When you think of the life style of Canada, you simple just think what is normal in fact it may even be hard to describe because you are living it. Before coming to Italy one of the main lines that people always had to say was “see how the other side of the world lives.” And I do not think I could have fully understood that until living here for so long. One of the first things I noticed was that life is in some ways slower, or as we call it “on Italian time” however, things get done and they are done right. What I mean by slow is not that Italians are lazy but that they enjoy life and enjoy company they do not stress about a few minuets. If 2:30pm rolls around and your coffee isn’t done take the few minuets to enjoy your coffee.
Siesta you think might be a thing of the past but it is just lost to North Americans. We are so used to things being right at our fingertips whenever we want them 24/7. In Italy that is just not the way. Stores open around 9:00AM and close at 1:00PM and do not re open till 4:00PM. Stores are not available whenever you want them to be. It is a place where people respect the people in the local stores and have a personal relationship with them. Not like Tim Horton’s where you take Drive-Thru and barley see the person who hands you your coffee each morning. I have yet to come across a Drive-Thru in Italy.
When people finish work here they go for drink with their friends and relax rather than going straight to cooking dinner and eating. Dinner is late in Italy starting at around 8:00PM at night. People tend to eat and take their time and enjoy them self with the company around them. Elizabeth and I went out for dinner at Don Bata and in Canada we would have stayed on our own to our own conversation. A lovely older gentle man and his middle ages friend sat at a table not to far from us. They offered us wine and their food and funny conversation. We stayed there a lot longer then we thought we would but we also met the couple behind us. This all happened because of the Italians sitting at the table near us. The night turned into great laughs and fun rather then just eating and leaving. Italians really know how to understand that food is one of life’s greatest pleasures but so are peoples company. My grandma is not and Italian but she would have loved this it is one of the things I love most about her she can make friends with people anywhere she goes.
Italian language is a language of love unlike English, which is a professional language. It is made to sound beautiful and flow from word to word. I have never been good at learning languages and I have felt people look down on me for it. I do however, appreciate other languages and wish I could understand them more. Italian is not a difficult language to learn as it is fully fanatic and if you are willing to give it the time can be picked up easily. Though it will take time to understand any language, I can say that I have enjoyed learning this one more then any other language.
