Living in Italy used to be scary and a bit of a culture shock, but once you know the Italian way, it becomes much less intimidating and a lot more fun! I have lived in Italy for a year now (I cannot believe it has been a year) and I have learned a lot about myself, life, and culture. I definitely don’t live exactly like an Italian, though: I work completely in English, I work with people from all over the world, and so far, I have lived in 3 different apartments…going on 4.

I will write more about my own story at a later time – let me know if you’d like to hear more about this in the comments below! But for now, I want to talk about some things I’ve learned about the Italian way.

I am temporarily* living smack in the center of historical Rome, right next to the Pantheon. It is a DREAM and I absolutely love it. To get to my grocery store, I go downstairs and outside, and I walk diagonally across the piazza in front of the Pantheon and my grocery store is right there. Sometimes I forget and I notice someone gasping and pulling out their camera and I think, “Oh yeah, this is actually so cool and I am not even looking up.” I need to snap out of that and remind myself how awesome it is and how lucky I am!!

*I stumbled on an apartment on Facebook that was too good to pass up right next to the Pantheon. Since there are no tourists, a lot of AirBnb owners are renting out their apartments for longer term for a LOT less money until tourism picks back up. So, it is temporary for me until then – it feels like I am on a very long vacation and it is amazing.

Grocery stores in Europe are generally a lot smaller than the ones that we are used to in the US, but I usually am able to find everything I need when I go. In the larger stores there are carts that you can use that you have to put a coin in to access (same concept as Aldi), but in my store there are only small carts like the one below. Food here seems to not last as long as the food in the US (probably means it is healthier and fresher lol) so you tend to go to the store more frequently and the refrigerators and freezers here are a lot smaller than the ones we are used to! So it makes sense that the shopping carts are smaller.

Honestly everything is smaller, though. The deodorant, shampoo and conditioner bottles, and condiments are all things that come in small sizes that really bother me. I have gone through a lot more plastic and have had to buy these things way more frequently because they are so small and also way more expensive!

The small cars and small streets, however, are what add the charm to the cities so that does not bother me at all – although if you have ever been in a small car on the small streets of Rome it is quite terrifying! The lines and lights are merely a suggestion, and people do NOT look both ways when crossing the street. But somehow their system works for them and with how populated this city is, I would much rather sit in traffic here than in DC any day. At least the traffic here moves.

Romans in particular are a different breed of human. As my good friend always says: “Roman strangers are assholes, but Roman friends are the best people.” I know a few Romans personally and they are amazing people but passing by on the street or on public transportation is a different story. They do not care about your feelings whatsoever and they will yell at you for no reason. Not all of them. But a large sum of them.

Overall, I love living here and I really wouldn’t have it any other way – tiny things, blunt people, and all!

Stay tuned for more on my life in Italy.

Ciao for now!