At first I did not like it much. In LA, I barely walk at all, even on my college campus. I am at most a five-minute walk from most of my classes there since it is such a small school. Now I walk about four miles a day on average, and sometimes I walk double that. Getting around here is also a family thing. My host family is very athletic, and they bike everywhere. When we have family events, I bike with them. One of my favorite things to see is families heading home together on their bikes after school. I find it so cute, and I love that it is just part of everyday life here. Biking is still not my favorite, and I much prefer the bus. I even got my host brother to ride the bus with me. He told me it was his first time taking it since high school.
The way people get around in Parma is connected to both the city itself and the culture. Parma is small and flat. It sits in the Po Valley, so there are no big hills to climb. That makes biking and walking easy for almost everyone. The historic center is old, with narrow streets that were not built for lots of cars. Much of it is closed to regular traffic, so bikes and walking just make more sense.
The culture matters too. Biking here is not a sport or a workout. It is just how people live. Kids bike to school, parents bike to work and families bike home together. My host family bikes to almost everything, even family events. People also take their time here.
