La Bella Figura

I've been well aware of the idea of "La Bella Figura" for many years however, this trip I feel I really got to experience it. 

La Bella Figura is an expression used in Italy to express presenting a good image in everything thing from the house to the person.  It's about being generous with friends and family. It's about emphasizing beauty and elegance. 

There were so many examples of how I saw this played out here in Sicily whether it was the elderly gentleman who made the beautiful bruschetta for our informal gathering or the generosity of food and time from all the different people that I encountered.  It was at the school when they decided to have an impromtu 4th of July party because they understood how important the holiday was to Americans or in the way the people who attended the opera were dressed. It was in the way that my host mom painstakingly ironed everything including the sheets! 

I can honestly say that until you've experienced La Bella Figura, it will only remain an idea. After experiencing it, it becomes an ideal that you feel obligated to try to live up to. 

Italian Opera

Martin Gannon, in his book Understanding Global Cultures a Metaphorical Journey through 31 Nations, chose to describe Italy according to an Italian Opera and now I know why!

Tonight, I had the pleasure of attending an open air Italian Opera for the first time. The opera, Il Rigoletto, was dramatic enough but then there were the side shows.

The first happened right before the opera was about to begin. There was some screaming and shouting and then a distinct "no vediamo"- "we can't see". We weren't sure if there was a dispute over assigned seats, they were disappointed that the lighting man was in their area or exactly what the problem was. There were a few police officers who seemed to be just taking up space. The people carried on for awhile screaming and yelling until the crowd started clapping and yelling "fouri" (outside) ironically, we were outside. After that little incident, the opera proceeded until someone decided to yell "sporco" (dirty) for who knows what reason. 

At the end of the second act, two of the main characters had a very nice, dramatic scene. The audience demanded an encore of the scene to which, the characters obliged and basically performed the scene again. I have never seen such a thing. 

Women and men were dressed to the "9's" even though most of us were sitting on concrete. Women had very nice dresses and high heel shoes. Men had nice slacks, matching sweaters and very nice shoes. No one showed up just looking like they came in from a soccer match. The idea of being properly dressed for an opera, whether it's inside or out, was evident. 

The idea of the chapter in this book is about relating the culture to the way business is conducted. For Italians, everything is a production whether it is making a lovely meal or getting a business deal done. Now I can say that I've experienced an opera and have a better understanding of why Italian Opera is a good metaphor for the culture. 

I can't wait to get home and reread the chapter on Italy, something tells me that I'm going to find more things that happened that are indicative of the culture. One thing is for sure if I see another opera somewhere else, it is not nearly going to be the same!

Sicily - the magical place

Sicily has been a magical place, not just for the amazing landscape, the generous people, the unbelievable food but also because it has changed me in so many ways. 

I used to be a person afraid of the kitchen, now after just few cooking classes, I've come to realize that cooking is not all that scary and I can do it. I'm so excited about my newly acquired interest in cooking that I've spent more time looking for kitchen gadgets than I have oogling over the latest Italian designs in shoes and clothing. 

Also, I finally was able to address my fear of heights. Today, I climbed to the top of Mt. Etna without so much as a consideration about how high up I was or what could happen to me. It was like something just took over in my brain and I knew this is what I had to do AND it was going to be alright. 

I knew from the beginning that Sicily was going to be at the top of my list, I just didn't realize it was going to be "THE" top! 

Celebrating the 4th in Sicily

It's interesting to celebrate 4th of July outside of the country. This wasn't the first time that I've done it, but it was the most enjoyable. After all, how could it not be? I'm in Sicily. 

It started this morning as I walked to school dressed in my red dress with white stars, I walked past what I'm sure was a young Marine who saw the way I was dressed and gave me a knowing smile. I returned the gesture with a tip of my head as to thank him for his service. 

The day proceeded with all the American women coming to school dressed in some sort of red, white and blue. The school was very good about acknowledging our special day and created a party for "gli Americani" (and friends). Students from all different countries came to the BBQ. It was at that moment that I thought "Isn't this what America is about?" There were British, Swedes, Australians, Russians, Spanish, Argentinians, Swiss, Norweigans and some I'm not sure where they hailed from. One of the most interesting things to me was- that many of the "foreigners" dressed up in red, white or blue including a woman from Norway who was dressed in all three colors. It may have just been that she wanted to be festive, but to me it was more than that. It was a tip of the hat- to America- the home of the free and the land of the brave. 

