Survival as a resident!

Have a look at this site. It is for expats in Italy and should be able to answer most of your questions about living in Italy.

http://expatsinitaly.com/

Melanie,

I have to agree with Frank in that some preparation would have been a good idea.

One of the first things that comes to mind is that you should preferably have an International Driver's Permit for driving in Italy with a U.S. license. These are compulsory and you can be fined on the spot for failing to produce one (although this seems to happen infrequently it's still a good idea to have an IDP, especially as it includes a chart showing the road signs, etc.). This must be used in conjunction with your "home" D.L.

You might want to search some of the previous posts here regarding the dreading Zona Traffico Limitato zones. Driving through the automated Cameras will result in €100+ tickets EACH TIME.

If possible try to avoid driving in the city centres, as that's a bit "nerve wracking" and also adds the difficulty of finding parking.

Regarding salad dressings, I've never seen any of the "standard" dressings that are common in North America (there MAY be some available in specialty stores?). From what I've seen there are only two choices: Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar OR Balsamic Vinegar & Olive Oil.

One of the challenges I've encountered is trying to find Milk that's somewhat equivalent to the 1% that I drink at home. There are seemingly a LOT of choices in Italy.

Are you staying in a Hotel or Hostel? You may be able to get some help from the people there (other guests or staff) regarding driving, language, food and customs.

Good luck!

Some additional thoughts. I just spent the last hour buzzing around my neighborhood on my Vespa doing some local errands and kept thing about your post and what I would do in your situation.

Go to the local TI -- every town has one or something close to it. Ask for a local, private guide for at least a half a day. Ask your guide to be your local, private, cultural instructor for half a day or all day. Ask her to take you to the food market, where to buy whole wheat bread, where and how to walk, go to lunch and have her show you have to order what you want, explain traffic signs, teach you a little Italian, etc. You may find it better for two half days separated by a week so you can practice the first day lessons. Maybe three or four half days until you are comfortable living like a local. You need to be much more proactive that you original posting would indicates or it will be a miserable three months. There are a lot of people on this board who would love to trade places with you.

Just curious, how do you get in a situation where you are living in a country for three months with little preparation?

My first reaction is that someone is having fun with the board. Assuming your are serious, you sound very unprepared and culture shock has set in. Traffic laws do appear to be only a suggestion but assume that the locals know when to drive fast and not so fast. Try to take you clues from them. You need a phrase book and work at learning a few phrases. Or use one of the internet language programs to learn a little Italian. I have seen wheat bread but that doesn't solve the diet problem. Flavored salad dressing as most Americans think of salad dressing do not exist in local restaurants. Vinegar and oil is it and probably is much better for you than American style salad dressings.

I always assume everyone was so thin is because of the amount of walking that they do. Walk where the locals walk. Do you really need a car? For the price of a rental you can hire a lot of taxis. Second, I have learned that there is a "dance" between drivers and pedestrians. They have absolutely no interest in hitting you and will go out of their way to miss you. Watch locals to learn the dance. This is Italy, not America, so adopt their style.

With three months before you leave Italy you should speak Italian pretty well by the time you return.

Italian pasta and breads don't contain the massive amounts of over-processed ingredients nor the preservatives that ours do in The States -- -- that's part of your answer.

The Italians typically live a more active lifestyle than many of us do, as well.

Frank is right. Go local. Spend time the way the localers spend it, drive they way they drive, walk where they walk.

I don't know why you would want to buy wheat bread while you are in Italy.

Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions. I actually did not come here totally unprepared, but find that no amount of research really can anticipate all of the areas where there are differences from what one is used to. I particularly studied Rick's guidebooks and tv programs to help plan. Unfortunately, planning a trip and planning a life are really not the same! I am sure things will get better as I get better acclimated. Thanks again for all input provided

And Frank, I'll vouch for Melanie about the culture shock. I lived in Italy for 2 years, after living in the Azores, Spain, Okinawa, Japan and Germany--trust me, living in Italy is unlike any other country!!!

Hi Melanie, I hope you're making friends with the locals, they'll be your best guide to life in Bassano! Find a favourite bar for your morning coffee or a favourite family-run restaurant, and chat with the regulars or owners. Picking up the language is a great way to access the culture and customs of a different country, and Italians appreciate strangers learning their language. Wishing you a wonderful stay in Italy!

Ask for "pane integrale" at the forno - most have something with at least a brown or unbleached flour if not exactly whole wheat, but you wouldn't know it until you see it sliced. Supermarkets will have it too -

Salad dressing - no! You have olive oil, and vinegar - this is Italy!

I would obey speed limits - Italy is changing rapidly in this regard.

Dear Melanie,
Making (women) friends in Italy can be tough (I studied at Padova years ago) and perhaps an established group of expat friends will help. As said, check out the expatsinitaly site and arrange a meet-up. and...for goodness sake, take an Italian language course! If not in Basssano, try Padova or Venice or Vicenza (oh - I'm just assuming ypu are in Bassano del Grappa in the veneto...ignore if you are in Basssano near Rome! plenty of expats and course in Rome) you will feel so much better if you understand a bit.

Three good resources: "Italy: Instructions for Use" It's a very small book that you can carry with you as sort of a reference manual. I'm not sure if you need it, but your post tells me you might. I have loaned my copy out but I'm sure you can order it through the slow travel website.

Also, "Culture Shock: Italy" seems right up your alley. It's a full-sized book. It's useful for travelers who want more than a list of hotels for trip planning and it's absolutely indispensible for you. There is a chapter on everything, from strikes to buying real estate to how to behave when invited to visit an Italian in their own home. You need it. Once again, I loaned my copy out, but I'm sure you can google the title or look for it on Amazon.

Finally, visit slowtrav.com. There is an abundance of information about driving in Italy that you should read. There is more to driving in another country than just the following the letter of the law and signage-- there are different cultural norms regarding passing, etc. you want to learn as much about that as possible. Since this kind of second hand info is by nature hard to pin down and incomplete you should rely on multiple sources. It's hard but that's why you have to invest lots of time before driving in another country.

Additionally this site has some basic survival skills that you are seeking. For example, there is an article on how to shop in an alimentari. There is a separate chapter about how to shop in a grocery store. Yeah, it's different. Who knew? That might help demystify things a bit.

It also has articles written about Americans living in Italy. Lots of funny stories about the cultural clashes such as ordering milk with lunch, trying to buy a mop, the trials of buying a bathing suit...

I hope you will have a better time soon. PS Have you visited the butcher shop?

Again, thank you to all how have been kind enough to offer help. After a week here I am feeling less shell shocked! I will look into the resources recommended.

Melanie,

One more suggestion would be to have a look at www.roninrome.com as you might be able to pick up some tips from that also. If you happen to be in Rome, you might stop for coffee with Ron. He's faced the same situation in moving to Italy.

As someone else mentioned, the www.expatsinitaly.com website is good too.

I assume you're studying in Italy?

Ciao!

This is a random list I made for a friend of mine who was coming to live in Italy for four months. Some of the tips are really focused on kids, but there are some good pointers for supermarkets. Take from it what you will, and remember, this is my opinion, other ex-pats living in Italy will have theirs:

http://spaghettimommy.blogspot.com/2007/08/50-random-things-to-know-if-you-plan-on.html

(sorry i couldn't just link the post, you will have to cut and paste it into your search engine.)

Good luck!