4 Things You Don't Expect to Be Difficult (Living in Italy)

Ah, living in Italy. A life full of la dolce vita. Pizza and prosecco every day.

Right?

Er, no.

I do my best to share the reality of living in Italy as an expat, and with that in mind, I'd like to share a few things that surprised me in how difficult they can be.

1. Getting Grocery Store-Savvy

I bet if I ask you which grocery store in your town has the best price on meat, you could tell me in a heartbeat. You could also tell me which one to stay away from if I want fresh produce, or which has the best deals.

When you move to another country, that innate grocery-store-understanding gets reset. You have to rewire this critical brain function!

It also doesn't help that prices are so much lower here, that I often don't know what a "good price" for something really is. It's all a great price to me!

I like to go to a store and spend time scanning the products aisle by aisle, squirreling away the information for later.

2. Accepting Your Paltry Options for Breakfast

The first week you live in Italy is fantastic. You eat a cornetto filled with cream or Nutella every morning for breakfast.

But then the honeymoon glow fades away and you realize you don't want to eat sweets for breakfast every day. You begin craving eggs Benedict or a breakfast burrito.

Sorry, little cricket. You won't find eggs on the menu here.

Italians do eat sweets for breakfast if they're out. Maybe yogurt at home. By far, breakfast is the least important meal of the day, contrary to the way we Americans were raised.

You won't find brunch unless you're in a big city. If you want eggs, cook them yourself at home.

3. Going to the Doctor

Not only does the language barrier create a bit of stress when going to the doctor, but also their bedside manner is something you'll have to adjust to.

Doctors (in Calabria, at least) don't tend to have secretaries, so they also answer the phone and schedule appointments. While they're in an appointment with you. I once had a doctor answer her phone while talking to me about my cholesterol. It was her mother, who wanted to tell her what she was cooking for lunch!!

I've been to three different dentists since I've been here. Interestingly, some general practitioner doctors also double as dentists. So you can get your flu shot and root canal at the same place!

Something I don't know if I'll ever get used to is the fact that people walk in and out of the room when I'm getting my teeth cleaned. One time, I counted no fewer than four people who came in the room..and none of them were the dentist or hygienist! Today at my appointment, the hygienist answered the phone while holding the spit-sucker. The doctor gesticulated to her with the tartar scraper centimeters away from my face. WTF, man??

4. Eating Late

By now I'm much more adjusted to eating after my previously preferred time of 5:30 in the evening, but Fra and I still eat early per Italian standards. I can hear the judgment in his mother's voice when she calls at 7:30 and we've just finished eating.

Honestly, I don't know how they do it. Italians eat so little for breakfast, then there are seven or more hours between lunch and dinner. I need to eat more frequently!

My point here is that the frustrations you'll experience as an expat come in all shapes and sizes. It's sometimes the small things like these that are surprising. Some you'll get over...and others you'll just have to learn to accept.