Having never lived in a big city -- and by this I mean a Wash- ington, D.C., or a New York -- coming to Rome, Italy was tough. Not only did I have to deal with the whole big city thing, but I also had to adjust to a new culture -- people's attitudes, basic ways of living, the fact that every small shop, store and restaurant stays open a maximum of five to six hours a day -- little things like that.
Dealing with a variety of layers of "culture shock," that clich
d term that's inevitably rammed down the throat of every student with even the slightest inkling to study abroad, has posed the greatest challenge for me here. In that vein, I'm going to use this space to share with you some snapshots of my experiences with Roman culture shock. This discussion aims in no way to discourage you from considering study abroad, rather, it should encourage you to do so. The challenges and surprises you face when interacting with another culture, in time, make a person stronger, more patient and more open to new ideas.
To give you a little bit of background on myself, I am from Newport News, a city of about 180,000 in southeastern Virginia, near Norfolk and Virginia Beach. You do not see traffic in Newport News like you see in Rome. In fact, I have never seen traffic like this before in my entire life.
Rush hour in Rome is, essentially, a Formula One race. On acid. Lots of acid. It is not the static and frustrated line of stationary cars to which most of us are accustomed. Everyone tries to get wherever they need to go faster than the other guy, period.
The minute you begin to understand this, the more clearly the logic behind Roman driving emerges. For example, on my street it is not uncommon to see crammed city buses cut off cars, doing 40 to 50 miles per hour in two lanes of traffic, with a stoplight every 500 yards or so.
Similarly, it is not uncommon to see a small fleet of men clad in business suits and safety helmets fly through red lights on mopeds while yakking on a Nokia and furiously inhaling a Marlboro as if it contained God's patented youthful elixir of life. Oh yeah, and they're driving on the sidewalk, not the road. I guess that's how they justify going through the red light.
I have seen nuns and monks before. However, I had never seen a monk or a nun sprint like Michael Johnson or Flo-Jo, respectively, before coming to Rome. Nor had I ever seen a monk or a nun sprint while talking on a cell phone in a supermarket and carrying a plastic bag full of bananas. I had the good fortune to experience this, and forgive me, but the sight put every "two nuns walk into a bar" type of joke to shame.
I saw a nun and a monk, one next to the other, talking on cell phones and hustling from aisle to aisle of my local supermarket, grabbing groceries at a fantastic pace. I was stunned, truly fascinated actually, and while I gazed on like a 4-year-old watching "Inspector Gadget" for the first time, the Italians in the supermarket went about their business, perusing the fresh produce. This city, the cradle of the Mecca of Catholicism, holds many surprises.
It's been said that Romans are some of the most jaded people in the world when it comes to appreciating art and history. Although initially surprising, this becomes understandable after a while. Who wouldn't be jaded after having a cappuccino and a croissant in the shadow of the Colosseum five mornings a week for 20-some odd years?
If I could pick one word to associate with Rome, and God knows it is nearly impossible, I would pick "juxtaposition." The Pantheon, its famous rotunda and dome which heavily influenced the construction of a building far more near and dear to us, shares a plaza with a fountain, several family owned restaurants and -- you guessed it -- McDonald's.
Maybe this is why people refer to the magic of Rome, because this city cannot be defined by any single characteristic or word. That's what I've fallen in love with here, and in spite of all the frustrations surrounding culture shock, this experience has proved more than worth it. Culture shock can be tough, but I already can tell it's helping me grow as a person.
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