Late Night

by Karen Skoog
Getting used to different times when you travel is more than just jet lag. In fact, jet lag can be the easiest part of the change. You can usually adjust your internal clock after a few days of long naps at odd hours. A bigger mismatch for me is the late night, fairly loud activity in the streets on most nights here in Italy. The houses are closer together, there is less vegetation to absorb the sound and entire families just stay up later, a lot later. My memories of late summer nights outside tended to last until the sun went down unless we were “camping outside” and even as an adult I am not outside much late at night. Here in Italy, outside activity goes on well past midnight, even on the weeknights. Since I am tend to go to bed earlier than that, it can be difficult to sleep when there are major conversations going on in the streets. The ability to stay up late outdoors can probably attributed to mid-day pausa, pleasant temperatures during the late hours and smaller houses where people entertain and socialize less at home and more in communal places. Definitely an adjustment.