Sometimes it’s the simple things that escape us. I’m talking about the little differences that you don’t expect to run into when you go to another country. Take for example simple baking products. Those of you who aren’t currently living in Italy probably can’t imagine that it is impossible to find vanilla extract here (not [...]
Posts under ‘Culture Shock’
The lights were on AND somebody was home
The last few years that I lived in the US I was a big fan of online shopping. It saved time, I had more of a selection, and I didn’t have to drive all over creation to find something. When I moved here to Italy I was not prepared for the fact that online shopping [...]
Malocchio, Part II
I’ve never considered myself to be a very superstitious person, but sometimes things happen that have absolutely no explanation. Some of you may remember reading about my encounter with the malocchio several months ago. At the time, it seemed unbelievable that someone performing the malocchio removal ritual could make my headache go away, but there [...]
The Power of “3″
Without thinking about it, if you were to indicate the number three using your fingers, how would you do it? Strangely enough, we don’t all do this the same. While at a friend’s house a while ago, someone asked O a question that I don’t really remember and the answer was “3″. Instead of responding [...]
Born with a “lucky” shirt on..
There’s a saying in Italian, “nato con la camicia” that is often translated as “born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth”, but those two phrases aren’t interchangeable. In English, when we say that someone was born with a silver spoon in their mouth, we’re basically saying that they were born into a rich family. [...]
All work and no play
Last night one of O’s friends stopped by and, during the course of the conversation, he asked me if I missed living in the US. This started me thinking about my life, comparing the way I lived before, and considering the things that I do miss. Obviously, one of the things I miss is being [...]
Culture Shock
Recently I gave a student a reading lesson that included an article on culture shock. As I was preparing it, I was thinking about my own experience coming to Italy from the US. Basically, the article states that there are 5 stages to culture shock. Stage 1 is basically the honeymoon stage, when everything’s new [...]
