country in a city

As I'm sure will become quickly evident...
I grew up in the Midwest, I studied science, chemistry to be precise, although I hate saying that because then people actually expect me to know something. I love cold weather, rain, thunderstorms, but I don't complain if I have to spend a summer in Amalfi. I am jealous of life in the country, life in the city, and life at sea (in any given order) and I'll try them all.

I'm currently doing the city thing, but it feels like the country. The reason for that is because I'm living in a foreign country and I don't understand a flipping thing anyone around me is saying... so it's kind of like being in the country, maybe with a lot of farm animals around. They're cute, charming even, smelly (fortunately Italians don't usually smell anything like farm animals), they take up space... but at the end of the day, there's no really talking to them and you have no idea what they're thinking.

Another reason that it makes me feel like I'm living in the country is the food. Italians don't eat that packaged crap Americans do. And since less of them eat that packaged crap, the crap that's available is even crappier. So there's a big incentive to cook real food. There are even farmers that drive into the city, every day (except sunday, of course) and bring you the good stuff, dirt cheap.

But since I have never lived in the country, maybe these things are not country at all. Maybe they're just things about the city I didn't expect. Maybe in the country, you actually DO know what the animals are thinking and it's a hell of a lot more work to get a truck load of fresh fruits and veggies to shop from.