Italian Youth and Sports (read Soccer)

September 14th

Today will almost certainly be the most terrifying day so far.  I've made it through the first week relatively unscathed with only a few social faux pas each day. Last night I asked for tap water at the restaurant and I'm surprised my cranium doesn't have two holes burned through it by the waiter's eyes. Today, though, today is soccer, or should I say football, tryouts and today will be terrifying. Italians do have a certain reputation that precedes them in the world of World Cups.  They're the reigning World Champions for God's sake and they've earned that title more times than anyone except Brazil, but I've got to stay focused and remember that I won't be playing against Zidane or Luca Toni, these are just other college age players and their heritage doesn't make them faster or stronger, just more passionate perhaps. I'm not exactly a novice to this game either, I've played since I was six, indoor and select till high school and then on the school team where I made captain as a junior. It is not quite the same though "soccer" doesn't permeate every aspect of life in the U.S. the way football does over here. I didn't eat, breathe and sleep football the same way that these Italians do.  It will certainly be interesting to see how I stack up.

September 15th

It's hard to be terrified when you're furious.  Yesterday went nothing like I had anticipated I can't believe those chovanistic pigs what right do they have to a relative monopoly on soccer.  Sorry, I'm ranting give me a moment to reign in my enraged feminist side and I'll explain it to you.  Ok . . . so I hardly even remember being at school yesterday, all I could think about was trying out for the team after class.  To tell the truth I probably should have just skipped, I would have gotten about the same amount out of it and it would have given me a chance to work out a few nerves on the practice field.  Anyhow the bell finally rings signalling my release from my economics class and I bolt for the door like a horse in pursuit of the Triple Crown.  After quickly donning the necessary gear in the bathroom since I have no idea where, or even if, they have a girls locker room, I head down to the field as expediently as I can without appearing to hurry.  As the field swings into view I witness a fantastic breakaway followed by a miraculous save and I feel my heart rate jump another 20 or so beats per minute until I realize that this is clearly the guys team.  Feeling both relief and a little disappointment that I wouldn't be competing with these talented players, I scanned the horizon for the girls team, and discovered that there was no girls team in sight.  Slightly confused I simply stood and loitered for a few moments as I attempted to discern what had gone wrong with my plan.  After ten minutes or so I had come to the conclusion that I must be in the wrong place and I worked up the courage to go over and ask one of the male soccer players in my fragmented Italian where the women's soccer team was practicing. In retrospect I should have realized something was wrong simply by the curious and bemused expressions of the guys as I approached, but at that moment I was oblivious. I approached a player on the sidelines and introduced myself.  His name was Davide and he kindly pointed me in the direction of a practice field a few hundred meters away.  A short walk later and I found myself staring at a group of football players that did not appear quite as competitive as those I had just left.  The field they were practicing on told half the story, whereas the boys had been playing on beautifully manicured grass this was debatable as to whether it could even be referred to as grass seeming to be a 50/50 mix between vegetation and barren earth.  Feeling my heart plunge somewhere into my left cleat I forced myself to introduce myself and go through the motions but I already knew that this was not the competitive atmosphere that I was seeking. It wasn't necessarily that these girls were bad at soccer it was more that no one had ever expected greatness out of them. None of them had ever dreamed of being a soccer player, thats just not something that conforms to the traditional gender roles in Italy.  Practice ended after a scrimmage that's score resembled the football I'm used to more than Italian football at 7-3. As I trudged home dejectedly a tap on the shoulder shattered my reverie, it was the boy I had asked for assistance earlier, Davide, "You played quite good today" he began in a cute Italian accent before I spat back venomously "Yeah? well what good does that do when everyone else I'm forced to play with sucks." Taking it in stride he chuckled, "You should come play with me and my friends sometime, its not official but we play hard." "Yeah, maybe . . ." I glowered before parting ways.

September 21st

So after a week of sulking I finally decided to take Davide up on his offer. I spent a few days venting my frustration by simply dominating the girls team but after I had calmed down I realized I was being childish and that these lopsided match ups weren't particularly fun for me or my opponents, so I quit the girls team.  This however left me in the awkward position of not having anyone to play soccer with, something I hadn't really experienced in over a decade.  It was only a matter of time before I caved and asked Davide if I could play with him and his friends, regardless of how irate I had been over the offer initially; which truthfully was more because I had been in quite a bad mood at the time, not because the offer was in any way offensive. So late Thursday night I made my way back to the University football fields where this had all began. There I stumbled upon something I had been missing, pure unadulterated love of the game.  There were no age limits nor gender exclusion here, things like that were immaterial.  The teams were still for the most part all guys but there was a girl here or there brave enough to play with them. I spotted Davide and beelined over to him where he introduced me to his friends Enso and Deangelo. Then we began to play and I forgot about everything else.  I've never seen people play so hard for a game that had no consequence.  Whether they won or lost they wouldn't gain or lose anything from this match yet goalies still dove for every save, midfielders still sprinted back and forth across the field and forwards fought passionately for the ball. After the last few days the competition felt glorious. Instead of playing down to someone's level I was being forced to play as well as I ever had, these guys were good, very good.  Two and a half hours went by in the blink of an eye and my team lost a heartbreaking 2 to 1. As the players began to meander off to their respective homes Davide and I and a few others simply collapsed onto the field sprawling, sitting or laying as befitted each person's preference. There we bonded over the sweet sense of exhaustion that had soaked into our muscles and for the first time in at least a month I felt a sense of belonging. As I lay there enjoying the experience of doing nothing for a few moments a voice, Deangelo's voice, intruded, "Do you like AS Roma or SS Lazio" He said in a surprisingly serious tone. Taking a panorama of the faces around me I recognized the question for what it was, a test. Luckily I had been forewarned about this particular pitfall and taking into account that I was in the inner more populous section of Rome I answered confidently, "AS Roma." That seemed to completely shatter any remaining ice, before they had  been cordial, and amiable now they were downright familial. It's amazing how much a soccer team can define identity over here. Over the course of the next half hour or so I must have been asked to come to dinner at least fifteen times, but the invitation that sticks with me was from Davide's friend Enso.  He approached me almost shyly and said, "Me and a few friends are going to the AS Roma game this Sunday, would you like to come?" Taken off guard I nodded dumbly in the affirmative.

