In the Waiting Line

The Italians spend much of their time in a stationary position. This stands in direct contrast to the general belief that they are a nation of constant activity. To the rest of the world, Italians appear constantly in-haste, something that the typical Italian ragazza works hard to emulate (rarely is she seen without her mobile phone, arranging her next appuntamento). However, the reality is more complex than one is led to believe. Yes, one can concur that the Italian mentality is a fluid one, constantly demanding expression through various outward displays of expression. However, this mentality is only allowed to flow within set parameters and daily life presents innumerable hurdles, if not mountains to curtail activity, of any sort, whatsoever.

A trip to the post office, to the electrician's or to any office of any sort requiring assistance/documentation/queuing requires innumerable stamina. The thought of popping into anywhere in Italy is entirely unfeasible. Forget the To Do List, the majority of tasks will remain pending. This presents innumerable problems to progression on daily and national levels. Italian students all over the country are constantly faced with the slow mentality of their superiors who cling to the drawstrings of forward thinking and offer no release. Life is slow and a professor may or may not be at the confirmed location, at the designated time – it’s a case of ‘we will see’. An email prior to the appointment won't help either. This requires regular vigilance on the part of the prof and for innumerable reasons this is hard to come by. The only step forward is to return the next day, and the day after (whoever initiated the well-known phrase ‘to die trying’ must surely have been Italian).

Now, this by no means levels a personal attack on the education system. Admittedly it’s rotten to the core, but the lecturers (like many other professions) are drowning in a dilapidating system. A glimpse at a university will reveal minimal resources, painting peeling off walls (in between graffiti) and more recently (at the University of Architecture in Florence) a graveyard dedicated to Berlusconi and his ever-tightening purse strings (if only they were to get larger as his women get younger). Whilst, this may not offer much insight to the well-seasoned Italian holiday-maker who is already aware of the backward mentality in Italy, it does raise the question of the chicken or the egg.

Much of Italian life is founded on 'talk'. Italians bluster their way through most things. Much time is spent in public places discussing family, friends, last night’s spaghetti etc. However, how much of this talk is a necessity? Is it a way of filling time, when progression of any form is near impossible? The statistics for time spent queuing in Italy far exceed the European norm. Do the Italians simply make the best of a bad situation and make a theatre of what would otherwise be an incredibly arduous, mind numbing wait. Far better to initiate conversation with B1 and B3 in the queue than stare at the slowly ticking-clock? Is this why Italian life is founded on so much talk and spectacle?

The chicken and the egg argument raises many questions when applied to Italian life. Without systemization, Italy is often chasing its own tail. For example, is the Italian approach to running-on-time (they just don’t) a case of them being molto tranquillo or a coping mechanism founded in the belief that the simplest of activities carry an unpredictable shelf life (the post office queue could take one or two hours - who knows?). One could also ponder over the much romanticized notion of the Italian passegiata. Whilst appearing so elegant and refined (surely only the Italians would wander the streets to show off their fine forms), one might also take another view point. Is the passegiata simply a solution to a lack of outdoor city-space? Whilst New Yorkers and Londoners jog around Central and Hyde Park, the Italians are left to meander the streets. Perhaps the overarching question should be: what came first, the Italian spectacle or the spectacular survivors? And looking forward, how do the Italians crack the code?