Additions...

This morning while I was doing my hair, I thought of some other things I do not miss about Italy:

~Electrical issues: having to worry about my American electronics blowing up an Italian house.  Maybe it's because I have never been able to really understand how the voltage/wattage of electronics differ; it's all a jumble to me talking about 120V/60cycles and 220V/50 cycles...these being the differences between the US and Europe.  I would literally always hold my breath when I wanted to use my hair straightener, or ipod speaker dock, or any other little thing I needed to plug into a converter.  The other mistake was only bringing 1 converter with me...I was constantly leaving it in one room, running around trying to find where I left it!  And I am still unsure about the differences between a converter and a transformer!  I think I had an all-in-one, but I'm not sure.  Having to use the transformer (???) I could never plug in than one product at a time...or maybe that was a good thing, requiring me to be aware of how much electricty I was using up in the house.  It seems like you had to keep in the back of your mind which things were running in the house or else a fuse would blow.  For example, there were multiple times when the washing machine was running, and the clothes iron was on, and maybe I'd turn on the microwave for 30 seconds and the power would go out.  What pushed the electricity allowance over the edge?  I'm not very knowledgable about all these things in general, but it seems these things just don't really happen to me here in America. 

That brings up another issue: the cost of electricity in Italy.  Never having to pay a bill for it, I really don't know how comparable the expense is with the US, but it always seemed to be an issue.  I also believe related to this would be the kind of wiring in your house, considering if it's a very very old apartment, or just a very old apartment.  Ava and I quickly learned to turn off a light everytime we exited a room, and to only turn on electrical items if they were really necessary.  I just kept hearing "electricity is very expensive here..." so I tried my best not to use too much.  Maybe someday I'll understand these things...for now, in America, I can be blissfully ignorant.

~Clothes dryers: Also related to the use of electricty, is the seeming lack of clothes dryers in Italy.  From what I understand, they are starting to be more commonly used, but all-in-all, line drying is primarily used.  In one sense, it seems quaint, seeing clothes hanging on a line in the sunshine, with a gentle breeze blowing your freshly cleaned garments.  While this may be an enjoyable option in the summer, it isn't very practical the rest of the year.  How many times did it start raining in the Autumn, and I saw our neighbor's clothes hanging out their window getting soaked?  And then there is the uncomfortable stiffness that comes from having to hang-dry your clothes in the house.  At first I was really surprised when I saw our housekeeper ironing Ava's little undergarments, t-shirts and pants...as if that was supposed to help the stiffness of the items!  But then I realized the ironing was supposed to be helping to take away the pinch marks left by the clothes pins!  Accordingly, we would have to plan our clothes washing so that we always had a steady amount of clean clothes, considering it would take 3 days for one load to dry.  With a messy 3 year old, with only enough clothes that would fit in 1 suitcase, I had to be careful.  I also really missed having my jeans shrunk back to their normal size with each washing and drying.  Call me spoiled, but I like having my clothes dried quickly, efficiently, and softly.  Maybe I need to invest in one of these seen below: but I better make sure the electrical currents are compatible or I'll risk blowing up the house!