This Week in Italy 436

Some Reflections While Visiting the USA

Reflections on Friendliness

It probably is the case that people in some nations appear more “friendly” than those in other nations because the first nationality  is more outgoing. Still probably the same proportion of people in all nations is friendly by nature even if this friendliness is expressed in different ways in different countries.  When you return to the USA, you notice immediately the generally friendly response of the people with whom you interact.  I don’t think Americans are friendlier by nature, but American culture reinforces friendliness as the proper response, especially for people in service industries.  Obviously some of this friendliness is not genuine, but over time, if people are expected and conditioned to act in a certain way, it becomes habitual.  What started as a “forced” friendliness becomes genuine.

What about Silvio Berlusconi?

It was reported in the media in the USA that Berlusconi won a vote of confidence in the Italian Parliament.  Here is the situation in a nutshell:

  1. The European Union and powerful forces in Italy are calling for serious reforms in the Italian economy.
  2. Berlusconi is too weak politically to deliver such reforms.
  3. There is, however, no other politician that people think could form a government and make such reforms.
  4. There is a general crisis of confidence in the Euro Zone which is causing an atmosphere of uncertainly in Italy and elsewhere.
  5. At a time of such a crisis, politicians are wary of changing governments which leads to more uncertainly.
  6. So not enough members of Parliament are willing to throw out the Berlusconi government at this time even though all know it is weak and ineffective.

Eating Italian

When I return to the USA at times I end up eating with friends in an Italian restaurant. They expect that I won’t find the Italian food in the USA as good as that in Italy.  Actually the southern Italian cuisine that is typical in Italian restaurants in the USA does not exist in Tuscany.   So a direct comparison is hard to make.

Attending the Funeral of an Old Friend

I attended the funeral of an old friend who was known in the community for his constant barrage of letters to the editor and article in the local papers. Before coming to Pennsylvania he was one of the founders of the Conservative Party in New York state.  I certainly did not agree with him politically. Also at the funeral was a mutual friend who disagreement politically with the deceased was even stronger than mine.  Still we all liked and respected each other.  Although I have no studies to prove the fact, it is my impression that in Italy people of different political persuasions are unlikely to be close friends.  Recently politics in the USA seems to have become more bitter and strident.  I can only hope that in the USA people on opposite sides of the political fence can and will continue to be close friends despite their differences.

Marrying Italian

I went to the annual dinner of the Italian-American group of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  In talking to people, I rediscovered a phenomenon I knew from my own family.  In the first half of the 20th century and even a bit thereafter, it was not very prestigious to be of Italian ancestry. When an Italian married a person from a different ethnic group (almost all of which were higher in the immigrant pecking order than the Italians) , often the family and relatives of the non-Italian spouse disapproved of the marriage. Nobody was selling “Proud to be an Italian” t shirts in those days.

Buying Shoes

I generally buy Italian shoes now, but I still always have a pair of Bass Wejuns, a American loafer brand that I have been wearing for over 50 years.  I went to the Bass outlet to get a new pair.  I wear a USA size 11. I can in fact fit into a 10 1/2 as far as the length goes, but this size tends to be a little narrow for me. I got a pair of 11 shoes and tried them on.  I could not easily get them over my feet. I measured them against my current pair of Bass Wejuns that I was wearing (size 11). The new ones were clearly shorter.  I had, for the first time in my life, to get a pair of 11 ½ loafers.  In the past these shoes were made in Maine.  Now they come from El Salvador.  Although the new shoes look the same as the old ones, this size problem to me shows that quality control may be little more lax in El Salvador than it was in the good old days in Maine.