Today, the theme is anything related to transportation. Here come the five observations for this week!
1) The bus schedule is weird. Maybe it is just Viterbo or Italy as a whole. On weekdays, the busses follow their schedule pretty well. But apparently, on weekends, they follow a different schedule, which all the VIterbesi know about but we the students do not. So for example, I waited for my bus for 30 mins at my normal stop, only then realizing that the busses do not stop at my normal stop on weekends. So I had to walk 15 mins to another stop and wait for 1.5 hrs for the next bus (which did not even follow the normal schedule).
2) The bus drivers stop the bus to take a smoking break. They just park off to the side even when there are people on the bus trying to get to places, but no one seems to mind. This, I think, serves as a great example of how laid back the Italians are when it comes to time. I, on the other hand, is a time-freak. I need to be on time and have to get things done at exactly _____ hour on _____ day. So this cultural difference kind of kills me.
3) I saw a train the other day and it was completely covered with graffitis. Not a single spot was not covered. This is just a snippet of the Italians' love for graffitis - you see them everywhere. Not all of them are appropriate (profanity, swastika, genitals, you name it). But some definitely lift your spirits when you are down. Also, seeing a graffiti-covered train really makes me want to go on a train trip.
4) People just park their cars in the middle of piazzas. So there are two lanes, one for each direction, and between them is a lot of parked cars. The funny thing is, they are all packed together almost like a bee hive. I do not know how they do it though because the space is so narrow. The Italians must be skilled drivers.
5) My friends and I started to plan out our independent trips in Europe. Well, people told me that plane tickets are pretty cheap in Europe, but I did not expect them to be this cheap! From Rome to Paris and back, the roundtrip costs about €120 or less. That is like taking a train from Washington DC to Boston and back. Hopefully, I will be able to go sightseeing to various places, while I am in Europe.
Hope you liked the second Observations Sunday! Keep visiting the blog to see if I updated anything new :)