Romies of Tomorrow, Lend Me Your Ears!

     Once again, I see that I have not written in a disturbingly long time, and decide that I shall indeed write for you all. This post I aim toward those people who have asked me for Rome advice for the upcoming school year. I will focus here on:

Preemptive Scandalization.

     That's right. Shocking you in the comfort of your own home/college building with internet so that you know what to expect. Or some of it. God forbid we expect everything, or life would be boring to a very ghastly degree. Here are some things you should NOT expect in Italy (if you get them anyway, great! Just don't expect them) --

Personal space
Air conditioning
American-style stuff and service in general
Free water at restaurants (there actually is pretty legitimate reason why not)
On-time buses
Hard and fast rules
100% reliable public transportation
Random people (esp. older men, to you ladies) to mind their own business
Clean laundry emerging from the Candia washing machine
Screens in the windows
People to speak good English
A Communion line at Mass in an Italian church; it's more like a mob


     And some things you SHOULD expect --

Peddlers in your face
Strikes
Amazing coffee
Flirty men, both young and old
Great material for stories
Vicious line-cutting grandmas


     That's all that's come to mind at present; now I'd best be off to class. Any more such advice is more than welcome! I'll try to get around to the following topics: manners, what to bring, where to go, etc.   God bless, and buona sera!