of whack – but seriously?!?!?! Of course, when it is finally your turn, you will get to spend as much time as you need accomplishing your task, which may help deescalate all the “ARG” you’ve been building up watching those before you.
The fact that I have to be careful not to get run-over on the sidewalk! I have seriously almost been hit by a car several times as I walked down the sidewalk, never mind the number of times by motorini. This goes back to my “Sure, Park There” blog post where I shared that just about anywhere is fair game for parking here. I can’t tell you how many mornings there’s been a car literally parked in the middle of the running trail (which is several feet off the street). Trying not to get run-over crossing the street is a whole other level of challenge (think “Frogger”), though we’ve learned the secret – people here are very gracious to folks with baby strollers – if you cross the street with one you’ll likely make it to the other side unscathed.
And speaking of the sidewalk – the fact that there is dog poop all over it! It really cuts down on my ability to appreciate the beautiful architecture as, should you take your eyes off the ground for a minute, you will surely step in it. Between the dog poop, the traffic, and the fact that folks just stop suddenly and chat on the sidewalk, a leisurely “stroll” feels more like an obstacle course test for some very demanding military assignment.
Smoking. I honestly don’t know why everyone here doesn’t just keel over from lung cancer. Smoking here is so prevalent (though not quite as much as in Japan). You can’t walk down the street without inhaling second-hand smoke (add that to your obstacle course), and even your own home will eventually succumb due to all your neighbors who smoke, including in the hallways. Maybe pasta and wine counteract nicotine and tar….

So, that, dear Readers are a few of my (admittedly) ethnocentric thoughts on the good, the bad and the ugly about living in Italy. I have left out many things from both lists, so will look forward to sharing those in the future!

N.b. – after rereading this post about a week after I wrote it, something struck me as interesting that I hadn’t realized at the time…it seems many of the things I appreciate are huge (healthcare, lack of violence), and the things that drive me nuts are small (noise, smoking)….so you would think that the big good things would “make up” for the small annoying ones, but it doesn’t feel that way….hmmmm…….

25 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on January 16, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Uncategorized

Tagged crime rates in italy, Cultural differences, culture shock, ineffeciency, living in italy, smoking, tipping in italy

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 16, 2013

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2013/01/16/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

The Groceries of My Dreams

Ciao Readers!

In looking back through this blog, it’s almost scary how much time I spend thinking about food… and here I am again (sorry, you have to wait till Monday to read about the Guggenheim!). Sometimes in life ya just gotta give in and spend some time wistfully daydreaming about things; for me that means dreaming of what I would buy at the grocery if I could (i.e., if it were available, not if I could afford it [like caviar]). Here’s the stuff dreams are made of:

Groceries I Dream About Now

Poore Brothers’ jalapeno potato chips
a bag of restaurant-style extra thin/crispy tortilla chips
really HOT salsa to dip those chips in (a nice local NM favorite like Sadie’s or El Pinto)
roasted green chiles (this time of year, ones that were fresh-frozen)
Tostito’s queso (yeah, I know, not very glamorous, but add green chile and YUM!)
a bag of shredded cheddar/Monterrey jack/Colby mix
pecans
ziploc bags
sour cream that’s sour (and yogurt that’s got a bite)
good quality cold cuts of the non-pork variety
Reese’s peanut-butter cups, Andes mints, Hershey’s kisses (it’s weird, they have yummy chocolate here [though rather hazelnut-centric], I just miss my comfort candies)
100% juice other than orange (ooooo, maybe a nice pomegranate/cranberry combo)

(There are many other foods about which I dream – huevos, bagels, pho, pad thai – but this list was solely for the grocery store in my dreams.)

And, as it is my goal to be “fair and balanced,” I also include a list of:

Groceries I’ll Dream of Back in the States

several varieties of fresh pesto
many varieties of delicious prosciutto
countless varieties of pecorino cheese
truffle stuff! (sauce, butter, cheese, spread)
fresh (and CHEAP) loaves of Italian bread
dry pasta in every shape and size you could imagine (also CHEAP), and tons of fresh pasta as well
Ciobar (ridiculously thick hot chocolate mix)
whole rabbits (okay, that one will actually be in my grocery nightmares…)

Ah, the stuff of dreams:

What groceries would you/do you miss if you couldn’t/can’t get them?

