in Italy....
eating in public......rude
For example, no one walks down the street with coffee, snacks, anything. You eat in private, or where you're supposed to eat, such as at a restaurant. So today when I was eating a candy bar in the metro station, I felt really weird.
sitting on stairs or on the floor........rude
The first day, we had just gotten to the school building from the airport after a 15 hour trip. We were waiting for a bus to take us on yet another 2 hour trip to where we were staying, and we were exhausted so we sat on the stairs. oops...we were told to get up.
walking down the street and expecting everyone to get out of your way.........not rude.
bumping into people...............not rude.
making eye contact with a stranger and responding with a blank stare...............not rude.
no one smiles at strangers.
cutting people off in traffic, driving recklessly or aggressively.................not rude.
killing pedestrians..................not rude.
there is no such thing as a line here....not when you wait for a taxi, not when you are in a restaurant, not when you buy tickets at a train station. there's no such thing as a line, and if you act like there is, and patiently wait your turn, you'll die before you get what you want.
strange.
