Italian Stereotypes Between Americans and Italians

Stereotypes Between Americans and Italians

Italy is a fascinating world that can spin around you, but you need to stop it and grip onto to those people namely; doctors, lawyers, accountants, red tape cutters and masters of the loophole.

Don't worry, you'll never need to worry. Remember, who you know will fix everything, or who someone you know knows will. Even if you are sent to someone you do not know, by someone you do know, everything is apposta-ok. The idea is to get acquainted with as many people as possible-this is vital - especially in Italy.

I seemed a familiar guest in their home, and I was offered a; before, during, and after dinner drinks. Because it's not me to drink so much in such a short time, I had to decline on the account that, I would have made an awful clumsy impression.

The conversation was swinging with the bean and pasta soup, and my hands were globed with oil from dipping them in along with the fresh fennel. After meals it's the usual time to witness people in levitation-it's a full stomach that causes them to dose off right out in the open, too much food, and chatter.

In the end, remember to kiss their cheeks, but do it with caution if you're given a dirty look by his girlfriend. Smooching will be a daily task. When the buses are full of teens they say goodbye with dripping saliva and then I realize I'm in the middle of a face-sucking contest.

Italians would rather take an axe to the clock on the mantle, or even the clock hanging in the middle of the square to set things straight. Time must be stopped - because it doesn't seem to keep them accurate anyways.

Many times I have waited for Romans, they'd tell me; "I'll be there at seven", then eight shows up and I had had it by then. The next day they tell me, "I couldn't make it last night," and they couldn't understand the sense of calling to cancel. Sometimes they'd love to come and visit you, but they never muster up the energy to do it. They take you for granted, and you're happy if they even show up at all.

I suppose stereo-typing can be farfetched, since people used to think that Italians spent all their time with a fork in one hand, and a comb in the other (to brush a thick moustache). Times have changed since the Italian film surge in the 50's and 60's. And to make matters clearer, I'll have you know that I've never run my eyes on someone obese in over 6 years. I think that fork was empty.

The latest made me laugh and made me want to cry at the same time. I had a discussion with an Italian woman; she said "You Americans, you're all dreamers, wishing on stars that aren't out in the sky." The same stereotyping goes for them. I asked her how she came up with that idea, and she told me; "from all the American films," right then her intelligence flew out the window with the flock of birds. We could literally start a war over these things, because they are translated into insults on first impression.

We can add the man in the taxi cab. He infuriated me. We talked from Fiumicino airport all the way to Rome. The differences in culture were vast, and we hit right onto the subject of sexes. I couldn't agree with him that a man's wife becomes an old shoe after years of marriage, and that is the reason why they must go out and buy a new pair. I told him we'd never stand for that in my country. And he implied that this was the reason for all the divorces we have. I had to clear the slate by adding-Italian woman have been suffering staying married to all you men - being Catholic, the law was not to divorce, and they followed it. This is where they went wrong. We are then tagged in Italy as being easy (as foreigners seem) or as being a "bigotta" or an old woman who lives in a shoe and thinks everything is dangerous.

Look at the men who do not give in to sensitivity, this stuff they tend to jam into their pillowcases. You'll see the opposite happen with some poor sap dosing over the Amalfi coast. Why must Italian men be so emotional? This doesn't change the fact of the old shoe unfortunately. A delicate man can be flattering in the beginning and especially for a woman. It bothers them if you go out alone, or if you don't kiss them good-night. These men require care. They seem to have a feminine side that isn't so shy.

Their the first ones to tell you that they missed you, and that they can't stand to be without you. The roles of man vs. woman can seem reversed-American men tend to have their pillowcases full, hiding their emotions, they're more like the Italian women. The Italian men have their emotions for sale, on display, much like the American women. When all is said and done, they get together and settle down until their lady becomes an old shoe too. But new shoes hurt your feet.

By Jackelin J.Jarvis