September 25th

Today was my first A S Roma game and let me tell you it was quite the experience.  Imagine the most raucous, extreme football or basketball game you've been to and then imagine what it would have been like if everyone there was twice as passionate and you'll begin to have an idea of what its like.  There truly isn't an equivalent in the states, admittedly there are select groups of football or basketball fans who rival the Italians for passion, but what differentiates calcio (Italian for soccer) is that it encompasses everyone.  We arrived a half hour early and the stadium was already nearly full.  As we waited excitedly more and more fans filtered in till the arena seemed as if it might burst from the strain.  Enso explained to me that this game, against FC Barcelona was extremely important as both teams were exceptionally good.  He pointed out the huge number of fans who had traveled from Barcelona to cheer for their team.  A few sections of fans seemed exceptionally fired up and even had organized signs and cheers.  I asked about them and was told that they were ultras, a sort of fan club made up mostly of youth whose objective was to attend as many of their teams games as possible and do as much as possible to ensure that they won. Then the game begun and conversation became impossible as the stadium grew even louder, I feat I had thought implausible only minutes before.  The blue and red of Barcelona swirled together with the orange red and black of Roma the players constantly in motion in a display reminiscent of choreography, all the more spectacular due to its spontanaeity.  When Tutti fired a shot past the goalies outstretched fingers and into the corner in the forty-seventh minute the stadium exploded.  A bystander unaware of the source of the noice may have believed that the heavens themselves had torn asunder and some divine being was descending bringing with him apocalyptic wrath.  In the seventy-third minute a Barcelona player whose name I didn't catch made a miraculous header off of a corner kick, returning balance to the anxiety of the two congregations where as Barcelona had bourne the majority of it while the score lay uneven.  The goalies performed exceptionally for the rest of the game, as if to make up for the fact that their honor had been besmirched earlier in the evening, and the match came to a close with the score tied 1-1.  I lingered for a while in the stadium and silently observed what had been the noisiest place on earth for three hours gradually become as quite and deserted as a cemetery.  Finally I wandered out of the stadium in a daze, into the still warm September night, amazed at the cultural ritual I had just participated in.

Epilogue

While this medium certainly does not come off as overly academic the short story above is based upon real scenarios experienced by me personally, related to me by other students in the program, or from interviewing Roman residents.  The story both intentionally and unfortunately focuses exclusively upon soccer and while this is far and away the dominant sport in Italy I'd like to take this opportunity to expound upon a few of the other popular athletic past times in Italy.  Basketball and volleyball are considered the 2^nd and 3^rd most popular sports in Italy respectively and their numbers continue to rise as more and more of Italian youth become influenced by westernization and adopt some of its sports.  Currently the Italian Basketball League is considered third in the world ranked only behind the Spanish ACB and of course our very own NBA. Two other sports that have a lengthy history in Italy are cycling and Formula 1 racing. While neither draws anywhere near the numbers of fans that soccer does they still have a passionate Italian following.  In fact early in the 20^th century cycling is said to have eclipsed even soccer in terms of national popularity.  It will certainly be interesting to observe if futbol maintains its dominance over the next few decades, or if Italian youth will be enraptured by a different past-time.

Education: We're not in Kansas Anymore

Feb 8, 2010

            This whole different school system is really starting to annoy me.  This entire semester has been such a weird combination of high expectations and low interest that I’ve been kind of lulled into a sense of ease.  Then in the last week I’m surrounded by people freaking out over exams?  And the best part is no one tells me the significance of what’s about to happen until two days before it happens.

            Maybe I should clarify a bit; I was under the impression that the Italian school system was a joke.  All semester the profs have been telling us ‘memorize this’ and ‘know this, it will be important’ without ever coming back to use the information again or even pausing to check that we understood.  No teacher gives a damn about the students here—I’ve tried repeatedly to seek out help only to find there’s no such thing as office hours in this country.  The only way American universities get away with classes of five hundred kids is by breaking down the mass into smaller quiz sections or some similar system.  Here that just doesn’t happen.  There’s lecture and the rest is up to you.  So I assumed this disinterest in student success permeated every level of the system and the exams would follow the pattern.

            Well I guess I deserve the ‘assume makes an ass out of you and me’ retort because that’s definitely not the case.  I didn’t realize just how much the Italians love their standardized tests.  Apparently even 10-year-olds are evaluated before they make it to the next level of school here.  By the time you get to high school (except it’s called scuola superiore here) failing one of those exams puts a major hold on your life.  There’s no such thing as a GED in Italy—it’s graduate or turn into a teenage beggar.  Geeze, if that’s the pressure for a high school exam, what’s going to happen with these college exams?!

            Oh, and did I mention they’re next week?

 

Feb 14, 2010

            I have studied.  For six.  Days.  Straight.  I even turned down Davide’s soccer scrimmage.  My body feels like it’s eating itself I want to go exercise so badly.  Tomorrow is my main exam and I think I’m ready for it.  I’m down to cram-studying the infinite names and dates they expect us to memorize. In the end I’d probably be cramming like this even if I was back in the States, so I’ve decided to forgive the system.  I just hope next semester goes smoother now that I know what’s going on.

