I have been studying in Italy for a couple months now and the longer I stay, the more things I start to realize I miss from home. If you are studying in Italy or plan to, here are 10 things you will be sure to miss by the time you reach month two.

1. Your Car

In the land of Fiats and Vespas, it’s actually very hard for a study abroad student to be able to drive either of the two. So your only option is to walk. It becomes 100 percent normal to walk at least 10 miles a day. Sometimes I catch myself dreaming of the simplicity of a car when I’m walking to my class that’s 40 minutes away from my apartment. My ultimate favorite time to wish I had an accessible car is when I have to carry my groceries from the market to my apartment.

2. Shopping carts

Italians do things much different than Americans. For starters, don’t dream of leaving your house without your reusable grocery bag. The cashiers don’t bag your groceries for you, and they definitely know you’re an American if you don’t bring your own bag. Plus, your bag doubles as a shopping cart because finding a market with a cart is very rare and consider yourself lucky if you find one. In America, it’s normal for my mom to go shopping and get enough groceries to last at least three weeks. In Italy, the Italians like fresh food so they only come to the market to grab the food they might need for a couple of days or so. Who needs a big cart when you’re only there for the bare necessities?

3. Dryers

A dryer happens to be one of the most missed things by my friends and housemates. If you haven’t gathered by now, Italy likes to be old fashioned with a lot of things, including laundry. Yes, you are graced with a washer to wash your clothes but the only place to dry your clothes is outside of your window pulling the string and using the clothing pins to hang them up. If you wore an outfit two nights ago that’s still in your laundry basket and you wish to wear it tonight, good luck. It takes at least a day and a half to have fully dried clothes. Lets hope it doesn’t rain.

4. Salad dressing

My favorite dressing is Italian dressing. Imagine my surprise when I came to Italy to realize it’s not a thing. I guess it makes sense, you wouldn’t call Buffalo wings, Buffalo wings when you’re in Buffalo. But, the thing is, salad dressing of any kind isn’t a big thing in Italy. Don’t order a salad and expect to hear the dressing options. Most places will just hand you olive oil, or you may get lucky and they will have balsamic vinegar.

5. Iced coffee

In the country that prides itself with having the best coffee in the world, they definitely do not cater to the iced coffee lovers. I spent two whole days looking for an iced coffee place in Florence before I found Astor coffee shop. It definitely isn’t as good as a Tim Horton's iced coffee from Buffalo, New York or a Starbucks iced coffee, but it’s basically the only option you have. I’m waiting for the day Italy realizes there’s a huge market of iced coffee lovers they have yet to tap into. Don’t get me wrong, their normal cup of coffee can probably beat out any other.

6. Bagels

For my Long Island friends out there, this one might make you tear up. Bagels are a rare find. My first bagel while being abroad actually wasn’t in Italy. It was in Dublin during my spring break and at least a good month and a half of being away from home. But, if you are dedicated to the cause, I’m sure you can find a place somewhere in Italy that sells a good a bagel.

7. Snacks

If you call yourself a friend of mine, you will know that I’m a huge snacker. I love chips, I love popcorn, I love Sour Patch Kids and Reese's Cups. I think I cry every night for a bag of Hot Cheetos. Italy is very healthy and things like GMOs and other unhealthy things like artificial snacks are sometimes non-existent or more expensive. Maybe it’s for the best.

8. A free seat

Have you ever heard of a thing called Coperto? If not let me explain. Coperto is basically a sitting charge. In America, if you go to a coffee shop and get a coffee, it is free to sit down and enjoy that coffee with your friends. In Italy, for reasons I cannot explain, if you try to do the same you are charged Coperto, which is usually a euro or two to take a seat. In restaurants, you are also charged Coperto, which makes more sense seeing as you don’t tip in Italy, so Coperto takes the place of what you would normally tip. I do miss the days when I could sit and read a book with my cup of coffee.

9. Friends

Although you would like to pretend on social media, especially Snapchat, that you are having all this fun abroad and don’t miss any of your friends, the truth is that is a huge lie. I probably look at my friends' social media accounts more than they do mine. Even though I’m having all this fun abroad, you still miss those silly nights with your pals just studying in the library. Plus, it does sting when you see a picture of all of them together and wish you could be there.

10. Family

I’ve been missing my family like crazy. You learn once you leave how much you take them for granted. I started to miss the smell of my grandma's coffee in the morning and my older brother's stupid jokes (that i would never normally admit to finding funny) the second I got on the plane to come here. I’ll probably miss my family every day until the day I return.

With all that said, being in Italy is a blessing that I cherish every day. I remember arriving in my apartment and wondering how I can be away from home so long. But, before I knew it, I blinked and it seems my days in this beautiful country are limited. For every thing I miss from home there is something in Italy that makes missing it all worth while. Like the gelato, the pasta, the people, the art, the history. Every place is what you make of it. In the wise words of Hillary Duff “I’ve got somewhere I belong... This is what dreams are made of.”