#11: Tourists, Foreigners and Locals
Dear Nonni,
David began the long trek to Australia last week, and it's just been me and the bambini here in Lucca for the last seven days. We are halfway through as he returns next Tuesday afternoon - assuming all flights run to schedule! It would not be much of an exaggeration to say that I will be counting the hours in the final few days. Luckily the two little humans have been quite well-behaved. Some gelato bribery always helps in moments of desperation as well!
Leo's claim to fame at school is that he eats more than most of the primary school aged children. Every afternoon when I pick him up now I am told how much he ate, with general airs of amazement from the teachers. Each afternoon they pin a sheet of paper to the noticeboard by the entrance which details how much of each course a child has eaten. The parents study this intently each afternoon, without exception. One day they had forgotten to put it out yet and there was much consternation.
Each day the children are given frutta in the morning, primi, secondi and contorni for lunch, and a merenda (snack) in the afternoon. The code goes as follows: N is niente (ate nothing), P equals poco (a little bit), Q equals qualcosa (some) and T equals tutto (all of it). Leo has a special code. T+ which equals two or more full serves!
We are approaching the three month mark of our time here in Lucca, which has absolutely flown by. It feels a momentous milestone - no longer being just another blow in here on a 90-day tourist visa, but a proper resident of the city.
On Saturday we finally had our visit from the polizia to confirm that we did indeed live where we claimed to live. Atrocious Italian aside, I muddled through the questions (helped immeasurably by Raffy who snuck out to see what was happening and immediately won the heart of the officer) and seemed to say mostly the right things in response.
When I think about the people I see everyday in and around Lucca, three distinct groups form in my mind. Tourists, Italians - and then a third group. Foreign residents. The tourist category doesn't need much in the way of describing - safe to say these people include the groups absolutely clogging up the main streets (completely unaware of all the people, bikes, trucks, ambulances, etc trying to get by) and the loud, lycra-clad, backpack wearing hikers clattering around with walking poles in the middle of the town. Tourists order a cappuccino after lunch and don't even attempt to speak a word of Italian - just louder English.
Luckily the transition from tourist to foreign resident only takes a small amount of effort, and of course some self-awareness. Lucca has plenty of foreign residents. Unfortunately the transition from this to proper Italian appears to be much more difficult to achieve. In fact, it may never happen. I've met a few people here who have lived in Italy for 20+ years and they are absolutely not Italian. It's not a physical thing (although some people just look British, don't they?) or anything to do with their language skills, but there is something different about the mentality of people raised here.
Why are they so quick to passionate temper over one thing, while completely nonplussed by others? I cannot tell you the number of times in the past three months that I have become instantly enraged by having to wait behind a car stopped so that the driver can have a long and detailed chat with their friend they just saw on the side of the road, while everyone else just sits and waits without even so much as a thought to honking their horn. It's wild.
But then, I take a breath and reconsider, why am I rushing by default? I have nowhere I need to go quickly. Why does my unnecessary haste trump someone else's desire to chat with a friend they might not have seen in a while? I can't answer that, beyond an inane 'it's a road and roads are for driving' type defence. Certainly I have a lot of unlearning to do in this department!
Although the Australian devil on my shoulder does ask why they couldn't just pull over to the side so the rest of us could still get by...
In any case, when I figure it out I will let you know. Maybe Raffy will be able to explain it to me in a few months' time?!
Lots of love,
Kate