 

Feb 20, 2010

            THOSE EFFING DIMWITS.

            Well I took the test and thought I did fair enough considering my circumstances.  For starters it was crazy trying to write about the American economy in Italian.  Plus they asked for so many tiny, specific facts I think the prof must expect us to eat the textbook so we could regurgitate the facts.  Harder still was when we got called in to have an oral portion—since when did anyone assess your knowledge by of how fast you can think of the four factors that played a part in every 20^th century economy collapse?  It was difficult, no question, but in the end just about on par with the harder economic tests I’ve taken back home.  I didn’t get dragged over hot coals, at least.  But then I spent the last five days bouncing in my seat waiting for results and guess what?  They came today.  And guess what?  Mine weren’t there.

            THEY LOST MY TEST.  I don’t even know how you lose an oral exam.

            The best part is—now back to the pattern I thought pervaded all along—they don’t care.  As soon as I saw my name wasn’t on the spreadsheet I marched down to the administrative building and slammed my hands down on the secretary’s desk.  In retrospect maybe not the most genteel move but at the moment it felt very satisfying.  Except that the secretary just raised his hands and said there was nothing he could do.  He wrote my name down and made a note that I wanted to see the department head before dismissing me.

            Yes, yes, I went straight to the department head.  Call me a tattletale but I’ve given up pounding on the professor’s door; I had nowhere else to go.  But it still didn’t do me any good.  I just walked away from that secretary’s desk with steam positively billowing out of my ears.  I’m amazed no one could hear the kettle screaming in my head.

            When I can look past my own rage I’m really scared.  The way Davide talks about these exams they can make or break your career.   Oh, geeze, I may be in the process of falling in the deep end.

 

Feb 21, 2010

            I went in again today to the administrative building.  I—it—this is ridiculous.  I’m past being mad, even furious.  I’m straight up numb.  I talked to the same secretary with the same results.  Then I walked three blocks to the University President’s office and chewed his secretary’s ear off.  As I was marching back to the Department building I ran into Davide.

            This was one of the few times it was actually helpful that Italian boys are so pushy.  He insisted on coming with me to ‘help me out’ and wouldn’t take no for an answer.  Of course next time he asks me to coffee after soccer—sorry, football—practice I’m screwed, but it made the difference today.  He walked up to the secretary’s desk, asked if he could see the results spreadsheet for my exam and the secretary jumped on it immediately.  What the hell, he didn’t even have to flirt!

            The secretary pulled out a huge binder that probably had a four-inch thick spine and started flipping through it.  I can’t even guess what kind of info is in there because even in classes with hundreds of student and no individual attention there were probably five pages of tiny, packed text for each one of us.  That’s more consideration than I’ve gotten this whole semester from the professor.  Anyway, the secretary got to a page near the back cover and turned the book so we could see as he turned from pages titled “Vumbaca, Regina” to “Vuocolo, Vito” to “Woods, Gabrielle”.  Only difference is mine was blank.

            After that point Davide had to do all the talking for me for multiple reasons.  First, he obviously got more done than I ever could.  But right now I don’t even have the energy to be offended by the sexism of that.  Second, I forgot all my Italian at that point.  Although maybe that’s for the best because nothing I had to say beyond that point was useful in resolving the situation.  It did, however, include a lot of English four letter words.

            The final verdict was that my problem was not in the jurisdiction of the department. Davide agreed to accompany me tomorrow to the office that actually scans the tests.  Maybe we—meaning he—can get some answers there.

I still can’t believe that this can happen with such a high-stakes exam.

 

Feb 28, 2010

            My econ exam is gone.  My future is gone with it.  The way the Italian system works this kind of mistake is career death, no matter whose fault it is.  See, in Italy all the way back in high school you decide what career path you want to take and go to distinct schools that specialize in that area—istituto tecnico or liceo.  I guess the idea is that kids can actually enter the work force effectively when they leave high school, especially the kids who choose to the istituto tecnico that trains for more concrete jobs like accounting or business or economics.  The exam they have to take at the end of high school to get a diploma conceivably has their entire career hinged on the results.

            If that’s the pressure put on kids in high school can you imagine the implications of failing an exam in college.  And that’s what’s now on my official transcript.  Throw on top of that how few women successfully force their way into the professional workforce (a discrimination I ran in to more than a few times this last week) and I shudder to imagine my future in this country.

            Davide really has been a blessing through all this.  Even after three days almost entirely dedicated to running between physical offices, shouting in the phone and sending ever more nasty emails to no avail he is still trying to convince me that things will clear up.  He laughs when I’m on the verge of crying.

            No matter what he says, though, I know there’s no hope of saving this test.  I don’t know exactly what happened but if one thing has been made clear through all this it’s how big a bureaucracy this university is.  And somewhere in its bowels my test fell out of the pile to be graded and is lying in some cobwebby corner where no one ever cleans.  There it will stay until time finally composts it into a pile of dust to join the other neglected filth in jamming the cogs of the bureaucratic machine a little more every year.

            A big problem, according to Davide, is that a lot more kids are continuing on to college now that the economy sucks and they can’t get jobs fresh out of high school.  He’s from the other type of high school, the liceo that spits out would-be doctors and lawyers and professors that need to continue on to college anyway.  Hence his department is used to the large number of kids clamoring to get into classes.  Whereas my istituto tecnico department is being overwhelmed right now.  Thus mistakes, like losing my exam, happen more frequently without a system of address.  That doesn’t nearly make up for destroying my future but at least that’s explained, now.

