Submitted by Matthew Kaminstein on the 2020 winter session study abroad program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Finance and the Department of English…
We have been in Italy for five full days now and it has been incredible to experience the Tuscan hillside and the cultural changes! In the United States, there is usually a fast-paced environment, including when it comes to food. Restaurants in the United States are constantly trying to turn tables to generate as much revenue as possible, but quickly into my time in Italy, I realized there is a vast difference in that philosophy between countries. On my first night in Italy, our group went to a welcome dinner at Don Beta Restaurant in Volterra. While we were told ahead of time about the cultural differences regarding food, it was still impressive to witness what an authentic, Italian, five-course dinner was like and how different a normal Italian dinner was from a typical one in America. Thinking of the United States, it’s rare to sit at a restaurant for more than an hour or two, yet in Italy, it’s common for dinners to last north of two hours. While our welcome dinner was a special event, throughout my first week in Volterra, it was uncommon to witness meals lasting less than an hour or two, even for lunch.
An additional example of the difference in meals took place in Pisa, where a group of about 14 of us went to a pizza place at around 2:00 pm, which was right around closing time for most restaurants. However, the owner stayed open later for us and we were able to have an hour lunch with a bunch of new friends I made on the program. It has been enjoyable to immerse myself into a new culture so far and experience such a stark difference in an universal item.
