America is a constant running life style. Italy is a slow paced life style. It is interesting because they have an Italian Siesta called “riposo.” This word means rest. During this siesta, basically everything around town just shuts down. It is normally from 2-5pm or it is 1-4pm. It just depends on the shops preference I think. Siesta is implemented because it is a time for people to take a break from whatever they are doing so they can relax or nap basically.
Now, when I first heard about this I was so excited. It also with this comes shops being closed so if you need something you need to wait. It teaches you to actually take time for yourself and rest. My day in the life was a little bit different than the dancers day in the life in Italy. Normally in the mornings I would go eat breakfast, then work from about 9-12pm and then eat lunch and then the afternoon changed pretty regularly and then at night we go to dinner and then the shows are at 9:30pm so we would do that. The reason the shows are so late is because everyone is rested and then everyone stays in town till 2am. It’s wild to me.
I imagine how my life would be like if we had a break time in the afternoon in America. I imagine I would nap and maybe get better sleep each day. I think personally that this need for rest is vital in today’s world. There were days in college where I would go go go all day and maybe get 5 hours of sleep at night and do it all over again the next day. Now yes, I chose that life and I loved it but it doesn’t mean that exhaustion didn’t come with it. I think what if we had that extra three hours in a day? I wonder what all could I get accomplished. It’s a fun thought but America is a constant running cycle, and I don’t think that will ever change.
I enjoy the slow life here. it’s peaceful and no one is in a hurry. Everyone is just sipping their wine and walking throughout their day. I plan to take this life with me back to America. Maybe relax a bit more, even if it’s just 30 minutes but to take time for myself. Clear my mind. I recommend to everyone who may read this to just slow it down a bit. it’s a nice change.
For anyone who is traveling to Italy, get up and go. Wake up and start your day. Take the siesta and and just appreciate what they have implemented for people to take time and just rest.