            The world is just a very depressing place to be right now.  I think I need to go take advantage of the low drinking age for a little while.

 

March 7, 2010

            Ha.  Ha.  Ha.  Davide, you’re so funny.  An effing riot.  And by the way, I take back everything I’ve ever said about you being a blessing.

            I now know why he could be so composed as he told me horror stories about one bad exam throwing a serious monkey wrench someone’s life.  Because that’s totally different from anything I’ve taken.  The grade school exams are state-sponsored, roughly like the SAT, while what I took was just another course final test.  There was nothing but one little grade dependant on that exam.  What’s more, I can take the test again next semester without even taking the class and clear up the course failure (actually there’s a makeup exam offered this week for that exact reason but I missed the signup date).  There’s still a huge exam required before you can get a diploma but even that you can take as many times as you need.

            It’s still going to be a pain.  I’m signed up for a full load of courses next semester, including the class that’s prerequisite is my failed econ course (at least the prof will be too preoccupied to notice I don’t meet his standards).  I really don’t need to throw another final on top of so full a schedule.  Especially since I have a feeling I did perfectly satisfactory this time and retaking it has no benefit for me.  Even so, I was making plans to run to London with my tail between my legs and start college over in a new system.  Or marry the first wealthy Italian man I could seduce and live life as a trophy wife.  I choose a hard semester over being the next Anna-Nicole Smith.

 

Epilogue

            Although often vague, the facts portrayed in the above drama are all real.  The Italian school system is very traditional and frequently attacked for its bureaucratic inefficiency and high dropout rate (at the university level this is estimated at 60% but, perhaps more telling, has never been confirmed by a comprehensive national census).  It emphasizes memorization over free, analytical thought and is unique in its extensive use of oral exams.  Many of the worst factors were addressed in reforms prompted by the 1999 Bologna Declarations that encouraged modernization and convergence of higher educational systems across the EU.  The most significant was the introduction of a new three-year degree called the laurea to offer continued education without an eight-year commitment.  However this is still only offered in a limited number of departments and is described as a dead-end diploma with no further schooling built directly on it, akin to an associate’s degree.  The other key change was to increase university autonomy, giving schools more control over their own finances and types of classes offered.  Studies suggest Bologna Declaration-inspired classes are hugely popular with students.

            The foundations of the Italian educational system is very different from the US system.  School is compulsory only from age 6-15 and is completely free, even for illegal immigrants.  Education is organized into scuola elementare for children ages 5-10, scuola media for ages 10-13, and scuola superiore for ages 13-18.  Scuola superiore is further organized into two types of academies that focus on different subjects: Liceo emphasizes sciences, classics and linguistics and leads into occupations in the fields of law, medicine and teaching.  Meanwhile the instituto tecnico focuses more on accounting, business, and economics.  After completing each level of schooling, students take exams to prove they are ready to proceed.  The exams can be repeated as many times as is necessary to pass.

            The next step, universita, has little cross-department integration compared to the US system.  Classes are very rigorous and, although a degree is intended to take 5 years most students end up taking 7 or 8 years to complete the requirements.  Exams at the end of every semester, like in compulsory school, can be failed and retaken.  A second set of exams is administered three weeks after a semester’s end specifically for students who failed the first time, or students can simply take the same test after the next semester without retaking the class.  A final all-inclusive exam is required before receiving a diploma, as well as a 50,000-60,000 word document equivalent to a senior thesis.

            Another underlying difficulty represented in the writings above is the continued inequality of men and women in the workforce.  Although the numbers are still slowly equalizing, women represent 30% of professional researchers, 18% of academic professors and only 11% scientific professors.  The number of women in high administrative positions is entirely negligible.  This trend starts in the upper ranks of university where the competitive environment requires aggression and assertiveness not culturally imbued in women.  Many of the rules that hinder women place similar restraints on innovative researches as part of the Italy’s status-quo society.

 

Sources

Interview with Federica Bianci, February 10, 2010

Interview with Razvan Popa, Feb 28, 2010

Interview with Vera Manno, Feb 20, 2010

http://www.justlanded.com/english/Italy/Italy-Guide/Education/Introduction

http://www.infn.it/cpo/contributi/contributi/2pages_elisa.pdf

http://crell.jrc.ec.europa.eu/Publications/CRELL%20Research%20Papers/The%20impact    %20of%20university%20reforms%20on%20dropout%20rates.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/educ/bologna/bologna.pdf 

Images:

http://www.studyglobal.net/images/milan_students_reading_outside.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2069/2814710002_711e3b2d82.jpg

http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/pubs/Images/Page-1.gif

Youth Culture: Social Life

Diary of Gabrielle Woods –Social Life

Sex, Drugs, & Globalization

In a bar in Florence

I had the most insane night last night! Alessandra, Bianca, and I decided to go out in search of adventure and good times. We started with pizza at Zio Ciro, a favorite of Ale and Bianca. It was probably the best eating out experience I’ve had so far in Rome. The food was incredible and we were only charged for our main dishes. I’m starting to think that the reason food prices are so high in Rome is because only foreigners pay the full price! Every single time I’ve gone out to eat with Italian friends, I’ve only been charged for half (or less) of what I ate. Not only this but the service is better, the food is well-prepared, and the camerieri are much friendlier. However, even when I am one of those benefiting from the special treatment, I still don’t think it is fair or justified in any way. I also believe the terrible state of Italy’s economy has something to do with the ill treatment of foreigners and the exaggeratedly generous treatment of the “in-group.”

