Culture Shock

I have been out of the country for about a week now, and it is no surprise that I have felt a little bit of a culture shock. I felt it in London, but I adjusted right away. I have been in Italy for about five days now, and it is still taking me awhile to adjust to the lifestyle here. In Italy they don’t have big chain stores like Walmart or Giant Eagle where you can buy basically everything. I’m not used to small, specific stores for each item: frutteria (fruit), pasticceria (bakery), cartoleria (stationary).

Italians don’t have dryers and if someone does it is very rare. I am not used to having to air dry all of my clothes. They don’t have air conditioning in most apartments either, which I have always had at home. Not understanding the language has also been a little difficult for me to adjust to. I have never been to a country where they didn’t speak English, so at times it can be frustrating when you don’t understand.

Other than the minor culture shock, which I assume will go away once I adjust to how everything works, this country is breathtaking. Every corner you turn has something beautiful within it. Not to mention, the food is great.

Along with the food, we have been to once in a lifetime places, places you dream about seeing, and I have had a front row view. I definitely have checked some items off my bucket list, such as seeing Pope Francis give his Sunday address!

I can’t wait to see what the next few weeks bring me!