13 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on January 11, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Diversions to Other Places, Food

Tagged food, gorceries, jalepeno potato chips, pecorino, proscuito, Sadie's, salsa, tortilla chips, truffle

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 11, 2013

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2013/01/11/the-groceries-of-my-dreams/

(More) Florence Foreign Food Finds

Ciao Readers!

As I mentioned in my New Years’ post, over the holiday break we took time to try out (or re-try-out) the local ethnic dives (Rosticceria). Also as I’ve mentioned in a much earlier post, Rosticceria are Italy’s answer to fast food. However, the ethnic food places are a bit different than the Italian ones. Unlike the spic-and-span take-away-only Italian Rosticceria downstairs about which I have written, these places usually have tiny tables and are total hole-in-the-walls (and are usually more frequented by other immigrants than Italians/tourists).

After reading a sign on the wall of our new favorite Chinese place, I learned that technically Rosticceria aren’t suppose to offer you table service (the sign, loosely translated, said that the tables are there as a courtesy, but by law they cannot serve you at them). I guess this puts them in some more affordable/less regulated category than a restaurant (and explains why you have to get your own drinks from the fridge and can get an entire plate of Sri Lankin food for 3.50 euros!). (After I read the sign I also felt better about/understood why when I tried to hand the owner our empty [plastic] plates she shook her head and walked away in a way that made me feel like I had asked her to commit a crime.) The amenities and service are spartan (putting it nicely), but if you’re willing, there’s a world of delicious and cheap ethnic food to be had (if you can find them)!

For example, we passed the Sri Lankin place on several occasions before daring to enter, the delicious smell finally winning over our fears about its less-than-welcoming appearance (and lucky us – it’s delicious! kinda like less heavy/more spicy Indian food). We were even more pleasantly surprised when our entire bill for lunch and drinks was only 10 euros! Let’s see…we had Indian, Chinese, Sri Lankin (fun fact, Sri Lankin food is customarily eaten with your hands [though we used a fork]), and Peruvian (the last two being foods we had never tried before Italy). Here are the Sri Lankin and Peruvian Places:

Okay, now I think it’s time for lunch….

5 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on January 7, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Food

Tagged Peruvian food, Rosticceria, Sri Lankin Food

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 7, 2013

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2013/01/07/more-florence-foreign-food-finds/

Behind the Scenes of an Expat Blog

Ciao Readers!

Today is one of those “words only” posts where instead of photos of food and fun you get an unsolicited peek into my psyche. As always, I’m giving you fair warning in case you’d like to stop reading now…

I’ve been an “expat” going on 5 months now, though I’ve been writing this blog for about 9. In that time I’ve gotten a pretty good look into the world of expats and their blogs (and have succumb to some of the associated pitfalls). When you’re an expat with a blog you are simultaneously trying to digest a huge life-altering experience while providing information and/or entertainment to your readers. The trend I have seen (and am guilty of) is that you want to be upbeat and portray your new home in a positive light. The reasons are many – you want to appear well-adjusted, you want to be gracious to your new home, you don’t want to scare your readers away with orneriness, or, maybe you really do find your new home to be a utopian paradise. However, from my experiences meeting the expats behind the blogs, their reality never quite matches what I’ve read on their blogs. Here’s my own personal example – I feel like every time I try and vent/gripe, I get comments reminding me I get to live in Italy, that the food/art/[insert cool thing] here are fabulous, and so on. What I have learned from this is that people don’t want to hear me gripe. As a result, I only write blog posts when I am in an upbeat mood and have had a positive experience. The product is a blog that, while true in its content, is a bit misleading in its silence. Even when I do speak about unpleasant things, I tend to underplay them (like when I said I was “under the weather” over the break, that was to spare you all from reading about how Exorcist-like sick I really was). Today I read a woman’s blog that made me want to break the silence…