After dinner, Ale and Bi took me to the Drunken Ship; a bar we discovered caters almost exclusively to foreigners (specifically, American students).

Initially excited upon seeing the gigantic crowd waiting to get in, I was shocked to find that there were hardly any Italians among them. However, I did meet one very interesting Italian character. Sitting at one of the tables in the back was 22 year old Abarmo, visiting from Florence. He was very intoxicated and was handing out free drinks to everyone.

The legal age to be served alcohol in public in Italy is 16. However, I have never been asked for my I.D. (even though I am often told I look like a high school-er). It is obvious that the law is not enforced. But this is how Italy wants it. In fact, most Italians themselves are unaware of the existence of this law and strongly believe in teaching their kids to drink (responsibly) at a very young age. “For most parents, withholding alcohol consumption until the young ones reach 21 merely whets the appetite for something that is forbidden and possibly dangerous – like drunk & reckless driving.” However, times are changing. The belief that irresponsible drinking can be avoided by years of conditioning may turn out to be false as foreigners (especially Americans) begin to influence youth culture all over the world. According to the Italian Health Ministry, 1 out of 5 teenagers in Italy admit to being “regularly inebriated.” Furthermore, moderate-to-excessive drinking has led to a 20% increase in hospital admissions. There are no studies that prove a cause-and-effect relationship between the proliferation of tourism and the increase in drinking –but having witnessed the difference in Italian behavior in tourist bars versus local bars makes me certain that a relationship exists.

Regardless, there I was at the Drunken Ship shaking hands with the drunken Florentine. As soon as he discovered I was American (and he realized I was female), I became his best friend. He was ecstatic –which was an interesting reaction. It seems to me that Italian teenagers are either extremely excited or extremely upset to meet Americans. Some want to emulate the America they see in movies like American Pie, whereas others avoid all things American like the plague. A surprising four different people asked me last night if America is similar to what they saw in American Pie!

Abarmo, the Florentine, was one of them. But he was unsatisfied with my reply that "American is too big to be generalized" and pretended to be upset until he found out I had been to Florence and to his favorite restaurant, Dante Pizzeria. The tables turned and I became his best friend once again. To show his appreciation, he started a loud chant: “Berlusconi, Obama…Dante!” And then he bought shots for everyone. At this point, I was more surprised by the fact that he knew the name of the American president than by his outrageous behavior –how many Americans know the name of the Italian prime minister? How many even know whether Italy has a president, a prime minister, or both? Abarmo’s ease in talking about Obama made me notice one key difference between Italian and American youth: the average American teenager has much less knowledge and interest in politics (especially foreign politics) than the typical Italian teen.

I had a similar realization after a conversation with a young man named Vincente (age 21) from Sicily who proceeded to tell me the entire history of his city, the south of Italy, and also an interesting legend about the early beginnings of the mafia . However, Vincente was even more adamant and interested in politics than Abarmo –and he wasn’t at all intoxicated or curious about American Pie. I believe this is related to the higher influence and more frequent appearance of tourists in the north versus the south.

Florence

Florence as a city seems to cater directly to tourists. Everywhere I went, I was accosted by tourist menus, tourist cover charges, and tourist activities. I was almost always approached in English and all too frequently by other tourists asking me for directions. We were all over the place! My observations are consistent with data. From January 1st to September 30th, 2009, 5,892,453 people lived or passed through Florence. Of these, only 1,783,720 were Italian. The rest were tourists, visitors, or students studying abroad. Italy is in the top 10 study abroad destinations, with Florence being one of the most frequented. This has an interesting impact on the culture in Florence. For example, an older Florentine woman I spoke to in a grocery store said that drinking in public has never been as common in Florence as it is today. When asked if she could give a reason for this change, she adamantly blamed “those pericolosi American tourists.” Needless to say, she does not think the increase in drinking is a positive change.

Naples

I had a completely different experience in Naples. Naples, for better or for worse, has not yet been infiltrated by nearly as many visitors as cities in northern Italy. Although there are still foreigners in the south, they are often searching for work and a better life rather than a Disneyland of monuments. Thus, the South has remained (in my opinion) slightly more true to its culture. Damian, a young Neapolitan we met at the St. Jonathon’s Angels (our next stop), was further proof of this. First of all, we met at St. Jonathon’s Angels, a bar turned dance club with eccentric decorations and a cultural feel. I did not meet a single American there, nor was anybody plastered or yelling obnoxiously. (I think you can tell a lot about a person based on the places he chooses to frequent). Second of all, Damian (like Vincente) had completely different priorities than Abarmo. He seemed more interested in teaching me about the merits of Italian culture than in pouring alcohol down my throat. For example, Damian was proud of the fact that he spoke fluent English, French, Italian, and Swedish, without ever having been to a French-speaking or English-speaking country. Furthermore he was displeased that most Italians only speak three languages fluently –I was embarrassed to tell him most of my American friends can barely speak two!

St Johnathon's Angels

Another young man I met in St. Johnathon’s Angels, (originally from Calabria), was 23year-old Alexandru, who also spoke 4 languages fluently (Italian, French, English, and German). Similar to Vincente and Damian, he wanted to talk about politics, history, and his home town. He loves Calabria and he loves Southern Italy for the quaint places, beautiful views, amazing food, and lively, friendly, real people. This are the things he wanted to tell me about –not the crazy party he went to last night.

In the end, although none of these boys should be used as representations of an entire city or region, they are examples of the type of teenagers I have met in the north and south of Italy. Furthermore, their diverse personalities and conversation styles combined with the different atmospheres of north and south Italy naturally lead me to conclude that the north has been more heavily influenced by tourism. I also believe the process of globalization will only continue to speed up as the youth morph into the leaders of Italy.

