1 day left in home country

The life used to be gonna finish but the new life is gonna start!


To continue the last topic, let's talk about what have I got from the student handbook especially for our culture here in Hong Kong:

Stare insieme (stay together)
1. Young Italians talk a lot in the afternoon about what they are going to do at night, but RARELY ever do what they had planned.
2. They tend to go to a bar (Italian bars are completely different from Hong Kong bars, they are more like snack bars), a pizzeria, or a birreria, a discoteca, a festa.

Bella figura (Impression :a concept and a way of life that pervades Italian society)
1. For preventing brutta figure (making a bad impression), don't being poorly or unsuitably dressed for social functions;
2. Don't getting drunk;
3. Don't being socially "cold" (not greeting people, not shaking hands with people you have already met).

Greeting people
1. Depending on the time of day, say "buon giorno" or "buona sera" for both "hello" and " goodbye".
2. "Ciao" is used only if you are addressing a younger person, a contemporary, for a person you are very well acquainted with; it's rude if used otherwise.
3. Women very often kiss even at the farewell of the first encounter, although the kiss is more like touching each other's cheeks.

Italian family
1. Communicate openly, talk as much as possible about ours doubts, ideas, plans, make them aware of our feelings, tell them about our moments of joy as well as discomfort.
2. Be sensitive when looking for our own privacy or moments of solitude. Explain them that it's because of our needs not because we feel uncomfortable to be around them.
3. It's quite a common for Italian children to exchange and use another's belongings.
4. Remember to spend a some time with the children in the family because they have great expectations about our arrival and will be very disappointed if we ignore them.
5. Scolding means caring.
6. For the very beginning, ask to be given small household responsibilities: apparecciare (to set the table), sparecciare (to clean off the table), lavare e asciugare i piatti (to wash and dry the dishes), mettere in ordine la tua stanza (to keep your room in order), innaffiare le piante (to water the plants), portare fuori le immondizie (to take out the trash), lavare la tua biancheria (to wash your laundry)...

E' buona educazione (good manners)
1. Shouldn't walk around in bare feet either in the house or outside.
2. Don't put the feet on chairs, couches, or tables.
3. Don't go out with wet hair.
4. Don't close ourselves in our room unless it's to sleep or to study.
5. Exchange greeting with family in the morning, before leaving the house, before sleeping.
6. Don't take food from the refrigerator without asking first.
7. Don't bring home friends with asking permission first.

For the other differences, I will experience and then tell you!

Complicated feeling in my mind: excited and anxious for the new environment; sad and uneasy to leave my friends!