Today, I am going to focus on the Italian mentality.
1) We (in Korea and in the US) are taught not to stare at people, right? Well, here in Italy, people stare constantly. At first, I thought they were staring at me because I was foreign (I bet that's a part of it). But an Italian teacher here told me that staring is not really considered rude here. The Italians just want recognition when they walk into a bar or when they get on a bus, so they stare at those inside and people greet one another with "Buongiorno" or "Buonasera." I find that uncomfortable but friendly at the same time.
2) I think I am correct in saying that Americans and Koreans love to be up-to-date in terms of new smartphones. That's to say, I rarely see anyone with an iPhone 4 anymore. But here in Italy, although almost everyone owns a smartphone, they are pretty old. I see some teenagers with something like Galaxy S5 or iPhone 5S, but most people own Nokia smartphones from 2009-2010.
3) The Italians dress by the season, not by the weather! For example, last week, I decided to wear shorts because it was pretty warm outside. The Italians, however, looked at me funny because it was October and I was not wearing long pants. It was 23 degrees Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit); yet, they were all wearing thick winter parkas and long pants. Perhaps, they are more sensitive to cold.
4) Did I mention the Italian "foot-phobia?" Well, I like to wear sandals a lot, but they are considered "scandalous" in Italy. See, flip-flops/sandals/whatever you call them are only used in showers and maybe in the house. Thank goodness wearing sandals is more okay now, since Viterbo is used to seeing us American students without "proper shoes."
5) Finally, they do not like their hair wet at all. Right after the shower, I know that most Americans just towel-dry their hair or leave their hair a little damp if they are in a hurry. Here, however, one must immediately dry one's hair with a hair dryer because it is said that wet hair leads to catching a cold. Even the guys use hair dryers as well. This "wet-hair-phobia" leads to another phenomenon known as "umbrellas over jackets." Unlike Americans, people do not wear a hoodie or a raincoat to avoid rain. Instead, they always carry around their umbrellas. I find this funny because a lot of what I just said about hair dryer and rain applies to Koreans as well.
Hope you enjoyed them! We will be back next Sunday...