By Betsy Baertlein
Cardinal Staff
This semester I am studying abroad in Florence, Italy, and as I write this I have been out of the United States for about a week. I must say that I am still in the process of adjusting to being a foreigner. To give a brief synopsis of my experience so far, I have compiled a list of five things Italians do better than Americans:
1. Leisure time: Italians seem to have mastered this one to perfection. Each day from approximately noon until two all stores, with the exception of restaurants, close down, and workers go home to eat lunch and take a nap. Also, stores close for the entire day on Sundays, and many Italians simply take leisurely walks around the city.
2. Staying skinny: Don’t ask me how the Italians manage this one with all the decadent food that is available, but a fat Italian is definitely a rare sight. Perhaps all the walking pays off.
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3. Being green: Beside almost every garbage dumpster on the street is a recycling dumpster, so it is just as easy to recycle as to throw something way. Italians also drive much smaller vehicles than Americans, for example, Smart Cars and motor scooters are very common on the streets of Florence. These habits could be part of the reason that the carbon emissions per capita in Italy is 2.12 tons, whereas it is 5.61 tons in the U.S. (www.ucsusa.org).
4. Vino: A decent tasting bottle of Chianti made in the Tuscany region of Italy is sold in the local grocery store for two Euro (about three U.S. dollars), and there is technically no legal drinking age as long as you are not in a pub or restaurant, where the legal age is 16. Enough said.
5. Fashion: With the abundance of designer brands that have origins in Italy, it is easy to infer that Italians would revere fashion. Wearing a t-shirt or sweatpants on the street is completely unheard of. Everyone wears black wool coats, and most women wear calf or knee high leather boots. If you want to scream American tourist, try wearing a colored ski jacket.
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