The blog is written by an expat who has been here 11 years, so her ruminations are not a result of initial culture shock. I recommend the entire post, but she explains the difficulties of living in Italy in a nutshell when she says:

“[L]iving in Italy is like wearing impossibly high heels–it’s lovely at times, even sexy, but completely impractical. And I don’t mean it’s impossible to live here–just impractical. It takes the mettle of a Joan of Arc to slash your way into the fabric of life in the Bel Paese. What Italy offers–lavishly, deliciously–is culture, of course. Art litters the landscape like weeds. History oozes from every brick. The cult of the table has been well-noted by the gobbling hordes, and though mediocrity is fast becoming the norm in tourist meccas like Florence, in most of the country you can still get a stupendous meal wherever you happen to flop. And meals have a lovely way of unfolding here that feels very civilized, indeed. But for me, one of the hallmarks of a civilized society is the dignity allowed humans in the performing of life’s most basic functions (i.e. paying bills, peeing, grocery shopping, strolling about town–granted, an eclectic litmus, but nevertheless indicative)–and here, my friends, is where Italy fails miserably.” (Letters from Florence, 2011).

I found not only this post, but much of her blog equally honest and intelligent and it made me want to persist in interspersing some deeper thoughts in with my food-filled-photos. I don’t know this blogger, but from people’s blogs you sometimes get a sense that they’re a person you’d like to meet. For example, the folks from goal42 have their entire travel budget right on their blog for everyone to see. I found the openness surprising/refreshing and “liked” the post, which led to an e-mail, a meeting, and a friendship (unfortunately, they are now in Turkey en route to Africa!). So, I am pretty sure there is more of a purpose to this blog than purely entertainment. Or, maybe this is just the kind of post you get when I write after spending 1.5 hours waiting at the health office followed by an hour at the laundromat as opposed to following a lovely lunch with a 1/2 litre of vino…

Funny thing is, the next scheduled post IS about food…until next time…

20 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on January 4, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Italy, here we come!

Tagged blogs, culture shock, expat blogs, expats, life in italy

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 4, 2013

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2013/01/04/behind-the-scenes-of-an-expat-blog/

Happy 2013! (While you were away….)

Ciao Readers! Happy New Year and Welcome Back!!! I missed you!

I hope everyone had happy, warm and safe holidays. How were our holidays? Well, thanks for asking…

Over the past couple of weeks Steve and I took time to relax (yay!), tour Italy a bit, and eat (too much, as required this time of year). We started off on Steve’s first weekend off by finally having our “Thanksgiving” meal (hey, it was only about 3+ weeks late). Since I already made a pumpkin pie in a test-run, I decided to go for my s’mores pie instead. I made the crust from Filipino graham crackers I got at Vivi Market (also where I got the [Swiss] marshmallows). It wasn’t 100% spot-on, but delicious nonetheless:

We did the usual “Thanksgiving” ritual – eating while we watched holiday movies (less traditionally, on a lap-top). Here’s one of the cats enjoying Pee Wee’s Christmas Special:

In addition to celebrating “Thanksgiving,” we tried out (or re-tried-out) some local ethnic dives (Rosticceria), which are so yummy they get their own post. We also went on a “road trip” to Venice (and are planning one to Lucca this week), and those will also get their own posts in the near future. We took time to revisit and newly visit museums covered by our cool Uffizi card as it expired Dec. 31st. (And, of course, we did less exciting things (read books, cleaned house)).

Finally…for the first time in about 20 years (O-M-G, I am O-L-D!) we left the house on New Year’s Eve. As I’ve mentioned before, it feels entirely safe here walking around just about any time of night (well, any time we’re still awake). At about 9:00 p.m. we ventured out to walk the various piazzas and take in the live music that was scheduled. Little did we realize that 9:00 p.m. was way too early for the festivities to begin. As you can see from the empty band stand behind me, not much was happening at that time (not sure what I was thinking, 9:00 p.m. is barely dinner time here!).

