Submitted by Marissa Maffei on the 2019 summer session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences…
After being in Italy for three weeks, I have noticed that the locals have very different schedules than Americans. Every day from around 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm, most restaurants are closed. I have learned that the locals take this time to eat lunch and take an afternoon nap. The first few days we were confused as to why we could not find an open restaurant. Although restaurants open around 7:00 pm, dinner is usually a very late meal. Many people are still eating dinner at 11:00 pm and even midnight! My average dinnertime has been 8:00 pm compared to 5:00 pm when in the United States. I have gotten used to this schedule by now and it may take a few days to get back to my old routine at home.
