(But wouldn’t change it for the world!)
1. You walk in to a shop and upon hearing only English speaking tourists, shout over them in Italian to get served before them.
2. You buy your cheese from a cheese shop and a cheese shop only.
3. No seat on a toilet bowl doesn’t surprise you.
4. In fact seeing a seat on a toilet bowl is what surprises you!
5. You complain all the time. No, all the time!
6. Life has become a bit of a love fest. You call your friends, your neighbour, your hairdresser, at times even your nutritionist, ‘cara’, ‘tesoro’.
7. You hear helicopters incessantly and you think to yourself, the Pope must be out and about.
8. You know that after dinner it’s not just coffee and dessert but then comes the amaro (digestive liqueur).
9. You can pack bags at the supermarket at lightening speed (because you can feel people breathing down your neck in the queue behind you).
10. You carry small banknotes and lots of coins because noone has change to give you. Ever.
11. You don’t wear a seatbelt in the backseat anymore.
12. You know parts of animal intestines you never knew existed (offal is the foundation of real cucina romana).
13. You don’t walk around in thongs (yep, I’m from Melbourne and we call flip flops, thongs) unless you’re off to the beach.
14. You always have pecorino cheese in the fridge. Always.
15. You know the seasonal availability of vegetables like the back of your hand.
16. You know there’s an extra long queue at the tavola calda (takeaway shop / cafè) on Thursdays because it’s gnocchi day.
17. You find yourself throwing words like daje and vabbe around even when you’re speaking English.
18. You kiss everyone hello (on both cheeks!). Everyone. From the guy who works at your local deli to the hairdresser.
19. You end your phone calls with a hundred ‘ciao, ciao, ciao’, ‘un abbraccio’, ‘un bacio’, ‘un bacione’ (a hug, a kiss, a really big kiss).
20. You don’t rush to get to an appointment, lunch or dinner on time. 15 minutes late is acceptable and your friends won’t have arrived anyway.
Signing off from Trastevere,
Baci (on both cheeks!)
Maria
