When I live in Italy for extended periods, the culture gradually seeps inside my skin until I think like "they" do. Here are some examples:
1. I eat fruit after every lunch and dinner.
2. From the time I walk to the bus stop at the corner of 4th & Main and catch the TANK Express for the airport, when I am in Italy I never touch a private car. We walk, ride a bike, catch a bus or take the train everywhere. In no way do I feel even the slightest bit limited. Quite the opposite. I feel free and enjoy the process of getting wherever I'm going so much more.
3. When I shop at Kroger's or Trader Joe's, I always have re-usable bags in the back of my car, but forget to bring them inside 95% of the time. In Italy they charge 25 cents for a plastic bag and I never, ever, ever forget. In fact, when I took a little trip to Parma this week, I made sure to pack a shopping bag.
4. I use less energy. Of course, I don't really have a choice. Our apartment has a quota for electricity based on square meters. At home I'm completely oblivious to how much energy it takes to run the dishwasher. Here, if I forget and try to do laundry while the air-conditioner is running, the city cuts me off. Literally. Which is when I have to grab the key and run downstairs to the meter closet to flip the switch back to the "on" position.
5. Michele and I go grocery shopping together, pulling our little grocery cart behind us. That's what Italian couples do. In fourteen years together in the United States, I think we might have accidentally ended up in Kroger's together twice - and it seemed like a colossal waste of time.
6. In Cincinnati I put on a pot of traditional American coffee every morning. In Italy I always drink espresso.
7. Eggs for breakfast in Italy would be absurd. I always eat a sweet pastry or cereal with milk.
8. Walking is a form of entertainment and everyday Michele and I take a "passeggiata" in the late afternoon or after dinner to see what everybody else is doing in town, if there's a ship at the port, how long the lines are for gelato, whether the sea is calm or wavy, do a little window shopping. It's social.
9. By the end of our stay I am regularly using the bidet - not as often as the Italian ladies - but consistently - and it makes a lot of sense washing the dirtiest parts more often instead of taking so many showers.
10. I own an iron and a drying rack in Italy and actually use them.
