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| Snowing in front of our apartment |
This is our first blog post since before leaving for Christmas in Seattle, which was enjoyable but thought provoking. It was the first time back in the States in over a year, meaning the first time to drive a car, go to a mega supermarket, be in a house instead of an apartment, etc. in over a year. It was surprising how everything was simultaneously different yet the same. Upon returning, I read various blogs and articles comparing Italy and the US, but I have concluded that isn't a comparison that can truly be made. It depends on what part of Italy and what part of the US you are comparing--you can no more say all of Italy and all Italians are the same than you can say all of the US and all Americans are the same. Seattle and New York probably have as many differences between them as Seattle and Arezzo, with pluses and minuses on both sides of the equation.
Arezzo has the edge over Seattle in culture, history, and beautiful monuments, churches, and ancient winding streets. Seattle wins in gardens, greenery, streets wide enough to drive on, and beautiful water and mountain views. Seattle has many more types of cuisine--there is a Chinese restaurant in Arezzo and some hamburger joints, but that is it for foreign food here. However, the overall freshness and quality of the food in Arezzo is better, The slow pace of service and the length of time it takes to get through a meal might annoy Seattleites trying to get back to work, but we like it since we have no work to get back to and it gives us a chance to chat with the other patrons and staff.
I was asked by a friend what I miss about Seattle when I am in Italy, other than my daughter. My first thought was mexican food. I didn't think of it at the time, but I should have answered "clean public bathrooms with toilet paper, soap and towels." That is a combination almost never found in Italy, and women with any length of time here know to carry a pocket pack of kleenex whenever venturing into a public restroom. One thing that the US does better than Italy is plumbing. Our giant showers, luxurious tubs, and plentiful (and cheap) hot water seem excessive when compared to the tiny showers and cramped bathrooms common here.
Seattle, and the US generally, also win in ease of getting things done. Bemoaning the bureaucracy is practically a national pastime here, and they do seem to have ways of making things more complicated and time consuming than they need to be. Enel, the light and gas provider, has sent people to our apartment 5 different times to fill out forms in triplicate--once because they charged 35 euros too much on our bill. Instead of just giving us a credit on the next bill, there were 3 phone calls and 2 in person visits to fill out paperwork in triplicate, followed by 2 follow up calls to ask if the people were "gentile e cortese.' (polite and courteous--they were). Many things we would take care of online or over the phone in the US require multiple trips to the sportello here. Renewing my driver's license in person at the DMV in Seattle when I was back home took 12 minutes start to finish, and the people were friendly and efficient. In contrast, it takes multiple hours and multiple visits to get anything done here, and often the people charged with accomplishing the task don't seem too sure of what they are doing. Eventually, though, it gets taken care of and we all have an espresso. However, "Nordstrom" style customer service generally doesn't exist here. The customer is not always right and it is virtually impossible to return something, even if it is defective. The pleasantries and 'have a nice day' encountered in Seattle may be fake but it makes transactions more pleasant. Italian sales clerks can be curt and uninterested. On the other hand, sometimes you end up in an interesting conversation and spend a half hour chatting about all of their favorite spots to see in Italy and their nonna's recipe for tortellini--not something likely to happen in Seattle.
Italy definitely wins the Carnevale competition! We celebrated our return to Italy and Tom's birthday with a few days in Florence, then went to Viareggio for their famous carnevale parade, followed by a couple of days in nearby Lucca. I am attaching a video slideshow of the carnevale trip for those who want to see it. Buon divertimento!
I was asked by a friend what I miss about Seattle when I am in Italy, other than my daughter. My first thought was mexican food. I didn't think of it at the time, but I should have answered "clean public bathrooms with toilet paper, soap and towels." That is a combination almost never found in Italy, and women with any length of time here know to carry a pocket pack of kleenex whenever venturing into a public restroom. One thing that the US does better than Italy is plumbing. Our giant showers, luxurious tubs, and plentiful (and cheap) hot water seem excessive when compared to the tiny showers and cramped bathrooms common here.
Seattle, and the US generally, also win in ease of getting things done. Bemoaning the bureaucracy is practically a national pastime here, and they do seem to have ways of making things more complicated and time consuming than they need to be. Enel, the light and gas provider, has sent people to our apartment 5 different times to fill out forms in triplicate--once because they charged 35 euros too much on our bill. Instead of just giving us a credit on the next bill, there were 3 phone calls and 2 in person visits to fill out paperwork in triplicate, followed by 2 follow up calls to ask if the people were "gentile e cortese.' (polite and courteous--they were). Many things we would take care of online or over the phone in the US require multiple trips to the sportello here. Renewing my driver's license in person at the DMV in Seattle when I was back home took 12 minutes start to finish, and the people were friendly and efficient. In contrast, it takes multiple hours and multiple visits to get anything done here, and often the people charged with accomplishing the task don't seem too sure of what they are doing. Eventually, though, it gets taken care of and we all have an espresso. However, "Nordstrom" style customer service generally doesn't exist here. The customer is not always right and it is virtually impossible to return something, even if it is defective. The pleasantries and 'have a nice day' encountered in Seattle may be fake but it makes transactions more pleasant. Italian sales clerks can be curt and uninterested. On the other hand, sometimes you end up in an interesting conversation and spend a half hour chatting about all of their favorite spots to see in Italy and their nonna's recipe for tortellini--not something likely to happen in Seattle.
Italy definitely wins the Carnevale competition! We celebrated our return to Italy and Tom's birthday with a few days in Florence, then went to Viareggio for their famous carnevale parade, followed by a couple of days in nearby Lucca. I am attaching a video slideshow of the carnevale trip for those who want to see it. Buon divertimento!
