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Observations
on Italy
Article by John
S. Rhodes
Abstract
From 9-April-2003 through
16-April-2003 I was in Italy
visiting my brother-in-law. He is currently a Master's student in the School of Advanced International Studies
(SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University.
We mainly spent time in Sicily (Siracusa and Taormina), Bologna and Rome.
Here are some of my raw impressions of Italy. Enjoy!
My Notes
1. As you would
expect, the cars in Italy are significantly smaller than in the United
States. I saw many interesting small cars, but my favorite was definitely
the Smart.
Smarts are good looking cars, with two seats, and plenty of headroom. I also
saw plenty of scooters, such as the Vespa.
(I was shocked to see an entire four-person family on a single scooter.)
There were very few SUVs, but I did see several Mercedes taxis. Many people
in the United States don't realize that in other countries, Mercedes sells
cheaper cars that taxi companies love.
2. Italians seem
to love the color black, and leather. Of course, they really seem to like
black leather. I think what amazed me the most was that I saw so many people
wearing black coats, shirts, sweaters, pants, and boots, in 70-80 degree
weather. Some people actually seemed cold. Where I live (upstate New York),
such temperatures are quite warm.
3. I didn't see
many children, or very young children. When I did see children, particularly
babies, many people flocked around. I think I only saw one or two pregnant
women. From I am told, Italy's
population is in decline.
4. Many people in
Italy smoke, but very few people in Italy are overweight. Most overweight
people I saw were American tourists. They were also loud.
5. While I can't
exactly put my finger on it, Italians definitely seem to have a better sense
of style than Americans. Clothing fit better on people, old buildings seemed
to fit with new buildings, and even graffiti was more tasteful.
6. Italian food is
excellent. I especially liked Italian cheeses, coffee, and gelato.
Ironically, I tried pizza four different times and I was not impressed, even
when I was in Sicily. For the most part it tasted like simple bar
food.
7. Like many other
countries, Italy is not really one cohesive country. I had the impression
that Italy was Italy. As my brother-in-law explained, however, northern
Italy is more modern (e.g., faster pace) than southern Italy. Being in
Sicily was like being in a different country. If you visited China or the
United States, you'd definitely experience the same thing. It is easy to
fall prey to the "one country myth" until you visit.
8. I don't think
that Italy is nearly as efficient as it could be. I wasn't impressed with
Italy's transportation, grocery stores, or construction. This doesn't mean
that Italy is slow or behind-the-times, but I saw room for process and
system improvement repeatedly.
9. Italians tend
to eat later than Americans. It was not odd to eat after 8:00 PM or even
9:00 PM. This was very common. Indeed, there were times when we could not
eat at 6:00 PM because it was much too early. Speaking of eating, many
businesses completely closed from about 11:30 through 1:30. Time to eat
lunch and relax. This was especially true in the small towns in
Sicily.
10. Many Italians,
young and old, walk late at night. Walking was done both before and after
dinner.
11. Sicilians are
very religious. In virtually every business, we saw a crucifix. I swear it
was almost impossible to walk more than a couple of hundred feet without
seeing a church.
12. In every
hotel, small and large, we had to hand over our passports. A couple of times
they took our passports and we had to return a couple hours later to pick
them up. When I didn't have my passport these times, I was worried but I
didn't have much recourse. I guess this kind of thing is pretty typical in
Europe.
13. Several times
we stopped in stores to get drinks and snacks. I quickly found out that the
typical liquid container size is 1.5 liters. Everything from water to juice
was in 1.5 liter containers. It was relatively convenient, but certainly
different than the typical 2 liter bottles you find in the United
States.
14. Gasoline is
approximately 4 times as expensive in Italy as the United States.
Fortunately, we avoided this expense by doing an insane amount of walking
and using public transportation.
15. Despite what
you might think, there are many variations of Italian. These dialects are so
strong that even some people completely fluent in Italian cannot understand
the language.
16. Almost every
street in Italy is narrow. The older the place, the more narrow the street.
In spite of this physical constraint, drivers drive quite fast. The folks on
scooters have a blatant disregard for themselves and others, and they are
quite happy to whip along at 30-40 MPH in very confined areas. In some ways,
these scooter people remind me of the insane bike riders in New York City.
17. When you go to
restaurants in Italy the tip is automatically calculated and added to the
check. In most cases, this is very convenient and reduces confusion and
errors. I'm not sure if this is more of a culture thing or some sort of law
in Italy or Europe.
18. Italians care
less about time and keeping time than Americans. First, there are definitely
fewer clocks. There are plenty of watches, but watches act more as jewelry
than timekeepers. Second, these is less emphasis on time itself. It is
harder to grasp, describe, and explain. There were times when we couldn't
explain that we needed more time, or that we were going to miss something on
our schedule due to time constraints. Third, there were a couple of times
where places were just mysteriously closed, with no reason given. Finally,
most businesses didn't post their open and closed hours, as if it really
didn't matter.
19. Several times
I saw that that the Romans built right on top of old Greek structures.
Often, the Greek structures were more elegant and refined whereas the Roman
structures were impressive, albeit ostentatious. I also found out that
really big structures can be built with stone.
20. I learned that
the Roman empire was huge. Really huge.
21. As we traveled
around Sicily, Rome and Bologna, I never felt threatened or worried. I
expected to feel uneasy partly because of the war in Iraq and partly because
I would obviously be a foreigner. That was not the case. Although the people
aren't necessarily always warm and fuzzy, they aren't full of angst or
feelings of anger. I felt safe enough.
22. If you are
going to visit Italy, and if you are going to visit Sicily, be sure to visit
Taormina. It is breathtaking.
23. Germans love
to vacation in Italy, especially Sicily. My brother-in-law told me that
there seems to be a love-hate relationship between Germans and Italians. We
saw many Germans and they stuck out, almost as much as the Americans.
24. There seems to
be an insane level of specialization in Italy, especially in the little
shops in the cities. For example, I saw a shop selling only drapery rods and
another store selling only white nurse uniforms.
25. I experienced
a high level of interpersonal quid
pro quo in Italy. Here's an example. We needed a corkscrew for some wine
so I borrowed one from a hotel clerk. As a small token of my appreciation, I
took some of the wine to the clerk. He acted like he completely expected the
wine. In the United States, such a gesture would not be seen as an equal
exchange, it would be more like a gift. I was reminded of the Chinese
concept of guanxi.
26. Italian
advertising uses more sex, but it is surprisingly tasteful.
27. When waiting
for things in Italy, lines rarely form. Instead, people mob around things
and squeeze in over time. There seems to be less of a need to be first, or
win, or beat the next person behind you. There is an air about people that
is more casual and collected. People seem to expect to wait; lines almost
seem to be distasteful, unless the situation is more international (e.g.,
airport).
28. Most Italians assume that Americans can't speak
Italian. They are very pleased when they can speak the native language. It
was so good to be with my brother-in-law since he speaks Italian
fluently.
29. There were
definite undertones of the Mafia in Italy, particularly Sicily. However, it
was never obvious and I don't think it ever impacted our time there.
30. The sphere of
personal space in Italy is quite smaller than in the United States.
Americans love their space, but Italians care much less about it. I bumped
into hundreds of people, and they bumped into me. They didn't mind, and I
just learned to ignore it.
31. Italians seem
to read more than Americans. There were newspapers and magazines all over
the place, and people were reading all of the time.
32. While in
Amsterdam, I saw the fly-in-the-urinal. It was excellent.
33. On my flight
to Italy, I spoke with a veterinary working in Peru. She told me that I
should try a Pisco Sour.
Comments?
Please send them to me: john@webword.com
I want to know what you think about this article.
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