I found this funny and true article on the web, written by an american living in Rome, I think that's exactly how foreigners here feel.
What's living in Italy really like? Here are some of the ways you'll know when you've lived here for a while—and that Rome has changed you (...for better or for worse!).
1. You walk into oncoming traffic without blinking. And you're impatient with others who don't do the same.
2. You know that living in the "Ghetto" isn't dangerous or cheap. It's luxurious. And expensive.
3. You set aside whole afternoons for tasks you used to think of as simple, like mailing a package or getting passport photos taken. (Every once in a while, these tasks take 15 minutes or less. When that happens, you're so astonished, you waste the next two hours by calling your friends to tell them about it, anyway).
4. Foods you used to find normal, like chicken with pasta or carbonara with peas and cream, now turn your stomach.
5. You don't go outside with a wet head—not because you really think you'll get the colpo d'aria (and die!), but because you can't stand the looks from everyone around you who does think you will.
6. ...
Here's the entire article: http://www.revealedrome.com/2014/01/living-in-rome-italy.html
What's living in Italy really like? Here are some of the ways you'll know when you've lived here for a while—and that Rome has changed you (...for better or for worse!).
1. You walk into oncoming traffic without blinking. And you're impatient with others who don't do the same.
2. You know that living in the "Ghetto" isn't dangerous or cheap. It's luxurious. And expensive.
3. You set aside whole afternoons for tasks you used to think of as simple, like mailing a package or getting passport photos taken. (Every once in a while, these tasks take 15 minutes or less. When that happens, you're so astonished, you waste the next two hours by calling your friends to tell them about it, anyway).
4. Foods you used to find normal, like chicken with pasta or carbonara with peas and cream, now turn your stomach.
5. You don't go outside with a wet head—not because you really think you'll get the colpo d'aria (and die!), but because you can't stand the looks from everyone around you who does think you will.
6. ...
Here's the entire article: http://www.revealedrome.com/2014/01/living-in-rome-italy.html
