Dealing with the Italian Language

I often get asked how I do with the Italian language. I have to say that I was fortunate since I was raised learning both Italian and English. We spoke both languages at home and like many Italian Americans we would go back and forth even within the same sentence in both languages. I also picked up a great deal of the dialect from Abruzzo since I am first generation American and my parents spoke both the dialect and Italian language at home. I also took Italian language courses in college and did a summer abroad in Perugia which all helped my Italian get better. Although I had all this background prep, I still am not completely fluent in the language.

In the early years of my being in Italy I would make many mistakes speaking. I still make mistakes. In fact not so long ago I went into the bank and said I needed to go into their safe! I meant to say I wanted to go into my safe deposit box. One little word gone wrong and they were about to call the police!

Italians I have to say are helpful on the most part. You can tell from their faces if they are not understanding something. You get that strange look like something is not quite right. Funny thing, they really do not correct you but just nod their head and try to understand what you are saying. Maybe they think correcting you is rude. I am not sure.

I still sometimes have problems with knowing which new words are feminine or masculine. It is a matter of memorizing them on the most part. Why for instance is table "il tavolo" masculine while chair "la sedia" is feminine?? My son keeps asking me these questions and I just don't have a logical answer for him!

In the early years the use of the word "Dottore" baffled me. It seemed everyone had a title and had to be called "Dottore". This is much more prevalent in the South I believe as titles are big there. If you graduate from University which is a great feat in itself, you are given the title of "Dottore". Now I stubbornly only call the medical doctor "Dottore."

"Dare del Lei e tu." It is considered impolite to address a person you don't know, a professional, an older person with the word "tu" or you. You must address them with the word "Lei". To stay on the safe side I use "tu" only with close friends and family.

Italian is not an easy language to learn and experience has shown me it is also how you speak and not what you say! I try speaking with confidence in a loud voice and surely I am given the attention I deserve. I guess body language has a lot to do with it but that will be for another post...

Bargain Shopping in Italy

People think that if you want to dress stylish, you have to spend a lot of money. I see more and more here in Italy women who dress well and who bargain shop. So it can be done. Women here love to shop and with the financial crisis no better in Italy then anywhere else in the world, money is spent wisely.


The local markets

In fact the local outdoor markets or "mercato" are packed full of locals and tourists with people walking away with bags of clothing, shoes, accessories, food, housewares, etc. There is a bargain to be had. In Italy you can find really nice clothing for instance at these local markets. My trick is that I go to the vendors where I see the more elegant women hanging out. Remember when I spoke of copying others in "How to Dress Italian and Look Good." These vendors have the nice articles at good prices. Granted you cannot find much stuff made in Italy but that is also the case for the stores which often times have price tags two or three times more than the local markets.

Stores

It is not so much where you shop, but more when you shop. You should know if you are an avid shopper to plan your trip to Italy around this tip: there are two major sale seasons in Italy. One sale is at the end of the Summer and the other is the after Christmas/end of Winter sale. The end of Summer sale begins after August 15th (holiday) and lasts until mid/end of September. During this period you can find all the summer clothes or footwear at great prices. Sales begin at 10% off the first week and then get slashed down to 50% and even more sometimes. The after Christmas or end of Winter sale begins after January 6th (holiday) and ends by the end of February. During this time period you can find all winter wear and footwear at fantastic prices. Again the first week you can save 10% and then more in the subsequent weeks.

Outlets

Italians now know where to go for factory direct, better priced products. Having lived in Arezzo for several years, I quickly learned from my Italian girlfriends where to go and I return the favour as only a true American would do to my visiting friends. Ditching the museums, we substitute culture for couture!

Designer Clothing & Footwear

I Pellettieri d’Italia or Prada is located at Località Levanella, SS69 in Montevarchi Levanella (Arezzo). Prada speaks for itself and this outlet is no longer a secret seeing the hordes of tourists waiting for its doors to open each day. This warehouse offers suits, coats, shirts, bags and shoes. You do have to really hunt since many items can still be very pricey. However you can take home a beautiful Prada pair of shoes for as little as €60. The outlet carries much apparel and accessories from past seasons and it is not always easy to know what is the most recent. But the vast assortment with that beautiful Prada label makes the search all worthwhile.

The Mall which is near the town of Incisa, just south east of Florence, is at Via Europa, 8 in Leccio Reggello (Florence). This includes outlets of Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent and Sergio Rossi. It is conveniently located since it is a short distance from the Fendi and D&C outlets.

Dolce & Gabbana Outlet, Loc.S.Maria Maddalena in Pian dell’Isola (Florence)
Fendi Outlet, Via Pian dell’Isola 66/33 in Rignano sull’Arno (Florence)
Village Outlet at Sinalunga (Valdichiana). There are hundreds of stores some designer but many pronto modo or knock offs of designers. For instance there is an outlet store called The End where you can buy (I did) 4 winter sweaters for under 100 euros total. You cannot beat that.

Of course bargain shopping entails patience and each time you come to Italy you will learn where to go and not to go to buy things. It has taken me ten years to know where to go if I don't want to be ripped off! Also often times the chain clothing stores offer decent quality clothes at decent prices: Benetton, Sisley, Stefanel, Luisa Spagnoli, etc. Let me know what you have found bargain shopping in Italy!

Culture Clash as an Italian American in Italy

I have talked to fellow Italian Americans about this topic before and it justifies to be discussed. There is something about being Italian American that makes you want to get to know the country that, in my case, my parents' came from. Growing up I always felt very Italian and when I decided to move to Italy I figured this is going to be easy and I won't have any problems with culture clash because hey I am Italian. Wrong. I might as well have been Japanese, Indian or any other nationality. The only thing I had going for me was I spoke the language pretty well and understood almost everything. But I still had and have at times culture clash.

The food I ate as an Italian American in the USA is different from the food I eat here. Italian Americans eat spaghetti and meatballs which they do not eat here. Yes they have spaghetti but meatballs are not so big, at least where I live. I get a kick when I speak to other Italian Americans from Canada or the East Coast because they can tell you all sorts of things they did as Italian Americans and just figured this is how it is in Italy. Foods are different, words are different and lifestyles are very different. Italian Americans know all the dialects from all the small towns around Italy. If I use a Abruzzo dialect word talking to my husband (Italian) he will look at me like I am an alien of some sort. He has no idea of what I am saying. Can I hear from some Italian Americans about this??

Lifestyles are different. I am still very American in that if an appointment is at 1:30 pm that is what time I should be there. But here everything is so easy going. They say don't worry no one expects you to be there exactly at that time. Here there is nothing wrong with waiting at the doctor's office for two hours because he does not take appointments. We once waited at the hair salon for four hours and I only stayed because I was in dire need for a wedding! So culture shock is still very big for me even though I am Italian American and have lived here for 10 years!