I [donut] miss home, but I do miss ______

1. Dryers. I realize I've been so spoiled in America because where theres a washer, theres a dryer. This is not the case in Italy. There is a washer and a drying rack, which my roommates and I are having a hard time sharing because it takes longer to air dry clothes than it does to machine dry them!

2. My car. Everything in Florence is within walking distance! If we want to travel to another town, we take the train. The train system is pretty convenient, I must say! A train ticket to get from one town or country to the next is less than the gas money it would cost to drive the equivalent distance back home. However, Italians are crazy drivers. I have yet to see any speed limit signs posted. Italians don't seem to get to worried about getting close to moving cars whereas in Iowa, we like to have a nice distance between our bodies and things that could kill us.

3. Sweat pants. Back in Iowa, especially in my college town, its totally acceptable to go to the store in sweat pants with yesterdays makeup and unwashed hair. Here, people actually care about how they look, so you'll never see an italian with sweatpants on. Some women even have the coordination (or the bravery) to walk in HEELS on this messed up cobblestone. Meanwhile, I trip while I'm walking in my flats.

Yup, definitely American.

4. Fast food(/fried food). Back in Ames, I ate fast food more than I want to admit. BBops, Chipotle, Culvers, Mcdonalds, etc are all within a 10 minute drive. With that being said, I really don't mind waiting for my food because it's ALL DELICIOUS. I haven't had a single dish while i'm here that I didn't like. I've come to realize that the food quality in Italy is way better than America. The food from the grocery stores doesn't have any preservatives, so instead of buying food for the week, you buy food for the next few meals. You don't see a soccer mom, muscling around a cart full of groceries to feed her family of 5 for the next 7 days.

5. Walking Fast. God cursed me with a short torso but blessed me with long legs. Now, while anyone who knows me well will tell you that I walk as fast as some people jog, I still think its an American thing to walk fast. Italians really like to take their time and they walk like they have all the time in the world. I, on the other hand, walk a 10 minute walk in 5 minutes regardless if I'm running late or early. Americans seem to be more high strung than everyone else, so the concept of slowing down and taking my time is almost uncomfortable. You mean I don't have to sprint-walk to all my destinations? I can actually walk slowly? I'm not sure I know how.

6. Convenience stores being open 24/7. Italians have a collective nap time in the middle of the day from about 1pm-3pm. During the Siesta, most shops will close down for a while while the owners take time for lunch or a nap. The grocery store on our street closes at 9pm. I never see anything open past midnight except for bars. This means I need to plan ahead sometimes, which is somewhat new. I can't walk to a Kum & Go for a slushy and chips whenever I feel like it. So if I know I'm going to have late-night munchies, I'm going to need to stock up on Pringles.

7. Restaurant service. Italians don't tip their servers, which means the servers aren't trying extra hard to get you to like them. One of my roommates is a waitress back home, and she points out the difference between italian servers and American servers. Italians Servers will take your order, bring you your food and then your check. American servers will take your order, bring you your food, ask you how it tastes, bring you ketchup, ask you if you want dessert, and /then/ bring you your bill. I also miss being able to split the bill. Thats not a thing in Italy, for some reason, so one person pays and everyone pays them back because no one has exact change on their person.

8. Space. Italians have a much smaller bubble of personal space than Americans do. Maybe it's because I'm afraid to accidentally spit on someones face or them catching a whiff of my body odor, but I do prefer a healthy distance from other people. My roommate and I went to a street vendor and upon meeting, we exchanged kisses on each cheek and a /very/ lengthy hug. In America, we DO NOT touch people we've just met. Unless you're a masseuse. I am quite tactile defensive by nature, so I have a lot to get used to.

9. English. I miss /not/ sticking out like a sore thumb whenever I speak English. Even when I try to speak Italian, it becomes very obvious that I'm not from around here. Actually, I'm sure it was obvious before I opened my mouth. I am taking an italian class while studying here, but learning how to say my name and how old I am hasn't been super handy yet. Thankfully, everyone knows at least a little bit of English here, which is extremely convenient for me. My goal is to be able to have an exchange in Italian and not speak any English! It feels like cheating to go to another country and not try to speak the language. Nonetheless, I miss speaking English and not receiving a funny look.

10. Iced Coffe to go. Don't get me wrong, Italians have some good coffee. A double shot of espresso really gets me going on sleepy mornings. But there aren't any sweet syrups or whipped cream on top. Back in Ames, I work at ISU dining. I make a drink called the Grasshopper which is three pumps white chocolate and two pumps of mint mixed with two shots of espresso with steamed milk and whipped cream on top. Costs around $4. There's nothing of the sort here. Your options are: espresso, macchiato , or cappuccino. You sit down or stand tat the bar and enjoy your coffee, you don't walk around with it and sip it while you hurry around. Like I said, everything in Italy is about taking your time and enjoying the moment. Which I do.

Experiencing a culture that's different than my own really teaches me a lot. I have it pretty good with my own car with iced coffee in the cup holder. I speaking English while wearing sweatpants to the grocery store at 1am where I can stock up on groceries. I can walk as fast and with as much space as I want and pick up some fast food on the way home to do my laundry with my dryer.

I have three more months to adapt to this culture before I get all 10 of these things back. Better embrace it while I still can!