Restaurant Experiences

Having been here for over a week now (which seems to be very weird), I've eaten at a lot of restaurants. And there are some definite differences in what to expect from American restaurants. There are the main ones, of course. Because of the different time values, the time spent at a restaurant will be longer than one at an American restaurant. We always allot more time than we plan on being there. The extra time comes at the end of the meal, though. I've noticed that you order and you get your food fairly quickly. It seems like food comes out much sooner than it ever does in the US. I think that might be because they don't bring out everyone's food at once. Last night a group of us went to the restaurant down the street for dinner and we all ordered at the same time. Three people even ordered the same thing: margherita pizzas. But they all came out at different times. Matt's came out really fast and he was almost half-way done with his meal by the time Tyler's chicken and Allie's and my pastas came out. Rachel also got a pizza, but hers came out even later. So they don't expect everyone to start at the same time and finish at the same time. You just start whenever and finish whenever. I really am starting to get used to this way of living and I kind of like it better. It's nice to just take time out and relax and not to feel like you're being rushed out of a place because they need a table.

The emphasis in Italy is not on the service industry. The waiters are very unobtrusive and if you don't flag them down they probably won't come back. If water didn't come in bottles, you'd go thirsty. It's almost like you are eating at home but you didn't have to cook anything. I have not had a waiter that is rude, but they're not overtly friendly or effusive. It's much more genuine than in the United States, where if you aren't falsely happy you're thought to be rude.

Probably the most fun I've had with a waiter was when we were in Spoleto. Our waiter spoke really amazing English and we were asking him where he learned it so well and he said cartoons and we of course did not believe him but he said it was true and he also said that his English was so good because he was Romanian and not Italian. He said that Italians have tough time learning English because of the lilt in the Italian. He was really a good waiter, though, and very different from the Italian waiters I've had. He definitely established a rapport with the group although he wasn't overly obtrusive or in the way or false in any sense. He was just very genuine. He joked a lot with Matt and called him the black sheep of the group because Matt ordered a Coke with "molto ice." Most of us ordered the same pasta dish, so they just brought out a huge dish and portioned it out at the table. He gave Matt one noodle. I don't think that any of the Italian waiters would do that.

I have also noticed that a majority of the waiters in Italy have been men rather than women. Also, the men are much more friendly and personal than the female waiters I've encountered. I have gone into the same restaurant down the street probably three times and the same girl has been working there all three times and she has not smiled once. She's warmed up some.