Polytheistic Pyre

Time to figure out what five Italians think about America and Barack Obama without leaving the apartment!!!

There are a bunch of Italians eating in the restaurant on the first floor, they seem interesting….

Quantità

     The cultural custom of eating in both American and Italian restaurants are both widely different that has each worked its way into its society. In America, when one goes out to eat they are thinking about the money they will be saving or spending by going to one restaurant versus another. This idea of saving and spending has been embedded into the brains of every American which has birthed the idea of the fast food restaurant (and I use the term ‘restaurant’ very loosely), a place where quantity rules over quality. 

Qualità

     Coming to Italy was a shock to my rigid American routine, I was going out everyday and buying sandwiches which I quickly realized would not work here. Just as everyone said I started slowing down and blending in with the Italian lifestyle. The cultural custom of eating in Italy is so much more relaxed than the American custom. Here, they charge you extra money just to sit at a table but that table is yours for the night so you can relax and eat your food at your own leisure. Also, the restaurant’s money comes from the expectation that their customers will return often so food quality becomes the most important aspect of the restaurant. Sitting down and eating in Italy is an experience where the waiters and waitresses are like family and receiving free foods and discounts are just as normal as anything else  which exactly fits my personal style of quality over quantity. Unlike American restaurants where you can eat your food but you better hurry up and leave to make way for the next walking wallet. The impersonal aspect of American restaurants has me coming again and again to my newest favorite Italian restaurant while I still can!