Hotel beds

by Sherri Peterson

I have lived with quite a few people in my life, and one thing that I learned from these experiences was that I enjoy living alone. So while I prepared for my classes and trip to Cagli I knew that along with learning about and adjusting to the Italian experience, I would also need to get back into the habit of living in a shared space.  While reading Travel as a Political Act, by Rick Steves one recommendation in particular stood out for me.  Rick recommends that you “Stow your pre conceptions and be open to new experiences” (pg 8).  So as I packed for the trip to Cagli, I tried to think of all of the expectations that I had for this experience and then got myself to acknowledge and then dismiss them so I would keep an open mind and let myself be open to the experience.

On the first night at the hotel in Florence I experienced my first cultural dissonance.  I was fine with the idea of sharing a room with a classmate but I was completely surprised to walk into a hotel room with one bed.  I have lived alone for the past ten years and knew that having a roommate would be an adjustment; however, the thought that I would be sharing a bed with someone I didn’t know didn’t even cross my mind.  I thought it would be a little uncomfortable, but since it is only two nights, I figured it wasn’t too big of a deal.  The morning of our departure to Cagli I was talking with some of the other students, and learned that the bed was actually two twin beds pushed together and that some of the other students actually pushed the beds apart.  I wasn’t uncomfortable enough with the situation to pursue a way to separate the sleeping spaces, but it does illustrate how much Americans value and “need” our own space.