I know we don't always do things right but it's times like this when I'm reminded that for all the negative press we may see about the U.S., in general, we are appreciated. We are a land of immigrants where people can come to pursue whatever dream they may have, where people can come to worship as they wish (or not worship at all) where with a dream and hard work (ok, and a little bit of luck) you can move up the ladder. 

I love to travel- about that there is no doubt but, I also love my country with a passion. I have always been proud to be an American and have no problem telling that to anyone I meet. I once was listening to a BBC radio program where I heard one of the announcers talking about "America and the green card lottery". He said "of course, Americans have no idea how lucky they are, they've already won that lottery". Coming from a Brit, this had even more of an impact on me. So, today and every day I'm proud to say that I did win that lottery and would not want to live anywhere else. God Bless America! 

Looking and listening from different perspectives

I was pretty sure before I left for my Sicilian trip that I was going to have a different mindset than I did when I was in Turkey. And as I predicted, I do feel completely different and here's why - it's all about familiarity. 

 There are many things that are similar about Turkey and Sicily- both places have a reputation for being more dangerous than they really are, both are considered more "machisimo", both have a very strong link to the predominant religion of the country (and in both places the majority of the people are more about secular than the religious aspect). And yet, you cannot seperate the country from the religion. In Turkey, five times a day we heard the call to prayer go out where an imam read from the quran. In Sicily, we hear on the hour, the song "Immaculate Mary" ring out across the city. I have to be honest, when I first heard the call to prayer, I was a bit spooked and then after awhile I became curious as to what actually was being said. Here in Sicily, I know the song and actually look forward to the stroke of a new hour when I can cheerfully hum along to the song.

Also, in both places, I have seen the "man bag" used quite a bit. And while I was put off at the thought in Turkey, it makes me chuckle in Sicily (big, burly men carrying a bag :-). I have to ask myself "what, then, is the difference?" and the only answer I can come up with is "it's all about what you're used to". Although I'm not Sicilian, I have many Sicilian friends and acquiantances so I'm familiar with much of the culture. Furthermore, I am of the same religion as more than 90% of Italy's inhabitants (even if they don't really practice) and so, it just feels like home. I think it's very important that we acknowledge are biases so that we can learn how to expand our horizons. If we do not acknowledge that we are looking at things from only one point of view, we risk missing out on some beautiful experiences whether it be witnessing a call to prayer or humming along to Immaculate Mary.

Le parolacce

There are certain things that a foreign language student learns as they are reaching a "fully conversational" level in the foreign language. These items include: 

1. Idioms 

2. Colloquial expressions 

3. "the bad words"- beyond the obvious 

Today we learned the bad words that Italians, especially Sicilians, use. It was a bit of a strange lesson for me because generally, I don't use too many of these words. I decided not to protest, as on of my classmates did, and go with the flow. I thought, "even though I don't use these words, if someone is using them about me I want to know what they mean". The bottom line is, I never knew you could say "stupid" and "prostitute" in so many ways. The ironic thing is that not all of these words are used in the perjorative. Most of the time, these words are used among friends in a joking manner. And while I may never call someone a "caglione", it's good to know what it means and how to use it!

Sicilian Sunday

As expected, a Sicilian Sunday is much more relaxed than a Sunday at home. Many of the stores are closed at least part of the day, if not all day. I didn't know if the stores here would close or not because this is definitely a tourist town. I was glad to see they did! Although it may be old-fashioned, I like the idea of a slower life on Sunday where the primary purpose is to have dinner with family and friends. I appreciate that the family is still the primary focus of life here.

A trip to a Sicilian store

Either I'm crazy or I just can't turn off my marketing brain or maybe it's a little of both. Whenever I travel, one of my big excursions is to go to the grocery store to check out the "marcas" (brands) to see what is the same, what's different, what could be the same product just repackaged differently. 

Today, I went to the supermarket to see what I could find. It was interesting as I walked down all the aisles I noticed that there were a few global brands but more regional than global. Of course, there was "THE" global brand, Coca-Cola. My students get tired of me talking about Coca-Cola but it is for good reason as they are one of the companies that has figured out how to effectively market their product around the world. 

Another discovery today, it's true, Barilla is the pasta of Italy. In an aisle of nothing but pasta, Barilla occupied 3/4 of shelf space. It was nice to know that there is "truth in advertising". 

Sicilian Stereotypes

As I said last month, stereotypes are not easy to move beyond! Yesterday, we were taking an introductory tour to Taormina to get to know the important places of where we'll be living for the next weeks. There was a lot of talk about how "Il Padrino" (the first Godfather) was filmed not too far from here. Stores readily take advantage of this fact as you cannot walk down the main shopping street without seeing Marlon Brando's image everywhere. 

