It’s common knowledge that Italy is a beautiful place full of amazing food to taste and cities to visit. It's easy to travel here and experience both of these things fairly easily. What’s not quite as simple is spending a long period of time living in the culture and reaching the point where it becomes a part of you. For anyone who has spent time living abroad in Italy, there's a few experiences that I'm sure we can agree on...

1. It’s virtually impossible to return home as the same weight you were when you left.

I’m sure that I’m not the only one who had my heart set on not letting the pasta and pizza take a toll on my jean size going into my year abroad. Unfortunately, a couple weeks into your stay, this dream generally gets overshadowed by all the amazing food options. It’s just too difficult to pass up the incredible cuisine that Italy has to offer.

2. Italians love wine more than you expect.

While living in Italy, it becomes obvious very quickly that it’s completely acceptable to drink wine with every meal. There's always a bottle or two on the table and one's age isn't a concern. Wine truly is an integral part of the meal and serves a purpose to many different dishes. Many foods simply don't taste as good without a wine pairing.

3. Gelato is not the same as ice cream.

Walking into your first gelateria is like a child walking into Disney World for the first time. Italian gelato is absolutely amazing and tastes as good as it looks. After spending awhile spoiled with endless amazing gelato, it’s nearly impossible for ice cream to ever taste the same.

4. Italian’s take “happy hour” to a new level.

In Italy, you have “Aperativo” with friends at bars or coffee shops before dinner. The most popular drink is the Aperol Spritz, and most bars give out a big plate of delicious snacks to enjoy with your drink. It’s fun to discover the best places to go for Aperativo because some bars go all out, offering huge plates of gourmet appetizers for free.

5. Italians are fascinated by America

It’s very welcoming to discover just how excited most Italians are about American culture, music, cities and people. Upon arriving in Italy, I quickly realized that Italian people are just as excited to learn all about our culture as we are about theirs. They love to talk about American music, celebrities and they especially love New York City.

6. A slice of pizza isn’t going to cut it anymore.

When you live in Italy and go out for pizza, you’re not just grabbing a piece or two. Instead, you sit down at a pizzeria and order an entire pizza for yourself. It seems impossible, but I assure you that you’ll be able to finish the whole thing.

7. Italians look good all the time.

Italian women are always on their A-game when it comes to fashion. These fashionistas don’t have a problem walking confidently down the cobble stone streets, and will constantly keep their sunglasses on all day indoors. Fashion and shopping are a huge part of many Italians lifestyle and it's very acceptable to spend more for good quality pieces.

8. Italy has every place you need in one small country.

The country of Italy truly covers all bases. You can spend time on the beaches in the South and Sicily. You have the option to head off to an island getaway in Sardinia. You can go skiing up in the mountains of the North. There’s tons of beautiful hiking and views along the Amalfi Coast. And last but not least, there’s plenty of shopping and historic sightseeing in the many famous cities covering the country from top to bottom.