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Several months ago I wrote this post about what i thought i'd miss about italy, and what I thought I would be glad to have back in america. There are certainallly many things I've missed about Italy in the past month, but i hadnt thought of this post until tonight. The other day we bought a container of marienated "fresh" mozzarella balls from Costco. Now I should have known better than to think these would be up to par, but tonight they sounded good, so I tried a few. My first clue should have been when i opened the container to find they were packed like sardines into there... well atleast we got our monies worth i thought... until i tried to stick a fork into them to pull them out. I was met with resistance and knew at once that just as my fork was not sliding into the balls with ease as i was so used to, their taste wouldnt be the same either. I have to say they werent the worst thing i've eaten, and certainally better than american made parmesan, but i dont really know what the mozzarella tasted like. Instead the taste i got was one that reminded me of garlic bread, as the oil they were marinated in was so strong.
Somehow or another my yerning for fresh mozzarella reminded me of my list... (note: current comments written in italics)
Things I'll miss about Italy:
- Fresh, cheap produce Still true, the produce here just isnt quite as satisfying...
- multiple cafes during the day While I miss getting them at the bar, I do have my mocha here and treat myself to two huge 3-shot esspressos a day
- aperativos Definately miss these!
- 5 min breaks always turning into 10 or 15 Well, right now i take as long of a break as i want, so i suppose this doesnt really apply. Although I do miss the company i had during those breaks
- good shopping I went to a mall the other day, not for shopping but to get my eyes checked. I walked through some sort of department store on my way in. passing the "juniors" section i felt appaled by all the gheto gangsta wanna be skanky clothing they were pushing on teenagers. Needless to say i felt no urge to try anything on
- hearing italian I've taken to talking to the cats in Italian, and to my brother when I'm annoyed with him. Otherwise I get an occasional dose of it when I call a friend. I miss having it around me though, and was a bit of an adjustment to hearing English all the time. I still find myself thinking in Italian quite often.
- walking to the store Or walking ANYWHERE for that matter...
- sms-ing (so expensive in the states!) I think I miss my cell phone in general. The poor thing sits on my desk with no connection looking so lonely and neglected
- hearing someone's conversation then spending 5 min debating in my mind whether they were speaking english or italian, cause its getting to the point where i dont automatically distinguish between the two anymore. Cant say i've run into this hear, although somtimes the accents i hear can be as strange as a foriegn language
- going to the bar above the school, getting a cafe in the morning... panino at lunch... another cafe... candy.. another cafe... bottle of water.... and then after it all, and several hours and trips down to the school and back later, finally paying for everything all at once. ahhhh trusting in one another... good faith... the honor system....
Things I'll be happiest to have back in America
- Starbucks! ;) I have actually only had Starbucks 4 times since I've been here. but I am VERY happy to have my flavored syrups back
- 24 hour stores I havent taken advantage of this yet, although it still surprises me when Jenny runs to the store at night and i find myself looking at the clock in shock that it's still open
- access to a car yeah..... a car that i cant drive cause i have no insurance....
- wireless internet now this is one thing I am definately happy to have back!
- my kitty who is laying snuggled up on the bed next to me right now, as he has taken to doing all the time. No one knows how to give better lovin than a cat
- leaving the house in sweats and not getting weird looks okay, still havent brought myself to do this yet, other than going out onto the deck
- english although it can be easier to express myself, i still find myself stumbling as i accidently switch into italian and then get puzzeled looks from my brother
- central heating and airconditioning it's taken me a month to adjust to how cold my brother keeps the house, but after spending half an hour in the open suana called outside, I'm happy to come back to the cold
- mindless entertaining television watching I've got well over 100 stations as well as 3 movie on demand stations each bringing numorous movies to my fingertips, yet i still find myself bored by TV very quickly.
- cat napping on the couch another one i havent done yet. although it is nice to have a comfy couch to curl up and read on
It's hard to sum up what I miss about Italy... I suppose you could say everything other than the government and its annoying rules for foreigners. Especially though I miss my friends... sitting around laughing... walking the streets... hanging out at the columns having a beer... walking late at night to the sandwhich stand for for a to-die-for spicy sausage and grilled veggies hoagie, then sitting in the park making a mess of everything trying to hurry and eat it before it fell apart.....
As far as what im happiest to have back in america.... cheap books at costco, turkey lunch meat, my cat, and flavored coffee syrups.
if i had my choice of where i would wake up in the morning... Italy, no doubt about it.
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6 Comments:
Oh. that last sentence....
It's all about adjustments. It's hard, I know. Time will help. Really. It will.
i felt the same way every time i returned to the states after a long stay here in italy. it's different now--i always know i'm coming back here. it makes me miss the states more. the grass is always greener...
i miss lunch with other girls (i.e. friends, mom, sister, aunts, etc)
"stelle" is right- the grass is always greener... I don't know how long you were in italy for, but if it makes you feel any better it's really not an easy place to LIVE in. you can go there, vacation, study abroad, hang out, live for a few years, but actually trying to create a life (work, home, saving, etc) is exhaustingly difficult- trust me! after all my years in italy, i've grown to appreciate USA more and more and eagerly look forward to my yearly trip back to: stock up on things i cannot get here, to shop (clothes in rome are hideous and ridiculously expensive), to enjoy being able to go anywhere and do anything at ANY time of the day, to be able to wear whatever i want without being stared at, to be able to jog without people glaring as if i were insane, to be able to get things done quickly and easily, to be able to buy and return/exchange clothing (what a luxury!!!), hang out with female friends and enjoy it (as opposed to the ever so unfriendly italian gals), and so on... maybe you just need to move to a bigger city in US. For example: in NYC you can walk everywhere and anywhere and hear plenty of Italian and score yourself a job that actually pays well (as opposed to the peanuts you’d earn here in italy, again… trust me!) and take frequent trips back to italy (=
Interesting reading Lori.
I do wake up every day now in Italy. It is a great country but it does have problems, especially noticable if you live here.
Bad
- Trains - these are unbelievably bad (but at least they are cheap).
- Red tape - I nearly had to go and see the Pope in order to get permission to marry
- Permesso di soggiorno - I'm sure you know all about this!
- Weather - too hot in summer, too cold in winter (but shorter winters than UK)
- Clothes - If you don't wear the right thing with the right label...
- Italians - they can be a right pain
- Politics - but it makes you smile
- TV - it couldn't be worse, but at least you don't get tempted to watch it
Good
- Cappuccinos - they don't call me the Cappuccino Kid for nothing (although I doo like Starbucks too)
- Food - no explanation needed
- Weather - when it's not too hot it's great
- Family - I am lucky to have a great Italian family who really look after me
- Notte Bianca - white night (all night partying)
- Parties - any excuse (each town has a saint) for a party/celebration
- People - some Italians are great
Having said all tah I am happy here. The best about Italy is wonderful. The worst about it will drive you crazy. Each country has good and bad. I guess it is how the person deals with each as to how happy they will be living there.
I am glad that I wake up in the USA and not Italy where I lived for 4 years.
I am glad that at 39 years of age I can still work and not have to deal with age discrimination in looking for jobs. In Italy there was always the maximum age in job advertisements, hence my long periods of unemployment. In Italy I really started to feel like an old woman with one foot in the grave when in actually I was't even old.
I don't miss the red tape, the high prices, the crazy traffic...there are a lot of things I don't miss.
I do miss the good Italian food though.
If there is a Trader Joe's store by you they sell good mozzarella balls not packed like sardines.
I hope you readjusted to the reverse culture shock by now.
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