Our next stop was La Maison, a club near Piazza Navona. This club had a combination of tourists, foreigners, and Roman youth –thus there was more drinking and grinding than at St Jonathon’s Angels. The music alternated between European techno, American rap (conducive to grinding), and some Latin beats. La Maison is where I met some interesting Romanians, Razvan and Bogdan. Both are 19 and have been living in Italy for 4 years and both had interesting opinions on Italian youth culture. For example, Razvan, after some prodding, claimed “Italian girls are ‘easy’ in comparison to Romanian girls but that American girls are the ‘easiest’ of all.” Unfortunately, (or fortunately) he wouldn’t say more because “it is inappropriate to have this type of conversation with a female.” Still, I deduced from his explanation of the varying degrees of ‘slutty-ness’ that the constant exposure of Italians to American culture is an explanation for their being more ‘easy’ than girls from less frequented locations, like Romania.

Statistics, unfortunately, do not agree with his statements. According to Dr. Judith Mackay in her book, The Penguin Atlas of Human Sexual Behavior, published in 2000, the average age of first intercourse for women is 16 in the U.S., 18 in the U.K., and 20 or older in Italy, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Ecuador, and the Philippines. For men, the earliest age of first intercourse is 16 in Peru and the highest is 19 in Italy. Not only this, but teen abortion rates are comparatively low in Italy –only 8 abortions per 1000 girls aged 15-19, compared with 24 in Sweden and 45 in Britain. However, the statistics on abortions may be skewed due to the fact that over 50% of abortions in Italy are thought to be performed outside the legal abortion service framework. In these cases, the stated reason for desiring the abortion (whether economic or social) was likely deemed insufficient and thus a legal abortion was out of the question. (Perhaps the high rate of denials has something to do with the influence of the Church?) Regardless, the fact that so many abortions are performed illegally is unfortunate considering that the legal abortion service framework in Italy is actually quite safe and even provides for free-of-charge abortions in public or private hospitals.

The other statistics may be skewed (intentionally or unintentionally) as well. There is a lot going on in Italy that is swept under the rug. Living here, I have seen many youth protests, graffiti, rebellious fashion, extreme alcohol consumption, and quite a bit of marijuana usage. One common drug smoked by Italian youth is called “canna” or “chocolate,” which is cannabis rolled in a cigarette according to urbandictionary.com. However, there are no statistics available online about the usage of this drug or its proliferation in Italy. Like many other detrimental youth habits, the Italian media seems to turn a blind eye to drug use. Thus, perhaps the stories and opinions of the youth actually experiencing youth culture are more credible than numbers.

La Maison

After hours of a mixture of grinding and bobbing at La Maison, we decided to head over to Testaccio, a neighborhood famous for nightclubs and bars in Rome. The girls and I tried to say goodbye to Razvan and Bogdan but our new friends would not let us go. Finally, we compromised and agreed we would all go together. When I asked Razvy if he wanted me to drive (since I hadn’t had anything to drink), he laughed. It took me a second to understand that he had laughed because he legitimately thought that I was joking! He didn’t believe me when I told him I’d been driving for over 3 years and that my car back in the States was manual.

In Italy, the age for getting a learner’s permit is 18. In addition, there is a distinction made between drivers that drive automatic cars and manual cars. If the drive test was taken in an automatic car, the driver is not allowed to operate a stick shift. Fortunately, I had taken my drive test in a manual car and so could technically legally drive in Italy. At this point, Bogdan interfered and promised me that Razvy was okay to drive –he said that nobody in their right mind would risk driving around Italy under the influence.

The legal BAC in Italy is less than .05% and the police are allowed to randomly test any drivers. Furthermore, there are VERY strict penalties for DUIs. Failure of a BAC test automatically means the vehicle is impounded, the driver is fined, and the driving license is confiscated. In severe cases, the driver could be imprisoned. Interestingly, if a driver is found to have traces of marijuana in his system but has committed no other infraction, the worst that can happen is that his license is revoked for 12 months.

There is also a highway code in Italy (called the Codice Della Strada) that deals with driving offenses. The code includes a 20-point system in which the driver loses points for committing infractions. For example, a driver caught exceeding the speed limit might lose 1 to 5 points, depending on the severity of the speed. If a driver loses 20 points within a year (even if the point system is not applicable in the country of origin), the driver is suspended from driving in Italy for 2 years. If 20 points are lost in 2 years, the driver may not drive in Italy for a period of 1 year and if lost in 3-4 years, the driver cannot drive in Italy for 6 months.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to stop the crazy drivers in Italy. I have witnessed some interesting driving techniques –like the taxi driver that drove around an entire column of cars waiting at a stoplight (in oncoming traffic) and then merged in front of the first car at the light while it was still red. I’ve also seen cars driving on sidewalks, running red lights, crossing into other lanes, and LOTS of speeding.

These observations may explain why Italy has the highest number of car accidents and fatalities in the EU. “There are about 270,000 accidents in Italy each year injuring 190,000 with 6,230 people killed.” However, these numbers are still better than the 6,420,000 accidents reported in the United States in 2005. “Most of these accidents in the US and in the EU occur due to reckless driving and intoxication” and large numbers involve “young adults and teenage drivers.” In fact, 70-80 people die in the US every day due to accidents related to alcohol. In the EU, “the number of accidents due to intoxication is also increasing continuously,” with Italy in the lead. It appears Italy (and the rest of the EU), highly influenced by tourists (mainly from America), is following in America's footsteps in more ways than we imagine.

