I've learned to pay a lot more attention to my surroundings when walking around the city.
7. Everything is so old
One of the coolest things about living in Florence is realizing how much history surrounds me every day. Some of the buildings I walk past on my way to class are hundreds of years older than the United States! It's wild to think that places people travel across the world to see are just part of my everyday walk to school.
8. Coffee culture is completely different
In America, people will go to Starbucks, order a giant iced coffee and sit there studying for hours. Here, it's common for people to walk into a café, order a tiny espresso, drink it standing at the counter and leave within a few minutes. Coffee is more of a quick daily ritual, and I rarely see people walking around with huge to-go cups as I do back home.
Even though some of these differences have taken a little getting used to, I think that's one of my favorite parts about living abroad. Things that seemed so strange when I first arrived are slowly becoming part of my normal routine. I'm sure when I return to America, there will be things about Italy that I really miss!