Is it any wonder then, when on a Monday afternoon when we see a bride and her dad pulling up in a vintage vehicle with a whole slew of Sicilians standing in the background, that one immediately thinks "Il Padrino"? Italians (especially Sicilians) have tried to overcome the stereotype of "If you're Italian, you're mafia." I've traveled here extensively and I have never encountered anything that I could definitively say WAS mafia. And yet, the first thing that I thought of was "mafia" when I saw the whole scene. 

 

I'm not the only one with stereotypes. My host mom was telling me that her son is staying in Ireland and he doesn't like it all that much because Irish don't have any culture, all they do is drink. Yes, it's true that the Irish like to drink however, not all Irish are drunks and they do have culture! It's amazing to me how we can let these stereotypes blur our vision about another group of people.

Traveling from the heart

I've discovered that when your travels come from your heart, it's like heaven on earth! What do I mean "travling from the heart"? There are places that you can go that touch your heart in ways that are just precious. 

For me, Italy is such a place. I have no idea why or when my love affair with all things Italian started but it was a very long time ago. As a child, I would always imagine what it would be like to travel to Italy. I'm very blessed that I've had so many opportunities to come here. 

 For the next few weeks, Sicilia will be my home. If Italy was always consideration for me, Sicilia was the preferred destination. Again, I have no idea why that is. Maybe it's because so many friends are of Sicilian descent, maybe it is my love of food typical from Sicilia, maybe it's a curiosity about the Mafia. Whatever it is, I can honestly say that I'm glad that I came here. I can't say one way or another, yet, how Sicilia compares with the rest of Italy. I can say that where I'm staying is picture perfect and would not be classified any other way as spectacular. So, for those who may think that Sicilia is going to a third world country, think again. There may be parts that leave much to be desired, but there are definitely parts that will take your breath away!

Sicilia, finalmente!

As I'm getting ready to leave on my vacation to Sicily, some may say "well, didn't you have a vacation already this summer?". My reply is "no". Turkey was work, Sicily is all play! I was thinking about how I felt before going to Turkey- apprehensive and a bit nervous. I have none of this for my Sicily trip. I'm excited! I can't wait to get to see Sicily and confirm that it is everything that I've imagined it to be. After comparing my "pre-trip" sentiments for both trips, I couldn't help what was the difference? I'd never been to either place, both are rich in history and tradition, there is much to see and do and yet, I know my feelings are quite different. The only thing I can think of is "familiarity". Although I don't have an ounce of Italian blood in me, I've always had an affinity towards all things Italian. Since I was a child, I've imagined what Sicily must look, smell and taste like. I'm blessed to be able to finally get the chance. I'm confident that my imagination probably doesn't do it justice but that's the beauty of travel, I'll soon find out.

Legs

This will be a two-fer since the Internet was down yesterday! Yesterday morning I posted on my Facebook page "today's word is "legs"". I had been running for the first three days of the trip in Istanbul. Wednesday was the first day that I went a bit later. I was amazed at the reaction of people on the streets and in cars. I thought "it's like they've never seen this before". Then, I thought, it was quite possible that they hadn't. Running is not a common thing here in Turkey and you can rest assure, neither is walking around in short spandex running shorts. It's hard for me not to have an opinion on what I see going on with the women especially those who walk about in the "full gear". They just look miserable. Generally, the ensemble is black or dark tones and it doesn't exactly look like it's made of silk. It's hot and humid here and these women are loaded down. I know, I'm looking at things through my own bias but I can honestly say that I'm sure at the very least these outfits are not comfortable. Then we have the men, on the other hand, who are appropriately dressed for the weather strutting around the streets very comfortably. And, in case they need to freshen up later, they are carrying their nice little "man bag". I have never thought of myself as a "women's libber"- I like being a lady and love it when a man takes charge. The scenes that I've seen play out over the last few days make me very sad. Although everywhere we have been, the people say that women are given equal rights and are treated equal I really find it hard to believe. I'll end this post on a happy thought- as I was getting ready to write this blog- I heard Gangnam Style blasting from down the street at 10:30 pm. It made me chuckle as I thought "we really are more alike than different"

It's all about TP!

