Living like an Italian

So I've lived in Italy for 2 months now. The people at the book store, cupcake shop and gelateria know my name and occasionally treat me for free because they love Americans around here. I get to wake up and go running along the coast of the Bay of Naples with a view of the volcano Vesuvius. I am living with a family who is beyond generous, fun and they have welcomed me into their family as one of their own children. I'm so blessed to be here and I'm cherishing everyday that I'm here. I'm still learning new things about the people, the country and the culture everyday. Here are a few things that I find are unique to Italy-

The thing about Italy is…

Italians actually do say “Mamma Mia!”

The sidewalk is a land mine field of dead soldiers- no one cleans up after their dogs

Nothing is really “illegal” but some things are just “frowned upon”

All food is healthy here- everything is fresh and local. Italians have no idea what preservatives and trans fats are. The food is incredible in the south especially. There are at least a hundred different kinds of chesses. Naples is in the Campania region, where the mozzarella is the best in the world! 

Everyone has their groceries delivered. Every morning after breakfast Flor calls the grocery store with a list and 20 minutes later we are stocked with food again- its like magic

Everything Italians say sounds really important, every sentence is full of passion even if they are talking about the weather

As if Italian wasnt confusing enough- each region has a different dialect. In Naples, Neapolitan is the dialect but not many people speak it. It is an official language that is similar to Italian but it is not taught in schools.

Carnevale costumes are more important than anything and Italians spend big euros to dress their children up

The police don’t do anything- there are 3 branches of the police here and their sole job is to look good in their uniforms

If Italians recognize that you know English they’ll shout the only English words they know at you, even if they don’t make sense

It’s a waste to buy local train and bus tickets, none of the locals do. But you better have a ticket on a regional train because I’ve seen someone get thrown off the train for not having one and it did not look like a fun time

American music is always popular and everyone loves it but no one knows what the lyrics mean

Gelato is like a religion- everything could be closed but the gelateria is always open. Always.

Pizza is taken very seriously. Naples is the birthplace of pizza and it lives up to it. The first pizza was made for Queen Margarita so plain cheese pizza is named after her.

Even the toughest looking men kiss eachother on the cheeks and hold arms while they walk and talk. Italians are so affectionate but no one gives hugs. I’m still bad at the greeting and always go for the wrong cheek first creating some awkward encounters.

The view from our balcony, the bay of Naples is a 5 minute walk away