Lesson Transcript

Hi guys!
Welcome back to ItalianPod101.
My name is Desy.
Mi chiamo Desy.
And in this video, we're going to talk about things that you should not do in Italy.
Cose da evitare.
Things to avoid.
Evitare.
I've talked about this for a while and I realized that everything has to do with food.
And of course, I'm excluding things that are not permitted by law, so I'm just talking
about manners or anyway things that would make people go like this when you do that.
Okay?
So if you want to be socially accepted, try to avoid the following.
First of all, let's not order a cappuccino after a meal.
Ordinare un cappuccino dopo un pasto.
Order a cappuccino after a meal.
Pasto is meal.
It's a big no-no.
Okay?
You can have coffee and at most, you can have it macchiato, so with a bit of milk inside,
but not a cappuccino.
That's something that you just order for breakfast or a second breakfast, so let's say till 12-ish.
If I hear someone ordering a cappuccino till that time, I'm okay, fine.
I'm the first one who does that actually because anytime is fine for me, but not after a meal.
And if you ask why, it's because we had this belief and probably it's even true, but anyway,
it became a rule not to do that because it said that milk does not help digestion.
So after you eat, you try to avoid a big quantity of milk.
Okay?
No cappuccino a pranzo o cena.
No cappuccino for lunch and dinner.
The second thing that is kind of similar but a bit different is try not to ask for an American
coffee.
Non chiedere, don't ask, un caffè americano.
An American coffee.
Anytime of the day.
Okay?
I mean, you're free to do what you want, of course, but if you're in Italy, try to go
And if it's too much for you, ask it a bit longer with a lungo, un caffè lungo, so it
has more water, but still it's really small, okay, it's not like American coffee.
Or with milk, as I said before, macchiato, macchiato, technically stained with a bit
of milk on top, or cappuccino if it's before 12, okay?
But try to avoid the word americano and caffè together, mostly because some people don't
even know what it is.
I mean, we do know what it is, but it's not common to ask for that, so they would just
go like, uh, what?
Also because I believe americano, sometimes it's the name of a cocktail, but we don't
really associate that with coffee, so yeah, don't do that if you don't want people to
go like, um, scusa cosa, excuse me what, okay?
And this was about coffee.
Now let's talk about edible stuff.
What is the most common pasta that you know?
Spaghetti, right?
Some people even think that pasta is just spaghetti.
Let's say for everyone, for once and all, it's not true, we have many, many kinds of
pasta, right?
It's like corta or lunga, penne, farfalle, really many, many shapes.
Spaghetti is the most common one, okay?
Fine, please, please, please, please do not cut them, like no.
In Italy, you see that only sometimes with children, like I remember my grandma and
my mom used to like cut those because they didn't want me to choke on them, so that
was acceptable, but that's the only thing, like that's when you do that for kids, but
if you're having spaghetti, you commit to eat them in their length.
tagliare gli spaghetti.
So tagliare, cut, gli spaghetti, spaghetti, no.
Some people are even upset when you're cooking spaghetti and you break them, like in order
to fit them in the pot.
That's also something that you should avoid.
I mean, some people do that, Italians as well, but a lot of people are just like, um, you
are betraying your country, so you should just leave right now, so if you can avoid
to do that, just in case, but for sure when you're eating them, don't use the knife.
And technically, I know it's tolerated and a lot of people do that, technically you're
not even supposed to use the spoon.
So you're not allowed, let's say, to help yourself with the spoon and like turn them
on the fork, okay, to wrap them around.
You just have to use the fork and the plate.
And if you cannot do that, you don't eat spaghetti, I'm sorry.
I'm kidding, of course, I'm just saying you can do whatever you want.
Another thing that you're not supposed to do, and this applies to all Italians as well,
not only you as a tourist or as a foreigner, let's all remember that it's not a good manner
to rifiutare il cibo, to refuse, to say no thanks to food, okay?
Rifiutare il cibo.
Of course you can refuse that when they're asking you to buy it, but I mean in a family
or like in a group of friends and especially with grandmas, really endure it and try.
Worst thing, just accept it and then take forever to eat that or just like have a bite
and then put it there.
It's still better than saying no, no, thanks, because people really get offended and you
don't want to do that, right?
When we offer you some food, it's because we're really trying to share with you what
we have and to show you that we care for you.
So unless you're like allergic and you're gonna die, if you eat something, that's fine.
Try to avoid to refuse food and coffee as well, you know, when people are just like,
hey, let's go grab a coffee or I'll make you coffee when you go visit them at home.
Yes, please.
Sì, grazie, molto volentieri, gladly.
Okay, you can say, no, really, sono pieno, I'm full and that's kind of acceptable, but
you should always have some space, yeah.
Come prepared with a big, big stomach and get ready to eat a lot, but if there's something
you should not eat in Italy, okay, not even ask for like the Americano, but that was for
drinking, but for eating, please, don't chiedere la pasta Alfredo.
Ask for Alfredo's pasta?
We have no idea what that is or who even Alfredo is.
I know it's a thing in the world, but the first time people asked me, I was just like,
who?
Is it like a famous restaurant or something?
It's like the Napolitan sauce, right?
I know it's famous all over the world, but it's not what we associate that with.
In particular, with Alfredo, we have no clue, like maybe restaurants because they've been
asked a lot, but it's not a thing, so I mean you can ask for Alfredo's pasta, but I can't
guarantee what you're gonna get.
Maybe avoid that, just go with what they have on the menu or for the classic carbonara,
sugo, pesto and you'll be fine.
So those were the five things that you should not do in Italy, but I have an extra one which
is not related to food, but also really, really important, okay?
Non avere fretta.
Don't be in a hurry, okay?
Like really, first of all because you're probably on vacation, so don't do that, it's better
for you to relax, but also if you're living here or if you're visiting for a longer period,
put your mind at ease, don't be in a hurry, because it's gonna go wrong.
I'm not saying that we're all just relaxed and not doing stuff, no, we do have times
and schedules, but you have to keep in mind that transportation may not be punctual, like
buses, trains, anything, sometimes there are strikes and people on the street are also
really slow, like with the car, some people just park where they shouldn't, so you maybe
can pass by or people just stop to say hi to other people that they meet on the street,
so relax, okay?
Or like people like to talk, right?
So even when you're buying something, maybe the guy before you knew the stuff, the clerk,
so they're talking a bit, relax, take your time, you're in Italy, okay?
Let me know in the comments if there are things that you're worried about, like if you should
or not do something, remember to like and subscribe and if you still haven't done it,
you can sign up for your free lifetime account on ItalianPod101.com in order to learn Italian
in the easiest, fastest and most fun way possible.
Thank you for watching, I'll see you soon, ciao ciao, not too soon, because remember
we like to take it slow, I'm kidding, ciao ciao, bye bye.

Comments

Hide