TP- Trade, Politics and Press were today's themes. We started the day off meeting with the deputy mayor and a few city planners were we discussed everything from the city's support of the arts, balancing modernity and antiquity and the green movement. One thing that I couldn't help notice during the conversation is how it really is true that when you don't speak the language, it can "tip the scale" in a business deal. It's true that we weren't negotiating a deal but we were using our tour guide as the translator. I'm convinced that the deput mayor knew some English, his two colleagues were completely fluent. In any case, he had the benefit of hearing our conversation in English and then hearing it again in Turkish. It was a great meeting and he was a very open to our conversation, it is just something that we anglophones need to be aware of. It is true that English is the lingua franca but we should remember we are at a disadvantage in speaking in only English at a meeting as the other party has the benefit of hearing the conversation twice- once when we say it and then again when it is translated. Of course, politics has an impact on trade and the press. It was interesting to hear that Turkey's number one selling newspaper only came into existence 26 years ago because before that, there was no such thing as a "free press" and even know the government does have influence over what's published. The trade piece was most interesting for me, of course, It was fabulous to see how things like lowering taxes, support for ex-pats, assurance of legal rights has catapulted this economy into a position to compete with the BRICs.

An interesting look at Islam

As suspected, the trip is providing interesting insight into Turkey and Islam. As I mentioned before, I knew very little about Islam before the trip. Today, the whole day was centered about touring cultural and religious sites. And, as I like to say the culture cannot be seperated from the relgion, the whole day was focused on religion. I learned many things about Islam - many of the tenets are along the same lines as Christianity. I started to wonder if most people could come on a tour such as this if they wouldn't come to a very different idea about what Islam is and isn't. I'm particularly enjoying one of the young men on this trip who is a devout Muslim. He is almost giddy with all the goings on here in Istanbul. He is a great ambassador for the faith. I wonder how people might react to seeing someone like him promoting Islam rather than the images that we see in the media night after night. I know, a young, clean cut, soft-spoken, young man is not what the media want us to see.

"It's Turkish to me!"

Wow! New country, new experiences and new challenges. I was thinking on the bus ride to the hotel that this was the first time I had ever been in a country where I had absolutely no knowledge of the language. Even when I was in Greece, I was able to at least get a sense of the word. My brief tenure as a sorority girl was good for something. It is a strange experience to look at a word or phrase and not know if it means "exit", "hello" or "sale". I feel a bit helpless that I cannot make heads or tails out of anything. On the other hand, the only place to go is up from here. The people have been more than accommodating in helping me muddle my way through this language. In any case, it is good to be humbled by an experience such as this!

"Turkey time!"

The other day, I had the opportunity to meet with the Irish Ambassador to the United States at a very quiet dinner function. The first thing he asked me was "what do you do?" and when I told him that I was a college professor teaching International Business he asked, "is there much interest in Europe?" to which I replied "Yes, there is because the instructor is "Euro-centric". This comment gave him a chuckle but it is, in fact, true. I am Eurocentric- it's my heritage and it's what I feel comfortable with. I grew up on the "Southside" of Chicago where everyone looked like me and had a similar story to tell. We were all Christian, predominantly Catholic, whose parents and grandparents had immigrated earlier in the 20th century. They came from Ireland, Poland, Germany, Italy and Spain. It was rare to find someone who was not Christian- I think I could count them on one hand. So, what's this little trip down memory lane have to do with anything? Well, today I'm getting ready to embark on a great new adventure to a completely different part of the world. A part that I know very little about except on the surface, they're not like me. I'm going to Turkey- a great emerging economy that has a an interesting past and a fabulous future. A country that situated mostly in Asia but there is a part of it in Europe. In fact, one of the two most important cities, Istanbul straddles Europe and Asia. I am sure that there is some symbolism there. A country that while 98% of the population is Muslim, has a secular government. A country that is trying to join the European Union, and encountering resistance from the E.U. Many believe the less than enthusiastic acceptance of Turkey is because of the difference in religion. The current E.U. states, all of them Christian- many of them Catholic, are dragging their feet on giving final approval to Turkey. And the worst kept secret as to why they are dragging their feet, I stated it before "they're not like me". Silly? Yes, it is but humans are not always rational. This particular trip I'm not traveling alone as I usually do. I'm tagging along on this trip with the Political Science department to gain a better understanding. Yes, an understanding of the politics but also many other pieces as well. We will be visiting with many political leaders along with university professors and business people. The trip is being coordinated through a foundation that is focused on bringing the three Abrahamic religions to create a dialog where we can find a mutual understanding. It has been my experience that the more we get to know one another, the more it becomes apparent that we have more in common than different. As I get ready to go on this trip, I'm reminded of a conversation that I had with a wise coworker many years ago. She said "I'm biased but I'm working to get over that". I agree with her, we all have biases whether based on religion, ethnicity, race or gender. I'm hoping that on my trip that I can start to better understand the Turkish point of view and become more open because of it.