Overseas Briefing

Author: Dana Isaac

FLORENCE - When I told people that I was going to be studying abroad in Italy, the initial response was almost always, "Be careful of the Italian men!" This was reiterated by a policeman who came to the Middlebury School in Firenze to talk to us about safety:

"What is the national sport of Italy?" he asked.

"Soccer!" we replied enthusiastically

"Wrong! Harassing women is the national sport of Italy!"

We all laughed and shook our heads thinking "those Italian men…" and yet as the policeman continued his speech, his warnings quickly turned from Italian men to Americans abroad. We all looked around wondering what he meant. We are the Americans - how can we be a threat to Italians?

It appears that Americans are known in Florence for getting drunk every night, wandering the streets in large groups with bottles in their hands and then vomiting. An Italian friend confirmed this fact.

"Oh yes, those American students!," she said. "They feel they must drink every night since they can. For us it is different, we take our time."

"Taking Our Time" could be the slogan for Florence. Lunch breaks are mandatory for nearly all businesses and usually last for about two hours while Italians take their time eating. Every morning I walk to school past cafés called "bars" overflowing with Italians drinking their morning espresso or cappuccino while reading the paper. No one complains while they wait in line because time just is not that big of a deal.

Coffee "to go" does not exist - why rush? I feel that this is also Italy's way of "Taking Their Time" with things that they care about. Coffee is important, and you drink your coffee at the counter of the bar or while sitting at a table. You do not rush when it comes to coffee. You do not rush when it comes to food. You do not rush when it comes to alcohol, which seems obvious in a country where kids drink watered-down wine with dinner and even street carts sell wine in dixie cups to drink with lunch.

"Taking Our Time" can also be applied to most businesses and offices in Florence. We take three classes - two classes and an internship for class credit - at the Middlebury School and one class at the University of Florence, where we have already been warned to be patient. Middlebury is also the only American school in Florence that requires that you speak Italian to study there.

Registering for the University of Florence was a process that needed to be started during the middle of the summer and still continues two and half weeks into our semester. And yet one registers for a class by writing their name on a piece of paper that gets passed haphazardly around the classroom on the first day. The University of Florence makes BannerWeb look like the greatest invention of 20th century. As the director of the school told me, "This is Italy, you must plan as if nothing will work out."

But in the meantime, I think I'll just drink more coffee.