Ciao Bella!

If you really want to learn something and not just learn it, but understand and be able to use it, everyone knows the best way to do so is through immersion. If you're a high school student who wants to get better at basketball for potentially playing at college, go to an inner city gym and get involved in the pickup games. If you want to learn how to cook for yourself? Grab a cookbook and move out of the house. All of a sudden, mom's/dad's not there for you making every meal anymore... but you still need to eat. You learn to cook. Rosetta Stone and other immersion programs have made millions by putting this concept into practice to teach languages. I, by no means, have in the last few days become conversational in Italian (though we do constantly pick up new phrases/words used daily, which is nice), but I am starting to quickly learn, through the immersion, about this culture that is so very similar, yet worlds apart.

As I've said time and time before- driving is 100% different, street signs mean next to nothing, and apparently, from what I've heard from locals, in Napoli (a trip a few of us plan to take this weekend), they mean even less. And not only is road traffic different, but foot traffic as well. For the first few days whenever I was walking one way on the sidewalk and someone was walking towards me, we always seemed to do the impromptu and sometimes very awkward dance that occurs as each person tries to let the other pass by moving one direction, but inevitably the other moves the same direction. And this continues in the strange sort of two-step shuffle that we're all too familiar with. So I continued this dance a few times each day walking to and from class until I had an epiphany -hold onto your seats- people here, walk on the left!!! Armed with only knowing that, I was able to walk sans dancing all the way home.

So to celebrate that realization (sure, that's a good reason) and because we didn't have class early, a few of us went out last night. And boy did we learn even more. So in order to keep this short enough to read and not grow old- I'll spare some details.

"Ciao Bella!" (Hey beautiful). Those two words are all you can hear while walking down streets at night, it's really something else. Italian males, ages 7-70, feel it is not only their right, but their duty, to comment on every female he fancies who walks past. Of course, to attempt not be biased, American girls in particular don't really help themselves go unnoticed while wearing a mini-skirt and low cut top- but even the modestly dressed are assured of at least a "Very nice", once or twice. Going right along with that, Italian men are incredibly possessive. If, in return for a "ciao bella", the men receive a smile, this, in their minds, is the green light from the woman and he will not, will not stop talking to her until it is verbally clear she wants nothing to do with him. As... incorrect as it may sound, women are seen as almost possessions here. Not to a Biblical extreme or anything, but so that it is just noticeable. You can walk into a bar with a beautiful girl with you, a few paces behind her and she will be hit on by no less than 10 men. However, walk into the same bar, with the same girl, with your arm around her/holding her hand, or even close enough to show you're together and the men will glance at her (an actual glance, not stare at her and look her up and down), look you in the eyes and nod respectfully. As bad as it is that it's necessary, it's very impressive. The role of "The Man" here is much more pronounced than in the states.

More epiphanies, I'm sure, to come later- but I have to get ready for class :-( at the moment. I do, however, think I may have finished up figuring out my schedule. So here it is (Mom, I tried messaging you earlier, but to no avail. So you have to find out at the same time as everyone else, sorry :-P):
Mon and Wed: Western Civ
Tues and Thurs: Public International Law, International Organizations
Everyday: Intensive Italian (101 and 102 combined)


Ciao!