Culture and tradition

It amazes me how different the United States is compared to a large majority of the rest of the world. We are cocky, arrogant, self centered, ruthless, and always looking out for number one. Reading about different cultures I love to see how much they value hospitality and generosity. Learning about the Italian culture and how much they cherish one another is so interesting to me. In America we are constantly in a hurry to get things done so we can move onto the next. We expect to eat lunch in a half and hour and get annoyed when it takes 5 minutes to defrost a Lean Cuisine in the microwave. Italians enjoy their meals and in fact consider it rude to have speeding services from the waiter. Our culture gets pissed off if their food hasn't been brought out within 15 minutes of ordering it. Both cultures have such different priorities and values. Italians put their family above anything no matter what they might lose. Americans on the other hand would sell their soul to the devil if it meant they were going to "succeed" in life, and by succeed I mean financially of course. I am so intrigued by the such drastic differences these two cultures have and I cannot wait to experience these differences this summer when I am in Italy for a month. I hope the experience gives me a greater appreciation for family and the little things in life and helps me forget about all of the materialistic things that cloud our view of life.