Senatus Populusque Romanus – I love that they still use this motto.

Beach at sunset in Gaeta, coastal city south of Rome.

I love Italy. I love America too, I mean it’s my home and all, but I do really love the Italian culture. Comparing America and Italia I wouldn’t say that one is necessarily better than the other, just that they are different. But after 19 years of the same old same old, the change is welcome.

View of Rome from St. Peter’s dome.

Number one thing I noticed about Italy: traffic laws are more like guidelines than actual rules. Pedestrian right of way? Yeah right. And the way that the Italians just baha down these narrow little old streets in their cars really took me off guard at first, but I got used to it pretty quick.

Personal space and privacy isn’t really a thing here – Italians will snuggle up right next to you in church and have phone conversations at full volume in the middle of the street or on the bus (always with the Bluetooth so they can use their hands).

Similarly, Italians have no shame with their public displays of affection. Couples are always holding hands or walking arm in arm (which I think is partially because the streets here are so uneven) and making out in public is definitely the norm. I have to say though, seeing the old couples walking together arm in arm together down the street is one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen.

The Italians have an intense fear of the cold – at the first signs of a chill they bundle up with layers and layers and the puffy coats and scarves (always the scarves).

They actually say “mamma mia” all the time.

Coffee culture is not to be messed with – Cappuccino only in the morning, café in the afternoon, pay first (a lot of the time), throw it back standing at the counter, say your ciaos and your grazies and get out of there. Repeat 10 times daily. Honestly I think if Italy ran out of espresso the country would just shut down.

Picturesque Italian street.

The country side in Orvieto, small town north of Rome.

In general, everything here is smaller. Our kitchen is literally about 2 feet from the counter to the wall, my roommate and I’s beds are pushed together because there is no other possible arrangement in the bedroom (thankfully we like each other), and you can fit about 5 things in a load of laundry. And you have to hang dry everything, which means you have to plan ahead a little bit if you know you need something washed (especially jeans). Some of these things were a little inconvenient at first, I guess, but I feel like I adapted pretty quickly. A lot of people warn you about culture shock when going abroad but I don’t think I really experienced this, I just took it all in stride and enjoyed soaking up the Italian culture. The only thing that I really find annoying here is the salesmen who walk around trying to sell you flowers or stupid laser toys, and with my blonde hair they pick me out from a mile away. But if that’s the price for living in Italy for a semester, it’s well worth it! La vita e bella!

Duomo di Orvieto

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Amie is a student at Gustavus Adolphus studying at John Cabot University during the Spring 2014 term.