My Danish Stories: Italy: People, Fashion, Houses & Food

If I can use only one word to describe Italy, it would be the cliched adjective - BEAUTIFUL. I can see the road is dirty, the motorcycle is howling, the traffic is heavy, the thief might be everywhere in Italy so one should be very careful (unlike in Copenhagen you can leave your bag open and nothing will happen), I still love it, enjoy it and would like to give my sincere compliments to it.

People in Italy are unexpectedly friendly. While in Copenhagen the friendliness of people is more like politeness, the friendliness in Italy is like between friends. Italian people seem to love jokes and smile a lot. I see Italian girls who work as cashier at a supermarket or a clothing store. An Italian guy comes (maybe a colleague). Then they start chatting and laughing. They both look happy and the girl does not stop her work while chatting. It looks so typical Italian. Whereas in China or in Denmark, chatting in the middle of work in front of customers may be regarded as unprofessional, it looks so normal and even lovely in Italy.

Also in Denmark, people stick to the rules and principles very strictly. But in Italy, rules seem more flexible and Italian people know how to spare to people's sensibilities. If you make a mistake without knowing it, it can be forgiven very easily. It is quite similar to the situation in China - leniency is common. It is very hard for me to judge which way is better, the Danish way or the Italian/Chinese way - they are just diffrent and both have their reasons as well as limitations.

But I should say I kind of like the Italian way of doing things, because it feels so much like home - in other words, so Chinese-style.

So far I've been to Milan, Venice and Florence. Every city is a fashion city and ideal for shopping. I also heard from my friend who is studying for her BA in Milan that "Italian people love buying famous brands." LV and Gucci bags are everywhere to be seen. Though I'm not so into fashion actually, it is still a pleasure to look at super-model-style beauties in the street.

The houses in Venice and Pisa are all lovely houses. They constitue another part of "Italian beauty".

Another similarity between Italy and China: Italy's got GREAT food, too. My observation: People who enjoy eating and pay a lot of attention to cuisines must have something in common. It's another point that makes Italy feel like home to me.