Differences between Italy and the United States

Note: I do not have any pictures depicting what I’m talking about so I just put some pictures I found amusing in instead.

Okay, I have officially been in Milan for over a month. I have my route to school memorized, my classes are starting to focus on content that will be on the exam, and I finally figured out that my grocery store has a second floor. Needless to say, I have now been here long enough to notice some differences.

Differences between Bocconi University and Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Conner College of Law

No clocks in the classrooms

It drives me crazy! At ASU we have 2 clocks in every classroom so you can constantly check it while hoping class is over. Bocconi only has 1 clock per floor. Instead you either have to not know what the time is or have to keep your phone out. I have heard that there is this new technology called a “watch” (?) which can be used for the same purpose, but for now I’ve been just keeping my phone on my desk.

No penalty for being on your phone

If a student is on their phone at ASU, they can be reprimanded. Will they? Maybe, maybe not. But, everyone has the decency of going on their phones behind their laptop or under the desk. At Bocconi, it is acceptable to have your phone out, on the desk, and be on it the whole time. Now, I’m guessing the professors would prefer students were not on their phones the whole time, but I have yet to have a single professor say something about it.

Students chat while the professor is talking

This difference was probably the biggest culture-shock I’ve experienced while being here. Students will talk to each other at a regular volume the entire lesson. Some of my professors will get annoyed and chastise the class, but people still talk. It can be really frustrating in my classes where I have professors with stronger Italian accents, because it is hard to understand them with two people gabbing right behind me.

No textbook or casebook

In the United States, most law classes are taught out of a casebook (which is exactly what it sounds like). You read 20-40 pages before each class and then discuss them. But for my classes at Bocconi, we do not have a casebook or even a textbook (except for International Law which is its own weird thing). At ASU, I learn the material by reading the book but at Bocconi I learn the material by attending class and taking notes. We do read a few cases, but it isn’t the same. In the US we dissect every last detail of the cases, but here the cases are more general examples than the main point.

No cold calling

Law school in the US practice what they have named “cold calling.” If you’re like me back when I was touring law schools, you’re wondering why law students are calling random people. But “cold calling” in a law school context is just a fancy term for calling on students without them volunteering. Cold calling is an integral part of the US legal education system. Each class consists almost entirely of the professor cold calling students, the students explaining the cases they read, and the professor expanding on what the students said. There is not cold calling at Bocconi. No one has to speak unless they want to. However, two of my professors are trying, in their own words, “to imitate the English-speaking law school model”. So, in those classes we have a bunch of discussions, but, since the Bocconi students have not been forced explain concepts orally before these classes, they are out of their comfort zone while the other American students and I excel. I’m hoping the other students will grow more comfortable, because, right now, the Americans in my classes talk about 2-3 times the amount the rest of the class talks combined.

It is easier

Ultimately, the classes at Bocconi seem a lot easier. I do not feel stressed at all in them. There is a lot less homework, not to mention no accountability for doing the homework. The professors all provide the slides or detailed notes which include everything we need to know for the exam; I’ve been told several times by professors that I don’t have to write stuff down (I do because that helps me remember it, but still).

Differences between Milan and Arizona

Humidity

So…I’m used to dry heat. I mean, I lived in Florida when I was a baby and we lived in South Carolina for 5 years, so it is not like I’ve never been exposed to humidity. But I didn’t realize that even if there is zero chance of rain, if the humidity is 90%, you will get wet. My shoes have been soaked through by the humidity several times. The funny thing is that this girl from Hong Kong in my criminal law class says that Milan is super dry compared to her home.

Anna vs. Hannah

In Italian, just like Spanish, “H” is silent. I finally get why people get so cranky when people mispronounce their names. Most of my professors have figured it out by now, but it was a struggle.

Right of way

I don’t know this for a fact, but based on observation, pedestrians in Italy pretty much always have a right of way. However, cars also have a right to almost run you over. It is totally normal here to be crossing the street and have a car turn into the crosswalk mere inches from you. Plus, if you want to cross the street, you just have to do it and assert yourself. The cars will notice and stop for you. If you don’t, they just keep going. To be careful, I always watch and make sure the drivers are paying attention, but I haven’t had any problems so far.

