Moving back to the States after four years in Sicily has taken a bit of adjustment. Culture shock was to be expected, but the thing about culture shock is that if you know it is coming it isn't terribly shocking. So, needless to say the differences in culture that caught my attention were completely unexpected.
Overwhelmed by options
The first difference - one not so shocking - is the number of ways Americans have to part with their hard-earned cash. The number of stores and restaurants blow my mind, not to mention walking into a store like
World Market or
Petsmart and being completely overwhelmed. Sure, in Sicily we had
Auchan and other supermercati but nothing like these massive stores dedicated to a narrow purpose such as housewares or pets.
The Pasta Aisle
My first trip to an American grocery store after moving home was to pick up a few things for dinner. I was making a quick pasta dish and needed some pasta. In Italian grocery stores entire aisles are dedicated to pasta and I spent several minutes going from one end of
Vons to the other looking for the pasta aisle. Certainly I didn't expect an an entire aisle to be dedicated to pasta, but surely it would be a rather large, obvious section, right? Wrong! It was just a tiny section of one aisle. No wonder I had a hard time finding it!
Everyone (well, mostly) speaks English!
While living in Sicily I had the comfort of knowing that while out in public I could speak English to my husband or friends and know that most people around me didn't have a clue what I was saying. Needless to say the filter between my brain and mouth became a bit disused. I could blurt out random observations, some of which should have probably gone unsaid, or at least said in a whisper. Now that I'm back in the States I've had to remind myself more than once that people around me understand what I'm saying! Yep, I'm having to dust off that filter and be careful what I'm saying out in public or else I'm likely to embarrass myself or offend someone else.
Ordering a cappuccino
In Italy cappuccini are exclusively ordered in the morning. If you order one after noon (some say even 10AM) it is obvious you are a foreigner, most likely a tourist. In an attempt to try and fit in I rarely, if ever, ordered a cappuccino in the afternoon. However, since I've been back I've truly enjoyed the fact that I can order a cappuccino any time of the day without anyone caring. It is really rather nice!
No riposo?
Speaking of doing things in the afternoon - being in a land without riposo is awesome! I can actually run errands and get things done in the afternoon! What a concept. In Italy, and especially in Sicily most everything shuts down between noon and 4pm. It is also common that many shops and restaurants will be closed Sunday and/or Monday and/or Tuesday. Getting anything done in a timely manner was usually a joke, so it is certainly a welcome relief to be back in a country where most things are taken care of in a timely manner.
A simple hello
One thing about Italy that I truly miss is the simple greeting - when you pass someone on the street, enter a shop, etc. it is customary to greet people with "salve" (a formal hello), "buon giorno" (good day) or "buona serra" (good evening). In the States people often avert their eyes when passing and I've discovered that I really don't like that. It feels so cold and impersonal even just walking though the grocery store. If you say hello or even just smile at people they don't know how to react. Often after the initial surprise you get a smile and hello in return, but it just isn't expected in Southern California culture. I'll be doing my part to change that, even if it does surprise people!
These are just a few of the observations I've made over the past month during our transition. Moving back to the States has been bittersweet. I'm glad to be back in the land of convenience, but I miss Sicily, it was my home for four years and is now part of who I am and always will be.
coffee in my espresso cup from Caltagirone
- it made me smile and I had so much fun listening to it while driving to base this morning
