The Weird/Silly Stuff
So we've been in Italy 4 months and we've seen lots of things we are just not used to. The weird and silly stuff to us but very normal to those living in Naples. Number 1- Trash. Naples has a big trash problem. According to what is said, there is no where to dump the trash so it does not get picked up for a couple of weeks or longer. Driving can be like a roller coaster ride, not only because people here drive like maniacs, but because you have to swerve out of your lane so that you don't hit the trash piles. When the sidewalk and the one or two dumpsters get filled up the trash overflows on the road. To make matters worst, people just throw their trash out the windows of their cars. I also heard that some people will put their trash bags on the trunk of their cars and drive. Where ever the bags land that's the dumping area. I haven't seen that yet but I did have a flying Red Bull can come towards my windshield as I was driving on the freeway.
Number 2-Driving: I have never seen people drive like they do here. There are no traffic rules. OK, so there are rules but no one follows them. Well, only the dumb Americans like me, until you realize that if you drive like you do in the US, you will definitely get in an accident. Don't stop at a stop sign because you will get rear ended. Oh, and usually a red light means stop if you want but watch the car behind you because he may not stop. The policeman in the lane next to you, don't worry about him, he'll run the red light and the stop sign too. Now the speed limit. The speed limit is about 60-65 on the freeway but if you are driving that slow get ready for the honks. There is one lane for driving and one lane for passing or speeding. If the car behind you is flashing his lights franticly, that means you need to get out of the way because they're coming really fast and you are in their way driving way too slow although you are going 80 mph or more. I forgot to mention the man-made lane. That's the third lane that usually appears even though you only see lines for two lanes. When that happens, depending on where you are, you can honk to tell them to move into a lane, or just deal with it. There are many more reasons why driving is crazy here but I will save some for later.
Number 3-The Military: Our second week here we had to attend an area orientation. This is the time when you check in and they give you the do's and don'ts. We had the military police tell us about the theft in Italy, how not to get carjacked, and how they have had people gassed in their homes and then robbed. Although it was a bit scary to hear, these things can happen anywhere. What I found silly was that they tell us to try to not stand out as Americans so we are not targeted, but they allow us to bring our vehicles to Naples. #1 way to tell if the driver is an American; just look at the car. You can usually tell. Who else drives around in a car or SUV with tinted windows and chrome rims in Naples. You can just imagine how much I stand out in a Nissan Armada with 22" chrome rims. I'm usually the excitement of the road. I don't know if it's because the Italians just love my SUV or they are thinking, "she must be crazy driving that big thing around". I normally don't drive the Armada but Devante is taking swimming lessons in the morning and I got to get him there. Nice thing is, I doubt I would ever get carjacked because they would be too easy to find, my Armada would not be useful to them for parts and it's a gas guzzler. Then again, you never know. I pray we don't experience any of the scary stuff while we are here.
So those were my top 3. More to come in future blogs................................
Number 2-Driving: I have never seen people drive like they do here. There are no traffic rules. OK, so there are rules but no one follows them. Well, only the dumb Americans like me, until you realize that if you drive like you do in the US, you will definitely get in an accident. Don't stop at a stop sign because you will get rear ended. Oh, and usually a red light means stop if you want but watch the car behind you because he may not stop. The policeman in the lane next to you, don't worry about him, he'll run the red light and the stop sign too. Now the speed limit. The speed limit is about 60-65 on the freeway but if you are driving that slow get ready for the honks. There is one lane for driving and one lane for passing or speeding. If the car behind you is flashing his lights franticly, that means you need to get out of the way because they're coming really fast and you are in their way driving way too slow although you are going 80 mph or more. I forgot to mention the man-made lane. That's the third lane that usually appears even though you only see lines for two lanes. When that happens, depending on where you are, you can honk to tell them to move into a lane, or just deal with it. There are many more reasons why driving is crazy here but I will save some for later.
Number 3-The Military: Our second week here we had to attend an area orientation. This is the time when you check in and they give you the do's and don'ts. We had the military police tell us about the theft in Italy, how not to get carjacked, and how they have had people gassed in their homes and then robbed. Although it was a bit scary to hear, these things can happen anywhere. What I found silly was that they tell us to try to not stand out as Americans so we are not targeted, but they allow us to bring our vehicles to Naples. #1 way to tell if the driver is an American; just look at the car. You can usually tell. Who else drives around in a car or SUV with tinted windows and chrome rims in Naples. You can just imagine how much I stand out in a Nissan Armada with 22" chrome rims. I'm usually the excitement of the road. I don't know if it's because the Italians just love my SUV or they are thinking, "she must be crazy driving that big thing around". I normally don't drive the Armada but Devante is taking swimming lessons in the morning and I got to get him there. Nice thing is, I doubt I would ever get carjacked because they would be too easy to find, my Armada would not be useful to them for parts and it's a gas guzzler. Then again, you never know. I pray we don't experience any of the scary stuff while we are here.
So those were my top 3. More to come in future blogs................................
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