This month I spent ten glorious (beautiful, pizza-and-gelato-filled days in Italy). I fell in love with the country, naturally, and hardly wanted to come home. While obviously taking in all of the tourist-y sights, I got to see a lot of the Italian people just going about their daily routine. So, in this article, I have compiled a few things that Italian people did that I was very impressed with that we could definitely take pointers from.

They practice portion control.

If you know me, you'd know I can be kind of a health freak. I didn't pay attention to this while in Italy, though (because gelato's way too good to pass up). Each time I ordered at restaurants I was always surprised at how little was brought out to me on my plate. Apparently Americans eat a normal portion size plus two more in comparison. However, this wasn't a bad thing. Every time I finished my meal (always cleaning my plate) I felt full. I'm the type of person who will continue to eat just because food is in front of her even when I am already full without realizing it, so I was always surprised by how little food could fill me up. I left each meal feeling full, but never too stuffed with plenty of room for gelato. Americans could definitely take pointers from this, because there really is no need for restaurant portions to be humungous.

They eat real food.

Yes, I am very observant when it comes to food. While, again, I can say I by no means ate "healthy" while in Italy, I know for a fact that I ate less preservatives than I do normally. There was a huge emphasis on organic food, and everything in restaurants was home-made. While the shift toward organic food is obviously present in America, it seemed to just be a given in Italy instead of a movement. The differences were even more present in packaged foods. Curiously, I inspected a lot of the labels, and they all contained only one or two identifiable ingredients. If you look at labels on common American foods, they can contain thirty to forty, even on "healthy" packaged foods. "Snack bars" were little restaurants present around the cities, and they served snacks of nutritious, "real" food. Snacks included things like cold cuts, mixed nuts, and caprese salad. After leaving Italy, I think I am now more aware of preservatives, and want to try to limit them as much as I can in the future.

They waste less energy.

In every hotel room we stayed (in four different cities) you had to insert your room key into a slot on the wall in order to turn on the lights. This being said, in order to leave the room with your room key, you cannot have any lights turned on. I had never really thought about this before, but I'm sure a lot of people leave the lights on all day while they are not in their hotel room. I thought this idea was so smart and so simple as it forces you to waste less energy, and think Americans could do a better job on emphasizing less energy use. Simple things add up to something great, and the Italians have this down pat.

They take their time.

Italians take a long time to do most things. They don't rush you out of your table after eating at a restaurant, the tour guides took a long time to explain everything, and they never seemed to be in a rush. Italians walk to a lot of their destinations, but not in the power-walking-stressed-out way that a lot of Americans do. The Italians seemed to make time "count" more, and seemed to cherish the moment instead of just checking things off their to-do lists. I found this incredibly refreshing as I am so accustomed to the fast-paced life we have in America. The Italians seemed so much more relaxed, and I think we as Americans could do a better job about taking our time and savoring the moment more.

They worry less about personal space.

Hear me out, this topic is a little bit more opinion-based. I like my personal space as much as the next girl, and Italians definitely honor less personal space than Americans do. However, I think Americans may be a tad too rigid about this. Italians seemed to have a more warm, nurturing, and welcoming nature. You were often greeted with a kiss on the cheek and hugs that made you feel right at home. This is obviously not for everyone, but I think Americans could loosen up a little bit more in terms of worrying about crossing personal-space boundaries. We instead should focus on building relationships and meeting new people, allowing ourselves to be more comfortable with one another right off the bat.

Overall, I was incredibly impressed with the Italian people, and admired them greatly. I enjoyed every last moment I spent in Italy, and I think I took a lot away from traveling there. I am now going to be more conscientious about these above stated things, and think others could definitely do the same. So, although I said "Ciao" to Italia, it stays resonant in my mind as I'm going to strive to be more like the Italians.