ciao, tutti frutti

[itsolivia]

hey there,

ok, here is an update. before that, i have to tell you...of all the things men yell at you when you are walking down the street, i have been getting "Ciao, Tutti Frutti!" the most. what is that about?

mondaysince most everything is closed on Monday in Italy, especially Monday AM, i decided to sleep in. and since the things that are

Comments

Re: Italian Politics

[itsolivia]

oh awesome. Sandra, there is a great book called The Dark Heart of Italy, which explores how Italy's political makeup is so closely tied to its cultural makeup. you would love it. the country is a political mess. Basically, Italy has so many small political groups, each which are splintered from Italys past of either Communist Left or Fascist Right. they have no middle. Many people think Berlusconi was re-elected, even after his resignation and tax fraud and bribery etc, because of his media ties. the man is a media mogul, and he is totally proud of it. the main Milan newspaper, soccer teams, tv stations, radio stations....its totally fascinating. and then how the media is tied into Soccer. which is even MORE fascinating, since if you are going to pull the people in, use soccer, since everyone loves it here. the whole country is corrupted by something.

not only is the country a political mess, but most Italians hate Italy as a country. but they LOVE, to bits and pieces, the area they come from. so most people say "I hate Italy, but I LOVE _____" (Campania, Sicilia, Verona, Lucca, etc etc).

its a nice breath of fresh air from the gilded way americans see Italy: "ooooh, Florence....oooh the art....oooh, Mildred, try the pasta.....oooh look at the cute Vespa" etc.

i had dinner the other night with Italians lamenting Berlusconi but also lamenting the fact that this is the only country in the EU that doesnt have some form of nucleur generator. BUT they pay more here to pull in energy from the french border, which comes from a nucleur generator. so they pay more, to be green, but in the end, if something explodes, its not like some magical Italian Wall goes up to shield Italians froma nuceleur explosion.

man, i can go on and on. but im gonna go read Portrait of a Lady instead.

hahahaha! :)