100 short impressions after a year in Italy.
2. Super scared of feet; house shoes, blue things on feet in showers at swimming because of the "mushrooms in the ground"
3. Wifi isn't available often
4. At the pool boys and girls change/get naked in front of each other
5. Girls don't wear swimsuit tops
6. They call bathing suits costumes
7. Rare to have a TV guide/subtitles option
8. Eat at the same time every day
9. Only eat italian food
10. Cookies are served for breakfast
11. Shops close just cause they feel like it
12. Everything goes on strike all the time
13. Water cups are the size of shot glasses
14. Open container law doesn't exist
15. They drive crazy
16. They don't eat the peels of anything
17. The penises are uncircumsized
18. They are terrified of the rain, and schools shut down when there's a prediction of rain.
19. The only dressing option is olive oil
20. You can't pay with an Italian debit card online
21. They are super crazy about using electricity
22. If you use too many appliances at once the power shuts off
23. They wear the same outfit 2 days in a row
24. Bidet in all bathrooms
25. In many bathrooms the toilet is just a hole in the ground
26. Boys live with their mom till they get married
27. Salad is the last course of the meal
28. They eat super late
29. They make one lane roads Into two lane
30. On the train, you have to guess which stop is yours
31. They all use whatsapp to text
32. They text using only voice recordings
33. All food groups are eaten separately, never more than one kind of food on a plate
34. They don't use towels after their showers, they just go straight into robes
35. You have a twin size bed until you get married
36. They don't have dryers they hang all their clothes to dry
37. Water is more expensive during the day so families only use the dishwasher and the washing machine at night.
38. In Italian there's no word for toes
39. Light switches are often on the outside of rooms
40. All prescriptions come in boxes
41. Coffee shops are called bars
42. Bars are called cafés
43. People can smoke cigarettes inside
44. Everyone blow dries their hair
45. Undershirts are always worn
46a. Dogs can shit on the street and no one ever cleans it up
46b. Dogs can go anywhere, they can even sit on people's laps at restaurants
47. The pizzas never come pre-cut
48. The elevators are so tiny and almost never automatic
49. Restaurants don't open until 7
50. The eggs aren't refrigerated at the grocery store
51. Unisex bathroom at bars
52. Condom vending machines are all over the streets
53. 4g isn't available in italy
54. Fruit is always served after dinner
55. On the buses - there are 3 doors. You can only enter on the front or the back and you can only exit through the middle.
56. You take a number wherever you go because Italians don't know how to make a single file line
57. Trains are never on time
58. You re-up your phone and buy stamps at the tabacchi shops
59. Everyone has a "fade"
60. You use a foot pedal to control the water in the sink at many bars and restaurants
61. Paper towels/dryers are rare in the bathrooms
62. They almost never drink out of cans, they pour their drinks from cans into cups
63. Water isn't free in italy
64. People pregame in mini marts, the people who work there will open bottles of wine and pour them in plastic cups which you can then take into the street to continue pregaming
65. At a restaurant, when you ask what kinds of beers are on tap, the response is usually "big and small."
66. Nobody speaks English
67. Churches offer swimming lessons
68. Americans have a rep of being fat but Italians always eat a full pizza to themselves. If you ask to split a pizza at a restaurant, the people who work there get angry.
69. People say "salute" during cheers and when people sneeze.
70. They keep their pajamas under their pillow
71. They spank their kids
72. Italian high schools last 5 years
73. There are no sports in Italian high schools, no school spirit
74. You don't switch classes throughout the day, the teachers switch instead
75. Many exams, even in college, even math exams, are oral
76. Ordering a cappuccino after dinner is very offensive
77. There are nuns everywhere but Italians think if you see a nun outside of church it's bad luck.
78. Grandparents usually live with the family
79. A sweet potato is called a potato Americano, and they don't eat them. They put them in jars till they sprout plants because it's "funny."
80. Kids shower once a week
81. The principal at school cannot send emails to families because it's not fair for families that don't have email
82. No wifi connection allowed at the kids school because of the electro magnetic waves
83. Almost all Italian girls names end with an A, and almost Italian guys name ends with an O. The ones that don't end with E.
84. Only people in the front seat wear seat belt, and they think wearing a seat belt in the back is "more dangerous."
85. They say "pronto" on the phone instead of "ciao"
86. When you get a manicure, they finish an entire hand before starting the other.
87. Boys all put grease in their hair
88. They bundle up for 70 degree weather
89. You always use a tablecloth for dinner
90. Street people walk around everywhere selling roses, umbrellas and light up necklaces.
91. Credit cards are not widely accepted
92. They calls their friends "uncle"
93. All their cars here are stick shift
94. There are no houses, only apartments
95. They only have plastic Christmas trees
96. Garage sales are illegal in Italy
97. You order a coffee, you're given an espresso.
98. At a restaurant, it's rude to ask to take your leftovers to go.
99. Because most people live in apartments, kids think santa comes through the window, not the chimney.
100. We showed this list to many Italian people, and they agree.
By "Or just 5 au pairs"