Observations on Americans in Italy

Being the long legged creature that I am, I have spent the majority of my life either walking ahead of people or slowing down enough for them to keep up with me. A leisurely stroll doesn't usually happen at school because I am often running to a meeting, class or rehearsal. Returning to the Meredith campus so often means no free time. I'm not complaining mind you, the things I choose to do with my time are what I want to be doing. Meredith in Italy? Not at all. You stick out like the tourist that you are if you ever walk at more than a brisk stroll. I was not the first to realize this. Samantha told me to slow down one day and when I asked why she told me to look around. In doing so, I found that I sped past a large amount of Italians, all of whom I can only imagine thought I was fast paced American...which I am. However, I'm not in America anymore and must therefore s...l...o...w... d...o...w...n. Otherwise I will miss the entire point of passegiatta. Italians do not walk at night to go anywhere, they walk in order to be seen and to see others. It is a social thing, something to be enjoyed, not endured.
I'm quieter now. And for those of you who don't know me well, this is a major change. I still have a rather large laugh (don't worry Mom) but it usually only comes out, at least to my knowledge, within the palazzo. We've been here a little over a week and already consider this our Sansepolcro. A small group of Americans from another university visited this week and our first reaction was to compare our behavior to theirs. They were loud. This was especially frustrating when they ate at the pizzeria just beneath our windows when we were trying to sleep. How very strange to judge my culture. At the same time, I must confess that Italians have their loud moments too. Weekend passegiattas are especially volume heightened. I guess my point is that Italians expect us to be loud...and we don't want them to.
Lastly, I must comment on an Italian observation I have made. Almost every Italian mother I have seen has short hair. Almost every girl around my age has long hair. Almost all of the little female children I have seen have short hair. Therefore my deduction is thus: Italian moms (and moms of all cultures) have enough to deal with, let alone bother with a bunch of useless hair on their own heads and their kids heads. The teenagers, on the other hand, have nothing to do and thus grow their hair out 1.) because they can 2.) because it's the style and 3.) because it gives them something to do. Whether or not this is correct makes very little difference to me. I'm just reporting what I see. And seeing is believing after all ;)