La Dolce Vita = The Sweet Life

With 9 days in Torino under my belt, I am starting to catch on to their way of life…well, maybe I should say that I’m starting to understand it a bit more.

Here’s some fun facts that I’ve learned so far…often the hard way:

1.  The morning after we arrived in Italy, I decided to stretch my legs after so many hours on a plane. I went for a jog throughout the streets of the area. Wondering why people were staring at me as they opened their cafés and looking up peculiarly at me from their morning paper, I continued to listen to my workout mix as I pumped out a 30 minute jog.  The next day, after asking a school coordinator what streets were good to run on, I quickly found out that Italians do not work out unless their training for some type of marathon, bike race, or rowing competition. And they especially don’t run in the streets. They dedicate parks to those few who wish to run—mainly the business men who get a run in before work…and me.

Sunset from our living room window

2. The heat in most apartments is controlled by the government. That means from October 15-April 15, the heat is automatically turned on to 21 degrees (70 Fahrenheit) during the day and shut off completely at night. But thanks to my mom always turning the heat down in our house because she’s always hot, I think I’ll be okay with no heat!

Our room--yes, it's built only for people under 5'4''

3. Many places don’t open until 10am! 4 days a week I don’t have any class until after noon. As a Seelman (a.k.a. an early riser) I am still trying to figure out what to do with myself for the hours in the morning that I’m awake when every place (including the University) is closed.

4. The restaurants and stores close their doors in time for afternoon lunch and siesta from 1-4pm. As a local told me, Italians know that they can make more money by staying open all day, but that’s not as important to them as spending time with family enjoying good lunch foods and napping. They have made their decision to replace “getting ahead” with slow, easy relaxation.  

View from the roof of the former Fiat car factory

5. Dinner does not start until at least 7:30pm. Entire families will come into the local pizzeria at 10 or 11pm for dinner! This means that I will be eating two dinners because I can't last that long.

6. There’s no such thing as “to-go” coffee here. They pour it for you fresh and you’re expected to sit, drink, and socialize for hours. This is something Americans can learn from. I find myself checking the clock in a quick panic thinking that I have somewhere be. Alas, their digital clocks are in military time so I’m never really sure what time it is here anyway.

2006 Olympic Arch with a backdrop of the Alps

7. This one is really interesting. The locals drink a Cappuccino in the morning for breakfast. It’s made with whole milk so as to fill them up until lunch. The Italians will never drink this after 11am so they don’t miss the good foods lunch brings. 

So when we Americans were buying cappuccinos with our meals at dinner, they were terribly offended because we were telling them that their food did not fill us up. Whoops...

8. They believe everything should be room temperature. Milk and eggs are not refrigerated and nothing is served with ice. They also believe coffee is good for digestion so the people typically order it after meals.

our Liter bottles of water (plus my to-go coffee disguised as water in the pink container)

9. There are over 3,000 dialects of Italian.

10. English has one determinative article : “the”.

The Italian language contains SEVEN determinative articles. (That means there are 7 different ways to say the word “the”).

We say “the book” “the books” “the island” “the school”. 

They say “il libro”, “I libri”, “L’isola”, “la scuola”.

...And I thought my elementary Italian class meant “Easy Italian class”

Our dedicated study table

11. There are many gypsies here. Within our first week, a few climbed across the connected apartments and into my neighbors’ window taking everything from credit cards and cameras to jeans and suitcases. Insane. Down at the clubs just the other night, one came up to me speaking Italian. My elementary Italian class pulled me through this situation as I remembered the oral report I gave last week and staggered out the only phrase I knew: “Sono Americana di Pittsburgh e no parlo Italiano. (Yes, I gave him too many details for the situation, but, hey, I was trying to think fast). The smart gypsy man quickly showed his knowledge responding in English while opening his hand saying, “a bit of hash for you miss?” I quickly blurted, “No grazie!” and this American booked it out of there.

Before I make it sound as though you’re guaranteed to get robbed here (and my parents buy the next flight home for me), let me follow these stories by saying, everyone here (including gypsies) think that Americans walk around carrying guns, knives, and mace. They think we are loud (I agree with that one) and aggressive. They do not break in to homes if they know you are in there. Along with this, home invasions within the U.S. usually come with the full package of muggings, shootings, or other types of assaults. Guns and knives are actually illegal here. Even so, as a “loud and aggressive American” myself, I carry mace for safety.

A view I am greeted with as I run along the river

12. I know that Americans are a bit relentless with the “American Bubble” (and anyone who knows me, knows I am a full supporter of personal space and anti-PDA). Everyone here holds hands, locks arms, and kisses. The young adults will claim a street bench as their make-out spot with no shame. (And I thought Grove City College PDA was bad..) They are such a social society that the word “privacy” doesn’t even translate in the Italian language. I can sit on a bus that is completely empty and the next person that walks on will trek all the way to the back to sit next to me. You can sit in the middle of an empty theater and soon enough the next patron will sit in the seat right next to you. I still need to get used to this fun fact.

Well, they say this place transforms forms you, so watch out, in three months I may be coming home and kissing you on the cheek.