Learning Curve

A dear friend of mine recently moved to Germany, and since we’re in the same time zone, we had the chance to chat for awhile the other morning! One of the things we discussed was the learning curve when you move to a foreign country. She said that several of the ladies she’s met have made comments that she just needs to learn German – as if that’s easy and as if language is the only difficulty you face when moving to a new country. Admittedly, before coming here, I probably would have had the same kinds of thoughts. However…my perspective has shifted a bit! We discussed some of the following things that play into the learning curve when moving to a foreign country…and then I added a few more unique to Italia!

1. The language…you’d think that actually living in a foreign country would be helpful in this, and it is. However, you can’t just plop down on the park bench next to a couple of folks having a private conversation so you can get some listening practice! In a place where the people are private – like Ferrara, it’s tricky to have a real conversation about anything besides fruit, gelato or pastries!

2. Fahrenheit to Celsius…or vice versa. We walked out this morning, and the thermometer read 12 degrees. Well, that means nothing to me without a long complicated conversion process. Many other people were wearing winter parkas. Am I underdressed in my sweats and sweatshirt? And it’s not just the weather. The oven temps are all in Celsius, too. So until I get this figured out, I have to do a conversion in order to bake.

3. And speaking of baking…there are 2 ovens in our hotel room. One has just two settings, and only one of them makes the light come on. I assume that means it’s working! Unfortunately, it only has one very small temperature marking, and it says 180 degrees…converting again.

4. When we were in Willow House trying to figure out whether an American-sized washer will fit in the laundry closet we confronted it again. Our interpreter only deals in centimeters…so our measurement of 30 inches meant nothing to her. She knows her washer is 60 centimeters, but that means nothing to me. So she explains further that it holds 9 liters. At least I have a frame of reference for that…picturing the washer only holding 4 ½ bottles of soda, however, is not comforting! (We later learned that it’s kilograms…so I’m feeling a little better about my washer that will hold 35 t-shirts.)

5.  Driving…they do drive on the same side of the road in Italy that we do in America! Whew! However, I was given a 40-page document filled with road rules that are different and street signs to memorize. Some things are common sense, but since Europeans rely heavily on the symbol, I’m still trying to change my mindset. For example, anything in a red circle means prohibited. So a picture of a car on a round, white sign, edged in red means no cars can go here! In the U.S., it would mean cars CAN go here…you see what I mean!

6. Grocery store…food is food, right? I mean, how different can it be? The produce is really similar. Except that here, you have to wear a plastic glove when handling the produce, and you weigh and put a sticker on everything before arriving at the check stand. Also, all the brands are different and since I speak lousy Italian, I’m not exactly sure what I’m buying. Is the glass jar with red stuff in it and a picture of a tomato, tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce? To solve this one, I finally just looked at how long the list of ingredients was…figuring spaghetti sauce would have more! It also helps that many food words are similar – sal and carrote, for example! And what about the stuff you can’t find – cheddar cheese, sour cream, peanut butter?!

7. At the check stand you have to pay (now that’s familiar, at least!), and although the bills and coins we use are different, it’s not too complicated. Since the change to euro was probably traumatic for all involved, the money has the value stamped right on it. Whew! I just have to remember that the quarter-sized coin is actually 2 euro – a little high for a tooth fairy visit.

8. Banking is a whole other beast here, as well. We were warned not to open an Italian bank account. Apparently you may actually die before getting through the paperwork to open the account! And then there’s the whole issue of closing it. Because the bank has no way to guarantee that you won’t have another charge coming in sometime, they make the account nearly impossible to close. Most Americans who open one, just plan to have an Italian account with 2 euro in it for the duration of their lives. I don’t know – a foreign bank account sounds kind of intriguing…

9. Automatic payments are something else we’re learning about. We need to transfer money to our landlord’s account for the deposit, so I sent an e-mail to the bank this morning requesting that they transfer the money. I have since received an e-mail saying my request has been received. Tomorrow or the next day I should be able to see that the transfer occurred. (I hope!)

10. Ferrara is a small town and tradition is really important. Most of the stores and restaurants close for repaso from 1:30-4:30. Restaurants don’t re-open for business (even if the doors are open and workers are inside) until about 7:30, and even then, if you don’t have a reservation, you’re likely to be funneled to the outside tables. That’s right – even at 5 degrees Celsius the outside seating in the restaurants across from the hotel are packed! The other night the girls and I walked home from music lessons at about 10 p.m. and the outside seating was full of people wearing heavy coats and hats and drinking coffee! Brrrr!

I'm sure there are more I haven't remembered...and probably a few others I haven't yet encountered. However, just in the few weeks we've been here I've gained a huge respect for those who are/were gutsy enough to begin live anew in a foreign country. I came to the conclusion that A. conditions must have been pretty bad to do it in the first place, and B. if they'd had more money, they might've gotten right back on the boat anyway! Ciao! Ciao!