Luckily, Razvy was true to his word and drove safely all the way to Testaccio. Here, we danced and bobbed all night long. We danced in Alibi, Charro Cafe, Coyote, and Akab, making more friends and learning even more about youth culture. The night ended in morning with a promise to meet again. It was the best kind of adventure -one that ends with more beginnings.

Charro Cafe in Testaccio

Reflection

In retrospect, I learned a lot, made new friends, and questioned previous opinions throughout the process of researching this topic. The hardest parts were finding Italian teenagers that I believed were accurate representation of Italian youth, choosing which language to communicate in, and then convincing them to tell me their honest opinions. However, only slightly less difficult was choosing what topics to focus on. Social life is a very broad topic and I initially hoped to include everything from common gestures and slang to courting, marriage, and employment. Unfortunately, this proved to be impossible in a 10 minute presentation so I chose instead to focus on the topics that I found most interesting with the idea of globalization in mind.

New Friends

The results were shocking! The increase in drinking and drunk driving accidents (happening simultaneously with the increase in tourism) is reason for concern. Everybody I talked to had noticed a change in Italian mentality and behavior in recent years –even with seemingly unimportant things like apparel. For example, whereas once Italians wore only nice clothes in public, they can now be seen sporting jeans and even sweat suits daily. Early on in my research, these changes (especially clearly negative changes like increases in drunk driving accidents) naturally begged the question: is globalization good or bad?

This question led to a very heated discussion in class after our presentation. Most agreed that globalization is good for the economy –when comparing north to south italy, northern Italy is clearly economically better off than southern Italy. However, opinions varied on whether cultural globalization has mostly positive or negative affects. On the one hand, I would like to believe that globalization simply offers more choices and that humans are smart enough to make the right ones. On the other, recent data implies this is not the case. And if one bad apple does spoil the whole bunch, should we try to keep it separate from the rest? Who are we to say what’s good and what’s bad? Just like Gabrielle and her experiences with social life in Italy, this project led me to more questions rather than final answers.


Appendix (including some Interviews):

The process for obtaining an Italian driver's license is:
• Obtain a learner's permit (foglio rosa)
• Practice driving
• Pass a theory test (multiple choice, in Italian)
• Pass a practical driving test (road test with instructor and examiner)

The Learner's Permit
Learner's permits must be applied for at the nearest Provincial Office of Motor Vehicles (Ufficio Motorizzazione Civile), which will will issue the learner's license. The foglio rosa is valid for a period of six months.
• Ufficio Motorizzazione Civile di Genoa

The learner's permit allows the holder to practice driving only while accompanied by a person no older than 60 years old (if practicing using a dual-control vehicle, the accompanying driver may be no older than 65 years old). The accompanying driver must have held a valid licence for at least 10 years in the category the driver will be testing for.

Practice vehicles must be marked on the front and back with a vertically and clearly displayed uppercase black letter "P" (principiante) against a reflective white background, indicating to other drivers that the driver is a novice.
Learner drivers may not drive on the Autostrada.

The Theory Exam
The theory exam can only be taken more than a month and one day after the issue of the foglio rosa (and up to a week before the expiration of the learner's permit). The theory exam consists of testing knowledge of the Highway Code (Codice della Strada) with multiple-choice questions. The test may be taken by oral examination for those who have not mastered the written Italian language. Learner's books with test questions are available at bookshops (in Italian only, though some driving schools may have English translations for sale).
The foglio rosa allows the learner three chances to take a driving test; if they fail the theoretical test twice, the foglio rosa is no longer valid and another must be obtained. If they pass, they may proceed to the practical stage

The Practical Exam
The practical driving test is usually taken after a period of practice although this is not obligatory for drivers carrying a foreign licence.
The practical driving test must be undertaken in a dual-control vehicle (unless the driver is disabled and requires hand controls). If a driver passes the practical test in an automatic transmission, dual-control vehicle (which are extremely uncommon), they will be restricted to driving only automatic vehicles thereafter.

The Italian Driving License
The Italian license is a credit-card sized plastic card.
It has limited validity periods:
• Ten years for people under the age of 50
• Five years for those between 50 and 70 years of age
• Three years thereafter

License Points System
In 2003, a new Highway Code (Codice della Strada) was launched in Italy with the objective of making the roads safer. The penalties for various infringements of the law were increased and a points-based penalty system introduced.
A total number of 20 points are assigned to a driver's licence, and with each offence the driver may lose points (1 point, 2 points, 3 points, 5 points or 10 points). Drivers who lose 20 points from their licence must take a new driving test.
A driver may get points back provided that no further offences are committed over a fixed period of time.
Serious infringements of the law (such as exceeding the speed limit by more than 40 Km/h, driving in an emergency lane, drinking and driving) may lead to the revocation of the licence.

These rules apply to anybody holding a driving license, even if the points system is not applicable in the country of origin. If 20 points are lost within a year the person is suspended from driving in Italy for a period of 2 years; if the person loses the entire 20 points within a timeframe of 2 years, then they are forbidden to drive in Italy for a period of 1 year; and if the total of 20 points is lost within 2and 3 years, then the person is forbidden to drive in Italy for a period of six months.


Interview with Vincente. Age 21. Hometown: Sicilia.

Vincente is to my left

In my opinion, this interview is a reflection of Vincente and of the youth in southern Italy (which is less influenced by tourists than Northern Italy). In my opinion, Italian youth are more aware of and interested in history, politics, and current events than American youth –as evident by his knowledge and willingness to talk about the history of Sicily and southern Italy. Below is my summary of what he told me.

