After a few weeks here living and studying in Florence, Italy, I have discovered some clear differences in culture. First, I admire how committed the Italians are to sustainability. This is something that the United States has tried to change however is severely lacking compared to other countries. Italians are very meticulous when it comes to waste and recycling. In the streets there are 5-6 different trash cans to separate all your waste items. They have a brown for organic waste, yellow for paper and cardboard, blue for packaging and plastic-metal-polystyrene-tetra Pak containers, grey for non-recyclable waste, and green for glass. In the US we only typically use trash and recycling and some institutions have not even switched to recycling. Italians are also extremely cautious of their energy usage. They seldom have air conditioning even in public buildings, which saves a ton of energy. The same thing is applied to electricity and lighting. We were instructed by our school to only use lights at night and prioritize natural lighting during the day. I make a conscious effort when I am in Charleston however, I know most students do not and being in Italy has been a very awakening experience to realize how wasteful we can be. Another aspect of cultural diversity that I have noticed is that family is the top priority in Italians’ lives. Children are admired in Italy and are treated with the same respect as adults which is very different than what I am used to where children are typically talked down to and coddled. The children here are incredibly independent and often do most things without parental supervision. The culture is a collectivist society, and the children are raised by the entire village. Parents have trust in the community that all the children are being cared for. This is very different than the US where we are instilled with stranger danger from a young age and to be weary and not trusting of those who we are unfamiliar with. I admire the Italian collectivist society. I feel that in America the top priority is success and career growth over the wellbeing of the community. People tend to be self-centered in the aspect of wanting to achieve their own personal goals instead of considering the benefit of the entire community.