Things I've learned while living in Italy:
1. Have patience.
-This is especially important when you wait for 8 hours to take an exam or when you're freezing because it's cold outside and your heater doesn't work.
2. Accept the unexpected; expect the unexpected, too. Actually, don't have expectations.
-Nothing will ever go as planned, anyways. If it does, then it's a treasured, rare and lucky occurrence.
3. A mass of people is considered a "line."
-Sometimes, though, especially when time is short, it is okay to shove and push to what appears to be the "front." It's okay to flash a mean face when someone bluntly cuts in front of you.
4. Have the correct change.
-If you don't, you will get a mean look even if you honestly don't have that random 17 cents.
5. It's okay to be mean and brutal when needed.
-Especially to boys who don't listen when you tell them to bug off five times in a row, every day.
6. Go along with the flow.
-If your group orders three large servings of french fries, water, and desserts that weren't split evenly and they want to split the check, don't say anything. Just go with the flow and pay the extra 6 euro.
7. Always bring a distraction along.
-This is especially helpful when you end up waiting half a day to get your promesso di soggiorno.
8. Realize that no one ever really knows what they're doing.
-Except that lady in the Stato di Esami Office (or whatever it's called). She's the only one in Urbino who knows what's going on, so go to her first.
9. Time is NOT important.
-Think of the maximum time it would take to do something, then multiply that time by 3 and that's maybe around the time it will get done. Classes start late and lunch breaks last long.
10. Stores close from 1 to 4:30 every day, so don't go out then; Sundays mean dead quietness.
-There are still stores here that are closed for Christmas and won't open back up again until mid-February.
11. Rules don't really matter, except the ones that don't need to be followed.
-Everyone smokes inside, even sometimes directly under the sign that says "smoking forbidden." Speed limits are just an idea.
12. The older women and men are the people who keep Italy going.
-Some of my fondest memories and conversations are with older women who took an interest in me. They're the ones who keep me thinking positively about the treasured Italian culture, and make me see the beauty of it.
13. If you need to print something, then you're out of luck if you don't remember on a weekday morning before 1pm.
-This is especially important if you have a RyanAir flight.
14. Hot showers are magical.
-This is especially true when you're absolutely freezing and don't want to go to bed shivering.
15. Realize that NO WHERE will be quiet.
-Even in libraries it's the librarians who talk the loudest. I woke up late today because my blocc-mates didn't eat loudly this morning.
16. Look both ways before you cross the street, and then do it again before you actually walk.
-This is especially true if no cars are in sight because one soon will be and it will be going very fast. :)
17. Know what you're eating, and make sure to get specifics.
-This is especially true when all you're told is that it's "carne" of some sort.
18. Really, it's okay if you don't chug the wine.
-It's not made to be chugged.
