When I was 17 years old I decided to leave my home country, Italy, and spend one year in America as an exchange student. With the program that I chose I couldn't pick the state I wanted to go to, so I ended up in Odessa, Texas.

I left Italy full of expectations: I would ride my horse everywhere and I would jump on the cafeteria's table and start singing on the top of my lungs just like in "High School Musical." Well... things did not turn out to be this way.

I rode the bus to go to school and my life is nowhere near to the "no-homework-but-dance-and-sing-24/7" life of Troy and Gabriella.

When I first got to America I experienced a culture shock: everything was so new and weird. Now, even after I have been living in Texas for almost four years, I still get surprised by some American habits.

So here are 6 American things Europeans do not understand:

1. Everything is SO BIG

Everything in America (and in Texas especially) is bigger. I always tell to my American friends that their small drink corresponds to our large size. Things are just SO BIG here!

The first time that I went to Sam's Club my eyes widened and my mouth dropped: I have never seen such a huge bulk of food in my entire life. Serving portions are also more abundant here. While Italians usually have a five-course meal with small portions, American eat a triple cheeseburger with large fries and they are set!

2. The obsession with ice

My boyfriend puts so much ice in his drink that I doubt there any space left for the actual liquid. In Europe, we do not put ice in our drinks, but we just keep them cool in the fridge. When I go to any fast food restaurant with a group of friends I am the only weirdo that does not fill up her Dr. Pepper with ice.

3. Roads

American roads are so wide and straight. I love them! You can see for miles and miles and it seems like they never end, compared to the antiquated Italian roads which are full of bumps and turns, and they haven't been renovated since the Romans first built them, the American roads are perfect for long road trips.

4. Acceptable clothes

During wintertime, I saw many students who went to class in pajamas and were not judged too hard by the students and professors. THIS IS MIND BLOWING! In Italy, you will be arrested for this by the fashion police. I love how Americans are accepting and open-minded towards different fashion choices. In Walmart, for example, I met many particular individuals who wore a onesie to go grocery shopping and everybody, except for me, thought that was perfectly normal.

5. Tips

I think tipping is an art that I will never understand. Since in Europe we do not tip our servers, when I first got to America I did not even know I was supposed to leave a tip at the restaurant.

Every time that I go out I always take at least 20 minutes to calculate the amount of the tip. It's a struggle, guys!

6. Measurement scales and temperature

As a European, I CAN'T UNDERSTAND gallons or miles or Fahrenheit at all. It just doesn't make sense to me. I grew up with the metric system, so it is very hard to switch to a different one. I honestly give up on learning yards and inches, but I am trying really hard to understand the temperature system.

While I still do not know how to make the conversion, on the top of my head, I learned to associate 70 with warm and 50 with cold. To make life less complicated for everybody I hope that, in the future, the world will agree on one universal measurement system.