Manners

On another note, the general niceties, such as please and thank you, are not very popular here. People look at me like I'm crazy whenever I say "Grazie," and few actually respond with "Prego." As for "per favore," it's even less used. Seriously. One time, I had some chocolate, and this kid I barely knew stuck his hand out for some. I said "What's the magic word?" And he was stumped for a few minutes, guessed a couple of things, and then just gave up on getting chocolate. Like a please wasn't worth it. True story.