My Biggest Culture Shocks

There were two main culture shocks I experienced in Italy:

First: Lack of Politeness to Strangers 

I expected there not to be any customer service in Italy, like no “Hi, welcome in! Let me know if you need help with anything!” when walking into a store, but I learned that this extended to the wider Italian culture, not just within the service industry. 

Smiling at strangers is definitely not the norm in Florence, or much of northern Italy. This could depend in southern cities like Napoli (Naples), as southern Italians are known to be more friendly and outgoing than the “business-like” atmosphere in the north. The only small talk I’ve ever had with strangers in a grocery store was with non-Italian tourists, or when I asked someone a question while looking for something and they looked at me like a freak for talking to them. 

A bad experience I had was in a Tutto 99 Cent, a popular dollar store chain. I brought my own bag, laid out all the items I wanted to buy on the counter, and the young worker took one look at me and literally rolled her eyes and scoffed. She tossed my items around and honestly made me feel embarrassed for being there. I packed up everything myself, said my “Ciao,” “Per favore,” and “Grazie,” and she acted as if I was her mortal enemy. She didn’t even have to scan or pack anything since there isn’t sales tax in Italy and everything really did cost 99 cents. All she had to do was count how many items I had, but she went out of her way to be rude. You don’t have to take it out on me if you hate your job, even if it literally is the easiest job in the world…

All these experiences made me feel like such a burden for leaving my house. I understood I wasn’t a local, but I wasn’t necessarily a tourist either. I lived and studied there and never tried to do anything to disturb the peace. With such a dense population as Florence, it can become incredibly isolating and disheartening to not feel comfortable interacting with the public. 

Second: A Walkable City

Along with my previous point, walking in the streets of Florence meant I would constantly be bumped into, forced to walk in the street, and honked at. As much as a blessing it was to live in a walkable city, my encouragement to get out of the house slowly depleted with the lack of common courtesy on the sidewalks.

There’s no doubt that the medieval streets of Florence are small and uneven. Sidewalks, if I could even call them that, were literally two feet wide, only fit for one person and made of cobblestone. You’d think there would be semi-organized walking directions, like driving on the right side of the street, but chaos was all I experienced. Okay that’s definitely an exaggeration, but if two people were walking towards each other in America, one of them would step to the side so that they could both pass without contact. In Florence, someone would walk directly in front of you and only slightly tilt their body at the last second, knocking the bag off your shoulder and never acknowledging your existence. Now imagine that happening every 10 minutes combined with strategic maneuvers around groups of tourists and wide buses driving 2 inches from your head.

As much as I loved a walkable city, these experiences built up a rage deep inside me I never knew I had. By the end of my semester, I had shoulders of steel. I refused to be dodging inconsiderate people, walked as close to the wall as I could, and body slammed anyone who was in my way. 

Catcalling was also a common experience of mine in Italy and was often very intimidating because the streets were so small, and I couldn’t avoid it. I always ignored them and never had any further altercations. I would still say Florence is by far the safest city I’ve stayed in, and I felt comfortable enough to walk home at night after partying. Although, I would recommend walking with a friend at night and staying away from the train station, just for extra precaution.

Now with this being said, living in a walkable city also made me 10x happier than living in the suburban valley of Los Angeles. I never walked more than 30 minutes, as the main center of Florence is probably only 2 miles wide. There are many beautiful sights throughout the city that really made me appreciate my surroundings while listening to my favorite songs. Walking by the river, enjoying the weather, and snapping pictures of the Duomo were part of my daily routine. It was incredibly convenient to get anything I needed within a 15- or 20-minute walk. The exercise also boosted my mood and kept me in shape. Outdoor markets, live music, and coincidentally running into your friends was just not something I always experienced living in LA.