Italian Stereotypes

Before setting foot upon the grounds of Italy, I've heard of quite a few stereotypes about the Italians. But after living among the Italians as a member of the family and a student for 2 months, I've learnt that not all stereotypes about the Italians are true.

So here are some of the stereotypes about the Italians and weather they are true or not.

1. Italians are fashionable

Yes, its true. Italians are definitely fashionable (mostly the girls). They'd usually dress up quite nicely weather its going to school, or work, etc, etc... Plus, the girls would normally wear lots of makeup, which is why they found it strange that I especially don't wear eye makeup in particular (because at the end of the day, I'm afraid of looking like a Raccoon with eye liner and mascara on. So frustrating...).

2. Italians eat pasta everyday

That's mostly true. My host family has been having pasta for lunch almost daily, but once in a while we'd have things like risotto or boiled vegetables. And bread (personally, I think THAT should be their stereotype. There's ALWAYS bread at every meal). But we have many different varieties of pasta (big pasta, small pasta, frilly pasta, pipes pasta, weird pasta, etc, etc,...) using all kinds of recipes. More recipes than I'll ever imagine for pasta...

3. There are a lot of expensive cars on the Italian roads

SO not true. There are no Ferrari, Mercedes Benz, Lamborghini, or any big expensive cars on the road. In fact, its better that way because the roads are so tiny! There's no way you could drive around a big expensive car in the streets of Italy, because the roads are so narrow and its hard to get around. That's why most of the cars are so cute! I did, however, see quite a few mini coopers over there :D


4. Italians are romantic

Omg, YES! Italians are definitely romantic. Its normal for them to show their affections for one another, so kissing in public, holding hands, and going arm in arm is pretty normal to them. Sometimes, they like to sing along to songs like 'O Sole Mio' and other romantic Italian songs. Its just beautiful. Trust me, I've been charmed by quite a few Italian gentlemen, but I won't go into details. Hush, hush!

5. Italians are LOUD

Yes, its true. Italians would normally speak to each other in a loud tone especially in the South, which is where I stayed for the past 2 months. Sometimes I get scared whenever my host family has one of those specially loud conversations (its worst when you don't understand Italian), so I would usually go to my room whenever this happens. I'd rather not get involved in what looks like an argument. Or a discussion on where to place the furnitures.

6. Most Italian men are Mama's boys

 Hmm... that, I'm not so sure. But I can see every reason why most Italian men would wanna stay with their mommy. Like, hello? You've got a place to stay at no cost, free meals, and someone to clean your room and do you laundry for nothing! But I suppose its also because owning a house costs a lot, so they'd wanna save their cash to own one someday.

7. Italians uses a lot of hand gestures

Yeah, that's quite true. I've seen a lot of Italians use this hand gesture in particular most of the time. It means to say 'what?'. Body language in Italy is widely used which is also why most Italians can tell if there's something wrong just by looking at your facial expressions. Trust me, its like as if they could read my mind! Whenever I'm depressed or happy, they would normally ask me what's up even though I try to hide it, its almost scary...

And these are some of the stereotypes I've heard about the Italians. Heard of any others? Do share!