I make no secret of my hate-hate relationship with the Italian post office. With Christmas coming up, I’ve been getting requests from my friends and family for my new Italian address. I always give it to them with a little note- “Don’t worry about mailing me anything! It is incredibly difficult to send and receive […]
Category Archives: Life in Italy
03
Dec
Dec
“The President is coming!” “Oh. How interesting.” To be fair, I was clearly told that the President was coming to the conference. I assumed this meant the president of the university, or the president of some large company. I finally understood that my colleagues were trying to tell me the President of Italy was coming […]
27
Nov
Nov
Today, I managed an all-Italian purchase. No English. No gesturing. Just straight up cake-ordering at the local pasticceria. Feeling emboldened with my mastery of simple vocabulary, I decided to venture into a funny wine shop I noticed open up across the street from the bakery. I was buying the cake to bring to Thanksgiving dinner, […]
26
Nov
Nov
Thanksgiving in Rome is just another Thursday. Having just gotten back from a trip to Marrakech, I did not have plans to celebrate. But on Thanksgiving morning, I opened my mail to find this card from one of my favorite people in the entire universe: Awww! Feeling all nostalgic, it was time to do something […]
19
Nov
Nov
In Italian, “cavolo” means “cabbage.” And man, did I see some serious cabbages in Tuscany. But the funny thing is, you’ll hear young Romans saying “Cavolo!!” all the time, and I guarantee you that they are not talking about vegetables. Because it is so completely ridiculous to hear people yelling CABBAGE! all the time, “cavolo” […]
15
Nov
Nov
Last week was foggy and cold but colorful in Tuscany. This week, the warm weather has returned to Rome!
13
Nov
Nov
Americans aren’t exactly known for their geographical knowledge. But, being an international student, studying international development, I thought it was time to brush up on my country-finding skills. I went to a very large, very modern bookstore in Rome to buy a world map: As I struggled to hold up the map alone and tape […]
03
Nov
Nov
Here’s an easy example of something you would NEVER see in America, cigarette vending machines: I was quite confused the first time someone hurried by me and ran up to a closed shop door. Then I noticed the machine integrated into the metal shutter of the shop. Unmonitored cigarette machines would never fly in America, […]