Alternate Universe

We've already talked a lot about how Italy and Germany are different from the US, like in these links, but here are a bunch of more mundane differences.  These apply to both Germany and Italy, except where noted.

• When people ask for your name, they mean your last name.
• Germans and Italians often don't have middle names.
• People in Germany wait for the light at crosswalks, even if there are no cars coming.  In Italy anyone (pedestrians, cars, mopeds, bikes) goes anytime it is physically possible.
• The recycling is divided differently (compostable things, paper of all kinds, plastic and metal, glass bottles), and they recycle more things, so you have less normal trash.
• Riding buses is normal.
• The metric system.
• Commercial breaks in Germany are longer, but there are about 1/3 as many.
• Europeans seem to know a lot about other European countries.
• Electricity costs more, but appliances and buildings are more energy efficient.
• I have not found central heating or AC to be common, even in newer houses.  Germany doesn't have or really need AC, and Italy just has it in larger stores.
• Most beverage bottles and cans in Germany have a deposit, so when you return them, you get your deposit back.  Or you sometimes find them on the street and then you get 8-25 cents.  Wine bottles don't have this, for some reason.
• Foreign movies and TV shows are dubbed.  They get most of the big-budget American movies and popular TV shows.  I'm told that the most famous actors usually have the same person doing the voice.  So, there's a German Julia Roberts voice, for example.  The countries also make their own movies and TV shows.
• You don't have to pay for incoming calls on cell phones.
• Health insurance is mandatory.  In Italy, they have a state-run system, so, as long as you go to public doctors and hospitals, you don't have to pay for anything (just the premium).  In Germany everyone has to have private or public insurance, and there are laws about what insurance has to cover.  The only thing I've found that I have to pay for are dental cleanings (the check-up and x-rays are covered).
• Prescription drugs are much cheaper (5-10 euros, ~$6-13), but over-the-counter drugs cost somewhat more, since there aren't any generics.  Also, over-the-counter drugs are sold only at pharmacies, and pharmacies sell only drugs (and things like band-aids and thermometers.  but no shampoo or cosmetics or whatever).
• Soccer is popular.  They have several different league levels, so that any tiny town has a soccer team.
• There are no school sports or school music programs.  In Germany, to play a sport or in a band, you join a club in your area. I'm not sure how it works in Italy, but I think it's similar.
• Handball exists.  It's broadcast on TV sometimes (at least in Germany).
• Sometimes what I consider winter Olympic sports, like luge or ski jumping, are broadcast on TV.  Not just during the Olympics.
• Germany has the term "black" music (they say black in English).  It's played in clubs, but I don't know exactly what it refers to.
• Some bands that sing in English are more popular in Europe than in the US.  For example: Queen, Dire Straits, the Eagles, Genesis/Phil Collins, Deep Purple.  People know more than one song by them (or more than 3 songs by Queen).
• They have all different car models.  Also different car companies (Peugoet, Fiat, Opel, Renault, e.g.), but Toyota or Ford or VW have different models here.
• Libraries have an annual membership fee.
• Refrigerators are smaller for some reason.
• In Germany, it is standard to put your birthday, place of birth, and marital status on your resume.  Also to include copies of your diploma, degrees, any other certificates you have, and reference letters/certificates from former employers when you apply for a job.  In Italy, I have read that resumes are usually verbose and not bullet-point-oriented.  Like, 5 pages long.
• German and Italian don't use serial commas.
• DVDs from England often cost less, even considering the exchange rate.
• When buying or renting a house or apartment, in Germany at least, the kitchen usually doesn't come with appliances or cabinets.  People buy all that and then take it all with them when they move.
• Built-in closets don't exist.  You have to buy wardrobes.
• Renting apartments is not common in Italy.
• They have butchers and bakeries that are separate from grocery stores.  And people go to them.
• Outdoor markets, like farmers markets, are more common, and the produce usually costs less than at the grocery stores.  That is where a lot of people buy their produce.
• They observe or celebrate Catholic/Christian holidays, like Three-Kings Day (Epiphany, Jan 6), the Ascension, Carnival (Mardi Gras), and All Saints Day (Nov 1).  Though, not all German states observe all of those.  Also May Day (May 1) is a holiday.
• In Germany, in small towns or residential areas, you have to yield to the driver on your right at all intersections.  Also, those streets are often not wide enough for 2 cars, but they are for driving both ways anyway.  I'm told that is intentional, so people have to go very slowly.  And many parts of the Autobahn have speed limits.
• People drink carbonated water as though it were regular water.
• Tissues are 4-ply.  They're like napkins.  
• Toilet paper is rougher, even expensive kinds.  I can't figure out why.  Also the rolls are slightly thinner and the squares are slightly longer.
• I don't think light beer exists.
• Titles on the spines of books and DVDs are printed bottom to top (American ones are top to bottom).  It's just as easy to read when they're standing up on a shelf, but if they're lying flat, the words are upside down.
• Computer keyboards have some letters and symbols in different places, like the @ symbol or y and z are switched, and they have letter keys with accents and umlauts.
• Italy has bidets.  They exist in Germany as well but are not common.
• The bathrooms in Germany are sometimes split into one room with a shower (and sink) and one room with a toilet (and sink).
• Grocery stores don't give you plastic bags.  You have to bring your own or buy them there.  A lot of people have trolleys or baskets instead of bags.  Trolleys are particularly useful if you can walk from your house to the grocery store or market.
• Movie titles are often completely different from the original titles, not just translations.
• Glass cleaners (Windex) don't have ammonia in them (in Germany, at least).
• The school systems are a little different, but not worth getting into.
• The recycling symbol is different.
• Milk is sold only in 1 liter containers (nothing bigger).

Strikes in Italy

If you're going to Italy, there is a website that keeps track of upcoming transportation strikes. It's useful.

p.s. This is the 250th post. Huzzah! Meaningless milestone!

Things I won't miss about Italy

• always feeling like people are trying to take advantage of you
• buses that just don't show up
• fearing for my life when riding my bike in traffic
• inhaling all that exhaust from the motorini
• transportation strikes that seem to exist for no other reason than to give workers a long weekend
• not being able to take people at their word (best piece of advice: "Never take 'no' for an answer")
• dealing with 3 companies and waiting 9 months before having decent internet access
• power limitations that prevent you from using the oven and washing machine at the same time
• mosquitoes at all times of the year

Things I will miss about Italy

After two and a half years in Florence and a variety of experiences, there are a variety of things that I will miss after moving away, and also some that I certainly won't. In no particular order, and without the claim of completeness, here are things that I will miss about Italy in general and Florence in particular. Things I won't miss will be in an upcoming post.

• my colleagues, who have become friends
• being able to visit an incredible variety of museums, churches, ancient cities, and other tourist places on a quick day trip
• cheap house wine in restaurants
• Italian food, especially the high quality of food and produce you can buy
• Grom gelato
• seasonal specialties: porcini and fresh olive oil in the fall, cavolo nero and cime di rapa in the winter, fava beans in spring, and percoche and other stone fruit in summer
• (relatively) cheap local and regional public transportation
• lots of sunshine and clear skies

Another perspective on Italy

"As for Telecom Italia, it is an entire conglomerate founded on the Mafia principal of extortion. They have been milking their customers since the day Meucci got a dial tone."
-- from the blog Burnt by the Tuscan Sun

I found this blog while searching for other people who have had bad experiences with Telecom Italia (and there are plenty). It does a good job in detailing some of the absurdities of life in Italy and offers a nice counterperspective to the dozens of overly cheerful expatriate blogs.