If you live long away from your native country, sooner or later you will begin to notice new habits inherent in the local population. And what signs indicate that you are gradually becoming a real resident of Italy?
- You communicate with the local bartender on "you"and he serves you first. On the way to becoming a real Italian, you introduced yourself to coffee culture, and also identified yourself in a bar nearby.
- When you meet kiss each and everyone. Italian greetings to foreigners may seem excessive, but if you do not kiss a friend on the cheek, you simply will not be understood here.
- Crossing the street, you already don't look around. When you first arrived in Italy, you were extremely indignant at the lack of attention to road safety and waited a long time for an endless stream of cars to end. But now you probably already think that this is in the order of things.
- You often say life is beautiful, or something similar. Italians love to exaggerate, and how can things be bad for the inhabitants of the country of wine and sun? Here, to the standard question “how are you?” You won’t hear the cool “more or less” or something worse. And if you notice the habit of exclaiming “wonderful!” Or “beautiful!” Several times a day, be sure: you are already on the Italian side with one foot.
- You constantly raise your voice. When you first arrived in Italy, you almost shied away, when people walking by almost screamed at their best about their affairs and problems. Now you understand that it is impossible to talk quietly in a crowded place, or when you want to attract the attention of a friend walking on the other side of the street.
- You talking actively gesturing in an Italian manner. The local arsenal of gestures is constantly becoming the subject of jokes among foreigners. And not surprisingly: residents of what other country will be able to speak so expressively? If during communication you wave your hands, and also season it all with rich facial expressions, do not hesitate: you are already in the middle of the assimilation process.
- You stopped watching the schedule buses and working hours of local institutions. You just know that this is completely useless.
In Italy, no one and nothing works on schedule. And you never know what will happen tomorrow: a transport strike or a protracted fiesta from the owner of the bakery. All that remains is to obey the law “viene quando viene” (“when will be”).
- You regularly use interjection in speech “Beh”, “boh” or “mah”. If you think that they are one of the best answers to the question asked by your friend, and reflect your emotions about him as well as possible, welcome to the rank of Italian.
- You became real "gastronomic snob". You do not get tired of finding fault with the irregular shape of the paste or the choice of sauce. If you unconsciously follow all the unwritten rules of Italian cuisine, you can safely say that you are almost a native.
- You consider yourself wine expert. You have long taken a bold step and no longer order homemade wine in the restaurant. Now you know which one is suitable for your chosen dish, and better than any sommelier you can determine in which region and from which grape variety your wine is. Now even real Italians can envy you.