So, after strolling a rather quiet city, we returned home. We did discover that there are fireworks all over town at midnight (though from what I understand, not sanctioned) and from our roof terrace we got to watch the city alight:

All in all, putting aside a few days of my being under the weather and the fact that it was cold and still raining much of the time (seriously, enough with the rain already!), we had a lovely few weeks off. Here’s to the new year!

10 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on January 2, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Food

Tagged holidays, Holidays in Italy, New Years Eve, Rosticceria, Thanksgiving

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 2, 2013

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2013/01/02/happy-2013-while-you-were-away/

Seriously, MORE Festivals?!?! (yes, but this time there’s cheddar!)

Ciao Readers!

Okay, if you’re tired of hearing about all of the festivals here, this is not the post for you. Then again, if you’re a festival junkie like me, read on…

It’s almost hard for me to believe how many festivals there are here in Florence. I think I’ve just decided that festivals are a part of everyday life – like little food markets, the passeggiata and cappuccinos (and, “purtroppo,” the post office). Seriously, I can’t remember a weekend in the past several months where there wasn’t at least one festival or festival-like happening. And now that it’s the holiday season…well, you can do the math!

This past week marked the start of the German Christmas Market which runs for about 3 weeks in Piazza Santa Croce (recall this is where the European Food Festival was held). It’s a little like that festival (complete with wurst), but with more permanent and holiday-adorned stalls, as well as more non-food gift items (pictures below). There’s also the addition of a cold-weather treat we sampled – mulled wine (pictured in Steve’s hand) – we could not put our finger on what gave it its unique flavor (wine, spices, and….varnish?).

While all of that was fun enough, the festival came to an exciting crescendo when we came across the gentleman from England and his wondrous booth of… CHEDDAR CHEESE!!!! (I actually yelled out-loud, in English, “OMG, he has CHEDDAR CHEESE!!!”) Okay, now those of you reading this back in the States may be thinking “huh, what’s the big deal?” I’ll tell you what the big deal is – it is the first time in 4 months we’ve had a taste of real cheddar cheese (and we used to eat this stuff by the pounds back in ABQ)! (You may recall I have said you can get [very expensive] cheddar at Pegna, which is true, but the taste is not spot-on). Not only does the English chap (pictured) have cheddar cheese, but he has a mind-boggling array of varieties (with jalapenos anyone?). I think we were too overwhelmed by excitement (and taste-testing) to make coherent choices, but we did come home with two blocks (some of which will make its way into enchiladas tomorrow night; while we have no green chile, I did bring dried red). We’ve agreed it’s worth the splurge, so before the festival ends we are going to go back and get one of the flavor assortment wheels pictured. Woo Hoo!!! (I actually had to e-mail another expat who I know stays on the lookout for cheddar as well – she responded with similar enthusiasm [“Yuuuuuum. How totally exciting!!”]).

I know it’s been a blog-post-filled week – thanks for reading and have a great weekend!!!

7 Comments

by Newmexicotoitaly on December 7, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Culture Shock, Food

Tagged cheddar cheese, Christmas Festivals, CHristmas Markets, culture shock, Festivals in Florence, food festivals, food markets

Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on December 7, 2012

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2012/12/07/seriously-more-festivals-yes-but-this-time-theres-cheaddar/

Fun Fact (interactive poll edition!)

Ciao Readers!

Today I am attempting something new – an interactive “fun fact”! I have my own personal guestimates of the varying waits at the post office between the U.S. and Italy, but google as I might, I can’t find any hard evidence. So, I thought I’d let you all participate in a poll and see what we find out (for those of you in neither the U.S. nor Italy, feel free to use an experience you had in one or the other, or both; for those that have lived in the other at some time, feel free to vote in both polls as well):

Thanks for taking part! By the way, if you’re interested in the psychology of waiting in line, the New York Times published an interesting article, “Why Waiting in Line is Torture.” (And, yes, if you’re wondering, I wrote this after returning from the post office!)