Lockdown Observations

 

I have lived in Italy for 20 years. I am conversant but not fluent. To be fluent one must be able to pick up on the subtleties, the contextual complexities of a language, the deep linguistic associations which have much more to do with cultural assimilation than just grammatical correctness. 

I teach English to Italian corporate professionals. It has been one of the most delightful experiences of my life. When I arrived in Europe 27 years ago, though it was an option, I did not want to teach English, since English meant British English, and that was not an option for me, an American. As the years progressed there has developed more need for American english, as we all communicate cyber-globally. And, as I sometimes tease my British friends, there is more diversity in the English language amongst those in the British Isles, than there is between an American and a Brit. The current pandemic reality has rapidly changed the way we work and communicate on a daily basis and normalized online opportunities heretofore unnecessary.  

My Italian english students, as the general populace here, are astute listeners, and very articulate, which may be the result of their educational system which requires oral exams in every subject up to and including advanced mathematics. Imagine having to explain your trigonometric process in front of a panel of exigent professors, and you’ll know how they have had to develop communications skills. Articulate, astute listeners with compassionate sensibilities. In any conversation they respond with appropriate observations, sympathetic and compassionate pleasantries. 

Despite having studied French and German, I still have problems recognizing certain syntactical elements on the spot. My students often clarify grammatical issues with their knowledge of Latin. Oh, it’s totally clear now! One must be an astute listener, and observer, to pick up on the subtleties. 

It’s all in the syntax. There is a certain syntax, it all comes down to that. It is complex. In italian the pronoun is inherent in the verb. You don’t need the I, you, he/she/it, we, etc.,  it is included, which is exquisitely efficient and totally confusing. The subject-object-indirect object relationship is a complex puzzle. In the simplest example, the object precedes the subject, ti vedo: I see you. It’s what I call the subject-object conundrum, in other words, who’s doing what to whom. It could be a metaphor.

 

 

Lockdown Redux: Next Year in Jerusalem

On this splendid Easter Sunday in Northern Tuscany I will spend the day in quiet contemplation as I look out on the Apuan Alps and down onto a small magnolia in full bloom in the stone piazza below. Due to pandemic restrictions my son is unable to travel home from University and like others I will pass Easter alone, or some, in only immediate family groups. 

I was raised on the east coast of the U.S., primarily in the northeast but also throughout the southeast. That we are a nation of immigrants is undeniable. The regions of the northeast and southeast of the first settlers, (Jamestown, VA. 1607, Plymouth, MA. 1620) are thriving areas of diversity. 

In the mid 20th century northeast my childhood friends and neighbors were a predominantly western/southern and central european multiethnic group and I often joke that the reason I ended up in Italy is that most of my grade school friends were Italian, citing names of Belletti, Porcari, Campion, Bazzano, John Joseph Raymond, (anglicized from Giovane Giusseppe Raimondo) and Palazzolo, the spelling of which, I was told and will remain forever in my mind, is: 2 of everything except the P. 

A citizen of relative long term heritage of18th century Scottish/German and early 20th century Irish descent I was always welcomed into their homes, and became familiar with their history and cultural traditions. 

My fondest memories include after school lunch of tempestine in brodo, dot pasta in homemade broth, served by my friend’s Grandmother, as her parents both worked, in their small immaculate suburban home filled with all their treasured and comforting religious icons.  

We have now spent over a year in various degrees of lockdown isolation in an effort to keep this pandemic virus at bay and in addition to the tragic illness and loss of lives, the most difficult part is not being able to see family and friends which is most evident in holiday periods. The impact, and toll this has taken, on our emotional state is immeasurable. 

As a young adult, back at University in the northeast, from several years in the deep south, my close friends were Jewish. I was invited to their homes at the Jersey Shore over long weekends, as a break from campus life, which brings to mind sensory memories of their wonderful food and once again, traditions. 

The final  words of the traditional passover Seder during this spring period,  are “next year in Jerusalem” a message of comfort, solidarity and hope for the future. A universal sentiment we can all benefit from in these difficult times, the hope that we will be together in the future, wherever we are.