Some observations of Italy, thirty years later...

It’s great to be back. What can I say. Italy is beautiful no matter where you go. Since leaving the mission field, I have had the opportunity to visit a couple of times. I always swore that no place could be more beautiful than Sicily or the Puglia. But when I toured my husband’s mission with him a few years ago (the Padova mission), I found a new Italy. Siena is beautiful and I think Firenze must be the most beautiful city I have ever seen.

Still, it’s good to be back in Sicily. Its personality has evolved some over the past thirty years. Some changes have been for the better, other lost elements will be missed.

What has gone the way of progress? Well, there are less buses roaming the streets. The missionaries in Siracusa don’t even take the bus; they walk everywhere. Routes have been decreased as car ownership has increased. Fortunately we have a car. I can’t imagine being even marginally productive today without one.

If you happen to take a bus, gone are the matriarchs wearing black clothing - in lutto (mourning). This sad tradition has fortunately faded with time and the older mothers and grandmothers wear bright colored clothing when the season permits. Dark colors are still popular during winter months. I remember teaching a 28 year old woman in Palermo. She had lost her husband and was left to raise four young children by herself. She always wore black - she said it was socially required, even at her age. I always felt so bad about that. I found her last summer. She is remarried and is wearing colors again!

The cities don’t seem to be as clean as they once were. I remember waking up early in the morning in Taranto to go jogging with my companion, and seeing elderly men dressed in black, out in droves, sweeping the streets with their handmade brooms. In some places, trash is not picked up for days and it piles up around the dumpster. Some say this is because Italy went to the Euro, which some believe, was not good for Italy. So there’s no money to pay for public service. Others say it’s because of government corruption. I don’t know which it is, but it is sad and I keep trying to think of ways to get people to clean up. We plan to hold a street party in our neighborhood and get everyone on our block to clean up our own piece of the world. Who knows? Maybe it will catch on. Panhandlers are everywhere, too. I only mention this because I think they can be part of the solution. Some will start washing your windshield when you're stopped at a light whether you like it or not; some try to sell you something; others just ask for money - going from car to car until the light changes. Last summer while we toured together, Presidente Gambarotto (my mission president) always insisted on giving them some change. Although I admire him for his charity, I would rather see these people at the side of the street - where it’s safer - picking up TRASH! I’d stop and donate money for that! Maybe they could designate one person to wear an orange vest and carry a sign telling motorists what they were working to do. He could collect donations that would be distributed amongst whomever was working. There is work everywhere! You just have to find it. Ok - I’m stepping off of my soapbox.

And the graffiti!!! It’s everywhere... on every sacred piece of antiquity in Italy! So sad. Teen unemployment is high and they have too much time on their hands. Put them to work scrubbing it off. I haven’t figured out the logistics of this yet.

Things I miss seeing... men wearing caps... almost non-existent. They don’t often carry borsas anymore either... or walk down the street together, arms linked. But in Sicily they do still greet each other with a kiss on both cheeks. Sicilians are as affectionate as ever. Decorated Sicilian carts are rare. I’ve only seen two since I’ve been here. The STANDA is all but dead and occasionally you will see an UPIM, but now they have Auchen, an Italian version of WalMart. I think we visited Auchen every day for the first ten days we were here. The supermarkets have pushed out some of the specialty stores. You have to hunt a bit for a panificio, macelleria, or cartoleria, and I have yet to find a latteria anywhere. We have found a great open market here though, and were excited to find (first by smell) a pesceria. We buy our fruit there from the fruttivendolo because it’s grown locally and costs less.

I love walking down the street and smelling MOST things - even bus exhaust has it’s sweet memories. There are no more boom boxes though. Of course not. Everyone has an mp3 player, but I miss hearing Italian music blasting up and down the streets or in the open market where vendors blasted tunes to advertise their black market cassette tapes. This was how I discovered Italian music (from the boomboxes, not from the bootleg tapes). “Gloria” by Umberto Tozzi is now an oldie, but it’s still played on the radio once in a while. Thankfully there’s YouTube and I can still find out what’s new in Italian music.

We can go to the beach :) Yes, we have been to Mondello in Palermo and to beaches in Taranto and Siracusa. Beautiful!!!

You will be happy to know that arancini, pizze, panzzerotti, foccacia, gelato, Fanta, etc, are as delicious as ever - even Nutella tastes better in Italy. They even have Pringles if it’s something you just can’t live without.

As for the work - we still hear “no c’e’ nessuno”. That one was always a puzzle to me.

The south is warm - in temperature and kindness. The members are awesome. Leadership is well prepared and strong. But there is still plenty of missionary work to do and it seems we are needed just as much or more now. Life’s experiences have hopefully taught us a few things about sharing the gospel. We are certainly more grateful to the Lord for the blessings in our lives and we are more at ease in sharing it with strangers - who hopefully will not be strangers for long. We love being here. We hope to do some good. The temple in Rome will push the work along rapidly and we will have the opportunity to participate in and witness miracles - I am sure.

Vi vogliamo bene! Hurrah for Israel!!!