Tips & Differences

I used to write tips about living in Italy. Now I'm going to write them about Australia. 

Goodbye Italy, Hello Ireland.

I thought leaving Italy meant I would be able to stop playing ignorant whenever I didn't want to understand a situation. "I don't speak Italian very well" always came in very handy whenever necessary - regardless if I knew or not. I thought moving to Ireland would mean understanding everything, English signs everywhere, people understanding what naturally came out of my mouth and not having to translate every thought and sentence before speaking them out loud...um, horribly. But, as we arrived in Ireland in the Dublin airport, there were signs everywhere that were completely incomprehensible. Not even a double-major in Spanish could help translate these. Even with the pictures, they were unpronounceable. Oh well. 

italian difference #11

the worst thing about time zones is not remembering if you wished someone happy birthday or not the night before.....at least there's always the facebook wall to check....

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i guess it's never bad to say it twice. 

italian difference #10

the time. Ireland is an hour behind Italy. Be sure to change your clocks when traveling. And that includes the time on your phone which might, and might means most probably, not change automatically. this could save you an extra hour of much needed sleep.

Italian difference #9

None of the cars have university stickers on the rear window.

italian difference #8

time zones. i love the fact that my sister will call me in the morning when i'm either getting ready to go to class or waking me up on the weekend just as she is going home from her night out. 9 hours difference, it seems almost ridiculously inconceivable that we can be doing the opposite things at the same time - waking up and going to bed. although i may not be the most chatty or conscious in the morning, i love waking up to her telling me stories about her night. and i'm sure just as much as she loves me being the last one she calls at night :)

"and honestly...."

xoxo.

Italian Difference #7

Tips. You don't have to tip bartenders or servers. and when you go to the hairdresser, they actually tip you!

(thanks arina)

well...ok...through very little english-italian communication and a lot of hand movements, i received a very nice healthy-looking haircut and am currently split-end free - that is, until i start looking for them again, which, i am trying veryyyy had not to play with. hands on the keyboard. eyes on the screen. but the place only accepted bank-cards and i had no cash, so i was trusted enough to leave to go to the bank and when i came back with 50 euro, she didn't have any small change so i got a tenner back for my 41 euro haircut!

italian difference #6

the toliet. i know i mentioned this before after our first trip to the pub, but to reiterate, here is a visual (that really doesn't do it justice at all). not all toliets are like this in italy. maybe it's just the pub. and fyi for future travelers: apparently this is more common in singapore than the western style.

(yes, yes i did take a picture of the toliet at the bar.)

italian difference #5

electricity. the outlets, plugs, chargers come in all different shapes and sizes. i have the right converters, but for some reason my camera and my computer never seem to charge 100% and run out of battery faster than they normal would, or should. the computer i don't mind so much because the internet doesn't work well in the classrooms, but i'm a little worried or even frustrated for my camera because it's going to be annoying when we're on trips - i leave with a full battery charge and find it blinking nearly empty when i turn it on later.

italian Difference #4

everything is closed on sunday. period. except for the gelateria. and IKEA.

Italian Difference #3

the window blinds. i like to call them gates. because they are fantastic metal screens that come down and block out any glimmer of light at any time of day. i could sleep till noon with no perception of time, or take a nap in the middle of the day in complete darkness. they're great. hello, sunday morning...or afternoon.

Italian Difference #2

Running on the street. i just don't think that they do it. with their winding little streets, their miniature cars and scooters, oh, and the snow on the sidewalks. they also probably don't go running on the streets with an ipod in one hand and a map of colorno in the other.

Italian Difference #1

The shower. I'm 5'9" but...unless you're 5'6", the shower most likely is going to be waayy too short, the shower pressure is not up to par, you'll have to hold the shower head in your hand to wash your body and hair, and you'll have moments of extreme hot and uncomfortably cold water. Maybe it's time to start taking bath's.