The Legend of the Sicilian Mafia (as told to him by his grandfather)
In the 1600s and 1700s, the French invaded and wreaked havoc on a very catholic Sicilia. Legend has it that in order to prove French power and break the spirit of the Sicilians, one French commander raped a Sicilian girl in the middle of a street in broad daylight. French officers surrounded and protected him from angry Sicilian mobs. In the midst of all the noise and commotion, the voice of an elderly woman was heard crying out “Ma filla, Ma filla,” which means “My girl, my girl” in Italian. It is said that her cry led to the formation of the mafia, a group of Sicilian men that vowed to get revenge on the French and offer protection to all of Sicilia. Thus began their attempt to kill the French. In order to tell the French apart from Italians, they would hold up a certain nut, pronounced “chichiri” in Italian, and ask people what it was. Whoever could not pronounce the word, and the French could not pronounce chichiri, would be killed. According to Vincete, MAFIA stands for Morta A la Francesa Italia Aspeta, which means roughly “Italy Awaits the Death of France.”

The Sicilian mafia is only one of the many differences between North and South Italy. According to Vicente and to his Italian friends, those from North Italy look down upon those from the south and vice versa –even though they are part of the same country. South Italy is the antithesis of North Italy. It is a place that is much more traditional and less economically-developed than the north. It is more dangerous, poorer, and much less educated. Reasons for the differences stem from the constant chaos and invasion of the South by surrounding powers –everybody wanted to control the south because of the central location of their trading port on the sea. Because of constant invasion, the south never developed the kind of social capital that was developed in the north. The north had many more times of peace in which they formed communities and sports clubs (soccer clubs), that fostered trust and reciprocity. When hard times came, the north was able to cling to this trust or at least to recreate it afterwards. The south didn’t have this luxury and is instead stuck in a downward spiral of crime, violence, and distrust. However, some cities in the South, like Sicily, are known for being extremely catholic cities.


Interview with English woman and man (unknown identity, perhaps Slavic)

This interview is a more general reflection of Europeans and of their interest in current affairs. The fact that this couple was aware of problems in Italy (even though they are not from Italy) shows knowledge of the world that the average American does not have or want. Below is a summary of what they told me about the immigration problems in Italy.

It is not only a problem in the south of Italy, but rather all over Europe. And it is ridiculous. These people are coming migrating mainly from North Africa and Eastern Europe (the Balkans) and are becoming more than just a nuisance. Instead of fixing problems in their own country and raising the standard of living there, they are coming to our countries to lower our standard of living. Of course this is going to lead to social unrest. And these riots are only the start of it. Eventually, all of Europe is going to become fed up. There should be stricter immigration laws and enforcement of those laws to prevent these sorts of problems. When asked about the humanitarian aspect of it, she simply repeated that she thinks they should go back to their own countries and fix things up there first.


Interview with Razvan and Bogdan (two boys born in Romania who have lived in Italy for 4 years)
Razvy and I

These two simply told me their opinions on youth culture directly. Here are some of the interesting things they said.
1. Italian girls are much easier than Romanian girls, though not as easy as American girls. It is common for girls as young as 14 or 15 to be sexually active. (They would not say more because they thought it was already inappropriate to have said as much as they did to a female).
2. There are certain things that boys cannot ask girls to do in the work environment –like sweep the floor or clean up messes. One reason they can’t ask girls to do that kind of work is because the girls will “cry” or “complain” or “gossip” and they can’t figure these girls because they are attractive and thus attract customers. Regardless, since this means more work for boys, they hate having lots of girls on their work shifts.
3. “Canna,” or “chocolate,” a rolled up form of cannabis, is very commonly smoked by the youth in Italy.
4. School in Italy is a joke. The schools are covered in graffiti, students making out and speaking inappropriately and there is no respect for professors.
5. Binge drinking is an increasing trend in Italy because of the influence of tourists and visitors from America. Same with drugs.
6. Italians hardly ever pay for full meals –they only go to restaurants where they know those that work there and thus are only charged for parts (sometimes none) of their meals.

Interview with Liviu (Romanian parents but born in Italy.)

Liviu is to my left

Liviu actually contradicted Razvan and Bogdan. He said that he prefers to hit on girls of any nationality other than Italian because Italian girls are very difficult to “seduce.” He mentioned something about their fathers being very scary and this being why they are so sheltered. Unfortunately, he didn’t say much more.

Interview with Damian, from Naples.

Damian told me about youth culture in Southern Italy. He said that because they have less to do (less clubs, less money, less structured activity,) they develop opinions and have discussions about them as a way to pass the time. This is why Italians (and other Europeans) are so much more up-to-date on current events, knowledgeable about the past, and opinionated when it comes to politics and religion. He personally had many opinions, which I will not list here since they are not directly linked to youth culture.


Sources

http://www.provincia.fi.it/fileadmin/assets/TURISMO/AreafiorentinaiGenn-Settembre2009.pdf

http://www.vistawide.com/studyabroad/study_abroad_statistics.htm

http://geography.about.com/od/culturalgeography/a/geographyofsex.htm

http://www.thewelfarestatewerein.com/archives/2006/03/italy_used_not.php

http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/15/3/343

http://www.2pass.co.uk/ages.htm

http://rome.angloinfo.com/countries/italy/drivlicence.asp

http://rome.angloinfo.com/countries/italy/driving.asp

http://www.articlesbase.com/cars-articles/the-worlds-worst-drivers-car-accident-statistics-from-around-the-world-609862.html

http://www.car-accidents.com/country-car-accidents/Italy-auto-car-accidents-crash.htmL

http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/stats.html