In this video I break down a few of the most common Italian stereotypes and talk about which ones actually feel true from what I’ve seen living between the U.S. and Italy. First up: “All Italians are super loud.” Honestly, I don’t think it’s as true as we Americans make it out to be. It really depends on the person and the family—just like in the U.S.—and sometimes what sounds like yelling is really just a passionate, heated discussion (like at my boyfriend’s family’s Sunday lunch). If you don’t understand Italian or the cultural vibe, it can look like an argument when it’s not. Then I talk about the classic hand gestures stereotype—and yes, this one is very true, but not in the way people think. Italians aren’t just waving their hands around randomly; the gestures actually have meaning, and you can communicate feelings or phrases with them. Finally, I get into the “pizza and pasta every day” idea. That’s definitely a generalization, but I do know Italians who eat pasta for lunch super often—kind of like how we default to sandwiches in the U.S.—and it’s interesting that pasta is more of a lunch food here. Pizza is eaten pretty often too, but not daily, and the culture is different: here, everyone orders their own whole pizza, and it’s totally normal (and easier to finish than an American-style pizza).