Sorting trash

Trash is sorted in Italy into four categories. Depending on where you are, the categories are different. At my apartment, we sort trash into: paper, plastic, compost, and everything else. At Bocconi, we sort trash into: paper, plastic cans (?), glass, and everything else. I mean, I don’t love it, but it isn’t too hard to do.

Park on sidewalks

Cars in Milan are allowed to park on the sidewalk, or so it appears. Usually cars are only parked on the sidewalk in the morning (like they were parked there overnight) or during busy restaurant hours. There is this one van that always blocks the entire sidewalk on my way to school which is super irritating. I have to go in the middle of the road to get around (it is really slow area, so that doesn’t really matter, but it is still annoying).

Where is the instant gratification?

Restaurants and fast food places in Milan are closed from either 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm or 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm. It has been an adjustment. I am used to getting whatever I want when I want it, as is the American way. I’ve been trying to plan so that I am not hungry until 7 or at least have snacks to hold me over.

Grocery bags cost money

This is not really a big deal for me. I am shopping for one person, so I rarely need a bag. When I do, I either use my backpack or one of the reusable bags I bought from the Italian Wal-mart equivalent “Esselunga.”

Weigh vegetables yourself

My first week in Milan I got in trouble for not knowing that customers were expected to weigh vegetables. I guess the cashiers do not have weighs at their registers. Instead, you put the vegetables on a scale in the produce section and it prints out a barcode with the weight recorded on it. The cashier at Esselunga yelled at me for not knowing that and then not knowing Italian…it was not a pleasant experience.

Toilets don’t flush themselves

The bathrooms in Milan all have handles which you use to flush and you decide how long the toilet flushes for. I have no idea how you decide how long to run it for. It is weird.

No cheddar

This is saddest difference for sure. I love cheddar cheese. The Esselunga near my apartment sells one brand of sliced cheddar cheese which I use for my quesadillas, but otherwise, cheddar might as well not exist. There are no cheddar chips or crackers. I’ve been craving some Cheese Itz or the like, but alas and alack.

Ground floor

In Italy, the ground floor is the first floor, the first floor is our second floor, and so on and so forth. It is probably for the best. I have a class on the “fourth floor” and if I fully processed that I was walking up 5 flights of stairs, I might be crankier about doing it.

Not afraid of dying in a fire

In high school, we watched “America the Story of Us” (I super recommend. Those videos rocked). One of the episodes deals with the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Since watching that episode, I’ve been super aware of buildings’ compliance with fire safety or not. The buildings in Milan do not follow a lot of the rules our buildings have to follow for fire safety. For example, it is just as hard to get out of my apartment as into it. I have to first unlock my door and then turn this small knob to the outside door in a particular way to exit. If there was a fire and a mob grew, they would be stuck and die. Fortunately, I am on the ground floor and would live.

Likewise, at Bocconi there are several buildings that require you to scan your student ID to get out. Hopefully they have some mechanism in place to open the gates if there is a fire. If not, in the case of a fire or a shooter or whatever, you would either have to scan your ID or try to climb over the stuff blocking the exit. Plus, restaurants and such all have doors which open inward. I think that is to keep from hitting people on the sidewalk outside. However, if there is a fire and a mob presses against the door, they won’t be able to open it. That’s why doors in public buildings in the US have doors which easily open out. Anyway, I’m guessing Italy doesn’t have a lot of fires because otherwise I presume they would have more safeguards in place.

Things I miss from the United States

I like being in Milan, but there are some things Italy does not have or I don’t have in Italy that I miss. I did not provide explanations for most of the following, because I figure they are pretty self-explanatory.

• Chick-fil-a
• People speaking the same language I do
• Krispy Kreme (the closest one is in Ireland)
• Cheddar flavored stuff
• Having a car
• My family (I mean…I guess…;))
• Cases as the foundation of law (plus apparently our cases are known in Europe for including more interesting facts)
• Hulu (I have a VPN for now, but it expires in less than a week. Although, I probably don’t need to be watching TV…)
• My church
• Easy access to a printer and scanner
• Having an oven (aka, cooking french fries myself)
• Did I say cheddar flavored stuff? Goldfish, I miss you!
• The beautiful ASU law building (I did not appreciate how new and clean it was!)