Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The Pope, for example...

Yes, the title of this post is supposed to be hinting at something... People in Rome REALLY love the pope, and I love that they love him.  It is such a bizarre experience to be sitting in my media discussion, speaking English, and discussing the partisan issues surrounding FOX news only to have my professor launch into an explanation of the concept of gatekeeping, and suddenly chose the pope as his authority figure.  Outside of history classes, and the occasional discussion about Catholicism, the pope has never really had a place in my life.  But is wasn't just that one example, I am fairly certain all of my professors have used the Pope as an example more than once in class.  And I am just expected to know that there are more police officers on Wednesday mornings because that is when the Pope addresses the people.  I am also supposed to cease needing anything to get done between one and four pm, because that is nap time (duh, what was I thinking trying to get groceries at 2 yesterday?), and I am supposed to be able to ask for wine by my favorite valley when I go into a store. ... ?  I probably could have labeled this post, "Yup, I'm American!"  

The flip side to all of my cultural mishaps is that people are starting to actually think I'm Roman, before I open my mouth of course, and yesterday someone asked me for directions in Italian, and I ACTUALLY HELPED (... using large arm motions and possibly even jumping a couple times...) 

On a more serious note, I know that Rome, and southern Italy in general has a lot to teach me.  Italians value people, relaxation, and great food above all else.  Stopping your moped in the middle of the street to say hi to the cafe owner, while blocking four lanes of traffic is simply a part of life in this country, and I am continuously through off by it.  Being raised to constantly do my best in school, sports, activities, volunteering, and even to do the most for my friends, I never learned how to breath, and enjoy a slower lifestyle.  And no, that was not a dig at my parents, Eden Prairie, Madison, my teachers, coaches, or friends.  100 miles an hour is simply the speed at which most Americans move, and it's exhausting.  While I am nowhere close to fully adopting this slow-paced Italian way of life, I did keep the person behind me in line at the cafe waiting for a good three minutes today as I talked to the shop owner, which is an improvement!

Keeping on the theme of a slower-paced life, I went to Cinque Terre this weekend with my friend Olivia.  Cinque Terre are five tiny towns on the coast of Italy that you can hike between, and just explore the quaintness, ocean, and of course amazing churches!  Olivia and I had so much fun just wandering around these little towns, and getting about five days worth of stair excersizes in as we hiked up and down admiring the different views.  At one point we even climbed out onto rocks along the shore of the ocean, and of course a huge wave came and soaked me (Olivia wants it known that she stayed far enough back not to get sprayed.... I'm just more adventurous?) as I was admiring the view.  And yes, it was very VERY cold, but I dried off pretty quickly, and we where onto the next town.

In case you couldn't guess, I LOVE Italy, and I am enjoying every bit of it that I get to see in the short time that I'm here!

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