Despite my excitement for my parents being here and the upcoming Amsterdam extravaganza, I can't help but feel a weight on my shoulders about this whole thing. I think myself and a lot of study abroad students are going through this feeling right now; we're beginning to REALLY miss home and realizing we still have over two months to go. I miss the people I love more than any other time in my life and am also missing the many great conveniences of the United States. I want to compile a list of a few of them right now to give whoever's reading this a chance to know that Italy isn't always the bee's knees.
1. The Food: Everybody told me that the food was absolutely excellent here in Italy. Well, after a month here I sadly must say that this is not the case (at least when cooking on your own). The "supermarkets" here don't offer much; I've seen 7 Elevens that are bigger. Everything is SMALL. You can only buy a little bit at a time (for lack of fridge space) and because you have to PAY to use a shopping cart. Yes, apparently the Italians don't realize I would buy more if I didn't have to carry it around in a little basket. Regardless, their selection is, well, pretty lame. I'll admit that I'm not the most creative cook out there but it's pretty challenging coming up with new and affordable meals that don't involve PASTA. Yes it is cheap and delicious here but it get's old fast! Basically all the food sold mainly contributes to Italian cuisines and coming from the U.S. where we can buy anything, it can be a little upsetting. The other day I tried making quesadillas but could only find these flatbreads, which did NOT count for the tortillas back at home. My main beef with the stores here is that if you want anything ethnic (i.e. non-Italian), you have to go to the International Store which offers a small selection of toppings, dressings, and miscellaneous goods that come in small packages at a high cost. I can only fantasize at what I want right now: Panda Express orange chicken, In-n-Out, a carne asada burrito- the list goes on.
2. Public transportation/lack of a car+ parking lots: I guess this is part of living in a very urban area (way more than even LA) but relying on public transportation frankly sucks. I thought it was cool when I got here but it got old fast. The Italians certainly have a "whatever" attitude about running their buses on time and we suffer everyday because of it. Just to be sure I get to class on time, I have to leave 45 minutes to an hour before it starts because the buses are so damn irregular. You may wait 5 minutes or 45 minutes depending on...well nothing, just per chance. You can't imagine how much I miss riding in CARS to get from point A to B. And even if I had one here, there would be no place to park. The Italians are crazy and double-park EVERYWHERE. All I want to do is pull up into a nice parking lot and casually walk into a store here but that is clearly impossible in Roma.
3. The People: The Italians are not nice. I hate to be so upfront but I've kinda come to realize this lately. Yes it is an exaggeration but I have plenty of evidence at this point. Particularly the men are jerks; they have no reason to talk to a foreigner of the same sex and have every reason to talk to a foreigner of the opposite sex. Basically, they're all about creepin' on American girls and saying f u to American guys. That's just what I've seen when I go out at night but obviously it's not always like that. Older (hence more mature) Italians can be wonderfully nice. The gelateria by my apartment is a prime example. My roommates and I have befriended the workers and they love us and bring us free samples of their pastries and gelato whenever we sit down there. Ok so maybe I was more hasty at the beginning of this paragraph but you get the idea.
4. Time change/phone calls/dealing with problems: Yes, I have had a few things happen to me here that I would've loved to avoid but that's life. Calling various help lines at odd hours of the day just to talk to a human being is extremely frustrating (and expensive!). I noticed this when I, like millions of others in this day and age, got HACKED. Some (insert at least 5 expletives) got my debit card number and racked up over $2,000 in bullshit charges in Virginia (?!) So now I am in the process of filing an investigation through B of A to excuse these charges to restore my savings. Isn't that exactly what you want to deal with on a three-and-a-half month trip away from home?
5. Cost of living ($$$!): It is quite expensive living in Italy and the Euro is rough to think about on every purchase. I try not to think about the conversion ratio considering I've saved and worked so hard to get here but it is inevitable. Typically, everything costs the same (the number value) but you have to realize you are almost paying 1 and a half that amount so it can get out of hand quickly. I guess the only thing I can do is avoid buying things I don't need and just be smart about what I decide to buy (don't waste it).
Well, there you go, 5 things that the U.S. is better than Italy and Europe! (excellent grammar). We need to all be proud of the life we have back home. I certainly will as soon as I land in late December. Viva America!!
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