As a New Jersey resident my day to day is pretty fast paced and in stereotypical fashion we all move pretty swiftly. Most Italians on the other hand do not adhere to this concept. Some friends from abroad that are Pennsylvania natives have even said everyone moves slower here, and I even think people from PA move slow if that tells you anything. I have learned a lot of patience since coming to college so I have tried to adapt as best I can, but this definitely took a lot of getting used to. A large part is tourists as well. The frustration that is my walk (sprint) to class every morning — having to go from walking on the sidewalk to the street back to the sidewalk because of people breaking their necks and stopping every five seconds to take a picture as well as trying not to get run over by cars requires much skill and patience. I’ve become well trained at this and never judge because, yes, that was me when I first got here too. If you get the chance to see Florence for yourself you’ll understand, it’s truly an amazing city.
Other than the timeliness issue in Florence, it was very difficult to adapt to other things such as household and grocery shopping. I’ve never missed Costco more. The biggest grocery store they have in Florence is about the size of the bakery and deli section at a normal grocery store in the U.S. A lot of items like eggs and certain produce aren’t refrigerated here because they are fresher, but also go back quickly. Eggs are also difficult to find usually in the paper goods section right before checkout. Breakfast for Italians usually consists of an espresso and a small pastry, standing at the bar of the bar (what they call a cafe). Eggs being primarily used for carbonara is my guess for why they are hard to find. I have really enjoyed having breakfast like an Italian though, it is quick and easy and cheap as well. There are different costs here to eat your breakfast standing at the bar versus sitting down to eat. An espresso and pastry has yet to cost me more than 2.5 euro here. To adapt to this I eat slightly different here a lot of pasta, fatty meats, and cheese, and I’m not mad about it. I always wondered how Italians could eat like this everyday and be so fit, but with all the walking and lack of elevators and air conditioning it’s easy to understand now.
Household items like shower items, towels, kitchen, and laundry materials have been tough to find as well. Many of these things we were told not to bring to save room in our bags and that we could find them here. Eventually we found what was needed with some exceptions but it wasn’t as easy as they made it out to be. Being a girl with specific hair, skin care, and other hygienic needs also made it more difficult. I refuse to use a three-in-one wash regardless of where in the world I am so I found a way. All of these things seem minor and you hear about most before getting here so you always think you’re more prepared than you actually are. Nevertheless, it gets easier as time goes on and I have actually learned to enjoy a lot of the Italian ways which makes the experience all together more pleasant. I do feel as if I’ve adapted better than some mainly because I come from an Italian culture at home and was more aware of the changes I would need to make when I got here. Italy and Florence specifically is very traditional and rarely changes so it is less complicated to assimilate when you try and learn their way instead of assuming they’ll cater to your needs. My advice is to learn patience, not take things so seriously, and bring your own towel.
