In fact these are separate thoughts as evidenced by purposeful punctuation. It is raining... again... as it has been for basically two straight weeks. It has not rained all day, every day but for the most part, Florence has not seen much in the way of sun since about May 1. I know I'm not going to get tons of sympathy but for those of us who are trying to enjoy Italian adventures of any kind, we're sick of bad hair days, our rain coats, and cheap umbrellas.
OK, I'm done whining.
The second part of the title is a reference to Italian men but in a very PG-rated way. As is probably universally understood, women generally spend a considerable amount of time contemplating the actions, words, thoughts, and responses of men. I am sure this is as true of German, Indian, African or Spanish women as it is of us Americans. Analysis of whether men are in fact from Mars or perhaps a much more distant planet provides hours of entertainment at wine (I mean...book) club meetings everywhere.
This becomes even more entertaining when you are trying to decipher the male psyche across cultures. We American women have enough trouble trying to understand American men. (Which is interesting when you consider the fact that women give birth to and raise them. You'd think might provide some sort of insight...?) But once you move to a new place where you really don't know The Rules, all bets are off.
That being said I thought I'd compile a few general hypotheses I've gleaned about Italian men both from personal experience and from the many conversations I've had with my North American girlfriends (that's a nod to my lovely Canadian friend).
- They are very comfortable with their sexuality, and yours. They will show affection to other men, you'll regularly see men giving each other the double-kiss in greeting. There is no fear that someone will think they are gay, they are just more overt in their physical affection for all people. It is also true that the men here make no attempt to hide that they are checking you out. They check out everyone, a leisurely up and down once-over as you walk by. I have heard that one of the reasons for the much more overt sensuality of this culture is that they are surrounded by it all their lives, in the art and sculpture that is everywhere, honoring the beauty of the human form.
- They are willing to pursue. Even in cases where they shouldn't: they have a girlfriend, or wife, or you have a boyfriend, or you say you do in order to avoid them...
- They do not seem to understand the directness of American women. In the States, we learn that we have to be somewhat direct because we don't want to be accused of "leading him on" or otherwise being disingenuous in our intent. Here that directness seems to offend or insult men because you are then making assumptions about their intent.
- They are quite close with their families. It is not at all uncommon for men to live at home well into their 20s or even until they get married. The family bond is very strong here, and the men tend to stay very connected in a way that American men often do not . This may also be true for the women but because Italian women don't generally associate with non-Italian women, I really don't know.
And in case you were wondering, it is still raining. But I heard a rumor that the sun might show up next week.
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Love this one. Its SOOO true!
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