Italian Family Life and Tradition

Having the opportunity to live within a family had given me an chance to see how the structure and family roles are both different and similar to those that make up a typical family in America. While the general idea is pretty much the same, in most cases, mom, dad, one or two kids, the roles that each of the family members hold is a little different. In my host family, our household is made up of the father and mother and two children, a boy and a girl, the daughter is however from another marriage and her father lives in America. The father also has two other sons, that are older and live with their mother in a home in another part of Carpi. They are often over here, however, their mother is their main caregiver. I have found that this is often common even for families that are structured a bit differently, the mothers are usually the ones in charge of caring for the children and cooking the meals. While I was somewhat aware of this fact from knowing a bit about Italian culture, I was not aware that generally children don't move out of their parents home until well into their late twenties. Usually they stay in the family home until they get married or move into a home with the person they plan to marry. Also, in regards to traditional Italian milestones, when a man and woman decide that they are going to become engaged, a ring is not always exchanged. As soon as the ring is given the couple is bound to getting married there is no backing out.

I have also come to realize that in general the way of life and the way that the Italian culture evaluates their day is very different. The schedule of the day goes a little like this:
8am- leave for school/work
Between 1pm and 2pm - Everyone goes home for lunch. I mean everyone, most schools let out, stores close, etc.
Between 2:30 and 4:30pm- Nap time, homework time, free time or back to work. Generally right after a big lunch people take naps for at least 30 minutes or, like my family, the parents go back to work. Otherwise kids go do homework or relax as well. No one really goes out because none of the stores open up again until 4ish.
Around 5pm- My "mom" comes home after picking up my "brother" from scouts, futbol practice or his friends house.
From 5 to around 8:30 pm- Relax time, go hang out with friends, do homework, keeping napping, etc. At around 7 or 8 most of the shops close, if they chose to re open after lunch that is. It is hard to tell since almost none of the shops have the hours posted because they aren't really sure what they are going to be.
8:30 to 9pm- Dinner time
The rest of the night is time to hang out with the family until either the older kids go out or it is time for bed.

While I love the naps in the middle of the day and the homemade meals, not knowing when or if a store is going to be open is highly inconvenient and has gotten a bit frustrating at times.