andiamo lontano
forte, forte
arriva la morte
Piano piano, le miei amici (my friends). Go slowly, no rush. Quindici minuti in ritardo (fifteen minutes late)? No, you're right on time! Cominciamo (let's begin)! (Piano piano is my excuse for the time it took to post this!)
That ^ right there, is my favorite cultural note on Italia. It is so my pace, mio ritmo di vita, my rhythm of life. Negli Stati Uniti (in the United States), I'm always late for the first thing of my day. I can be on time consistently for like two and a half weeks max, then I just piano piano. It really is the best excuse, and I have been using it for everything, and plan to continue this trend, possibly per sempre :).
Along with slow and steady comes clarity and positive observations. Me amo (I love) the little things about Perugia that make it one of the most interesting places I've ever seen, and I've barely made it past the center of the city yet:
Me amo the streetsweepers' brooms... this commercial product literally looks like it was borrowed from The Salem Witch Museum (in Salem, Massachusetts, of course... Shout out!). I've seen street sweeper guys actually use them to clean up Piazza Quattro Novembre (though they don't wear the color arancia here):
Me amo Le Poste Italiane macchine (the Italian postal system cars, or should I say clown car mobiles). They actually deliver mail in these things. No wonder it typically takes forever to receive mail; they can't fit all of it! And big packages, now just forget it. There is a trunk that holds the mail:
E me amo to see Italian kids walking home from la scuola media (middle school), some with their outgoing D&G polos and fashionable jeans, some wearing insecurities in their sweatshirts and Converse, but all with a style to call their own. It reminds me of 1) how much I miss working with this population (Shout out to Gordon College La Vida Adventure Camp, both kids and staff of past, present and future summers!); 2) how malleable these kids are as they try to figure out their identities; and 3), how even though their language is different, ancora chiacchierano (they're still chatting/making small talk), and gossiping about the same things, like who likes who, and what their teachers said that day, and homework, and always what they're so excited about doing next =).
These few things above I've noticed don't really tell you (or me for that matter) all that much about Perugia. They are interesting notes, sure. But I've realized that I've piano piano-ed long enough now. I've taken my time getting used to the piccolissimo part of this city in centro I see everyday, and now it's time to explore beyond my schema's tiny borders. Part of me wishes I could have seen more already, but cicia. That's my new favorite word thanks to my new absolutely awesome Italian roommate (Shout out to Valentina!) :). It's definitely not standard Italian, I'm almost positive on that, but it basically means 'whatever; no worries' and it meshes perfectly with the piano piano mentality I've adopted :).
Anyway, Valentina helped me realize that I basically know nothing about Perugia. And that's a comforting thought, let me assure you. It took a while, but I'm finally realizing that (in a Bob Barker Price is Right voice, of course) WAIT, THERE'S MORE! YOU'VE WON A NEW
Woah?! Two+ month vacation in una bellissima città in Umbria? Studying the language and culture? Having the opportunity to see all there is in Perugia, and Umbria, and wherever else your time off and attainable bucket list might take you?
And then it really hit me:
I'm already here.
I'm actually doing this.
So what am I waiting for?
There's so much more!
I just received an guide to the Umbria region in the mail (Shout out to my mom) and it wouldn't hurt to play tourist at all. Now I'm certainly not going to rush through anything, because then I would be disrespecting this piano piano business. But maybe if I mush 85 parts piano piano with 15 parts Amurrican efficiency that I'm sure I can conjure up, I might have a solid chance at seeing most of what I want by 16 dicembre.
I still really miss and have a greater appreciation now for Beverly and Plymouth, my centers of which the world obviously revolves around because I say they do. But I'm ready to play piano all over Perugia and it's grander (country of) Italy counterpart.
One more thing. Perugia really is cooler now. I took a one month A2 level (language, obviously) course in September and just moved up to B1 for the remaining time I'm here (the levels go as follows: A1, A2 for beginners; B1, B2 for intermediate; C1, C2 for advanced/mastery). I'm happy with where I'm at :). Perhaps this is why Perugia is cooler. The place itself certainly hasn't changed. But I guess I have, improved at least. In terms of language, when I exert the energy, I can understand a great deal of what people are saying. Already I understand almost everything said in class because the professors tend to speak clearly and excentuate their points. And as one of my roommates (that already left ]= ) pointed out, Italians really do use a couple guttural noises as words. My landlord did it today. I probably laughed a little too much, but cicia ;). I'd also say I've gotten a bit more comfortable with the general way of life here. I even met some nice Italians, both ragazze (girls/ young adult women) and even ragazzi (in this case, boys/ young adult men, but it can also mean a mixed crowd). Not all of them are sketchy and desperate balding old men, or way-too-touchy drunkards all up in my grill. Good to know :). So I guess what really has improved is my schema and perception of Perugia more than anything else. I guess I'll take that. Piano piano.
Ci vediamo.
Pace/Paz/Peace,
Haley
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