This post comes with caveats. Yes, these thoughts are generalizations. Yes, there are exceptions. Yes, stereotypes paint a broad swath rather than acknowledge the individuals.

This is a list, in no particular order, of some confounding quirks I encountered in Italy. They were sometimes treasured, sometimes tolerated, (sometimes jaw-dropping and infuriating). These are traits that made me shake my head, chuckle in resignation and question my own rigid, structured thinking.

• Passion vs. intellect.
• Lax, loose regard for rules: ie. traffic, laws, ADA, etc. Unconstrained by regulations.
• Double system: “under the table” and “above board”.
• Mutable sense of timing and deadlines.
• Circular, roundabout thinking.
• Chaos and disorganization.
• Lack of fear.
• Unclear communications.
• Low-finish vs. refined. At times sloppy, at times polished.
• Blend of historic and contemporary, “high design”.
• Anti-rigid. Nothing’s pinned down. Approximate vs. exacting.

Perhaps, now, I will be more “flexibly systematic”. Looser around the edges.