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| The Beautiful Florence, Italy |
Introduction: Life in Firenze
Being in Italy was like a dream turned to reality. From my obsession with Roman life and Roman theme movies to my Greek & Roman Religion class freshman year of College, I have always wanted to go to Italy. So many weeks of planning and not knowing if my dream would actually come to pass. Somehow it all came together like a puzzle and there I was, in Firenze, Italia! To my new viewers, my apologies for not posting while I was abroad. I thought about the idea of posting in Florence like everyone else, but those thoughts died immediately. When I started blogging a little over a year ago, I published weekly, then biweekly, then once a month, now once a semester. Why did I stop blogging so frequently? Well, I realized not too many people are interested in my weekly activities. My life is really not that interesting, as much as I would like to think so at times. Blogging once every blue moon sometimes becomes a process, a very long read; but at least a quality read. It becomes more than just another blog and more about my personal thoughts, feelings and experiences.
To solve the long read issue, I'm going to break it down in a couple of series and publish them as they come. The order will go as follows; the travel process to Florence, goals as well as thoughts & concerns before the trip, my observations of Italian society (Architecture, Vender marketing, the people, the food), Florence & travel adventures & last but not least, fall semester courses. Brace yourself, the adventure has just begun...!
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| Top of the Duomo (one of my personal favorites) |
Smooth Travel
Going into this whole travel process, I have to admit I was a little nervous. Why? I hadn't flown a in over a decade! The last time I flew was the journey to the States from Liberia, West Africa - which obviously means I wasn't born an American citizen. In the words of my man Biggie Smalls (Old School rapper), “If you don’t know, now you know….”, I say that because I realize that not many people know that about me. But anyway I somehow stumbled across one of the cheapest flights with Air France. For someone who doesn't travel often, I completely worked my magic. Or maybe it was great timing. It was a cheap flight, but if you've ever flown Air France, you know it’s a quality flight. Keep in mind if you don’t understand or speak French like Joana Peters AKA JoJo (GSE mate) and I, you’re not going to understand 90% of what they say.
Our layover was in France at the Paris Charles De Gaulle, only four hours. Not so bad huh? Well, thanks to JoJo we barely made the 6:10 p.m. boarding time at Logan airport. I say barely because JoJo lost her carry-on suitcase within five minutes of being at the airport. We got food for a moment and spent the rest of the time looking for JoJo's suitcase as soon as she realized it was missing. JoJo was not a happy camper but we had to board when it was time. Fortunately security did come across the suitcase and was eventually shipped to Florence. I promise, aside from JoJo's carry-on drama, it was a smooth travel experience.
The famous JoJo & me
Goals: "Fantasy Semester"
During the Lorenzo De Medici (LDM) Orientation, we, the students were told to take out a piece of paper and write our "fantasy semester". My fantasy semester consisted of traveling to as many cities around Italy and as many countries as possible. Towards the middle of the semester my goal went from as many countries as possible to as many as my bank account allowed me. Overall, I think I accomplished my goal of traveling to as many cities as possible around Italy. I made it to Venice (twice), Cinqueterre, Almalfi Coast (Sorrento, Pompeii & the Island of Capri), Pisa, Lucca and Rome (twice) in that exact order. As for traveling to other countries, I'm content with traveling to London (UK), Munich, Germany, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands, but I wish I made it to Barcelona, Spain, Krakow, Poland and to Greece. I planned accordingly and most likely would have made it if it hadn't been for the October break; one of the worst weeks of my life. There's more to come about my experiences in individual cities and countries and why October break went from one of the worst to one of the best weeks of my life.
One of my other goals was fluency in the Italian language. Before my trip, I started teaching myself Italian - mostly through downloaded apps and an Italian radio station recommended by my international adviser Aliki (last Name). By my departure date, I could have basic conversations in Italian. I improved enormously as the semester went by, but then at the same time I began to realize that I did not have enough time to focus on improving my Italian. I was doing everything right; communicated with locals, embarrassed myself as much as I could, made Italian friends, watched Italian TV (didn't have much choice aside from MTV's Jersey Shore), and took an Italian course. At the ended of the day I needed more time. Time also became my worst enemy towards the end of my abroad experience and I will discuss why later.
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| Walking the streets of Florence with GSE friends |
Thoughts & Concerns:
Before I left for Italy I did all the research there was to do, from google documents, to presentations from past abroad students, to study abroad tips from international services, to the GSE orientation guide, and simple communication with adults who had either traveled to Italy or knew of Italian history. God knows I don't watch enough BBC news to be informed internationally. So I made sure I read it all and heard it all before I left. I read about pick-pocketing, being extra aware when traveling alone, not walking or running alone at night etc. One of my major concern was racism in Italy; standing out as a black male, being a target. As the LDM staff says, "attracting unwanted attention."
According to many sources Italy is the most racist country in Western Europe. I also heard that the more North you go, the more racist it gets - which may explain why I never made it up North. Up to now I find it amazing how with all the statistics, I never once felt discriminated against. If there is racism like everyone said, it is subtle racism. In a country that's meant to be the most racist, I did not feel any type of discrimination over three months. In fact, many people embraced me; especially whenever I wore my Boston hat. Fun fact, Italians love Boston. Don't get me wrong, others may have had a different perspective, I just never felt any animosity towards me.
Talking about animosity, one thing that intrigued me was the difference between Black Italians verses African Italians and their reaction to my presence. Well, lets just say being an African American in Italy, I most definitely stood out. My initial thought before arrival was, I'm going to be one of the handful of black people in Florence. I soon realized Florence was one of the most diverse places I've ever been. There were Black Italians, African Italians, Indian, and every other Asian Italian.
So I keep stressing the difference between Black Italians and Afro-Italians although there isn't much of a distinction in the US. In the States we are all considered African-Americans despite our ethnicity; too many to account for. I keep speaking of the differences because for once in my life I was seen as an outlier within the black community. Both Afro-Italians and Black Italians automatically assumed I was American. They figured me out by my style, the way I carried myself and of course my built. I mean, if I wasn't African enough I was definitely not black Italian. Aside from American stereotypes of what Italians typically look like (which is WRONG!), we all know what original Italians look like; absolute sticks! Short, skinny and very metro. Skinny as in average range from 5'7-5'8in about 130-150lbs. I didn't make it North but I heard they are taller (5'10in). I guess every thing increases up North huh? (Hinting at racism) Point is, I may be short (5'8 to be exact), but I am not skinny and most definitely not metrosexual. And I'm sure they figured I was also most definitely not European. I'm once again not skinny and tall. So that narrows me down to being African or American. Unlike the Africans, Black Italians embraced and welcomed me. I befriended a couple and became good friends with the few exceptions, Abraham Diaw and Mamour Kebe (notorious club promoters in Florence). And oh, they were exceptions because they are both 6'2-6'3in and over 200lbs. Both are quite a bit older than me, late 20's early 30's. Yes, I never asked. They respected and treated me like a younger brother and were very receptive of my friends and that’s all I could have asked for.
I mentioned how for once in my life I felt like an outlier in the black community; I meant it. The African Italians wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. Why? I looked nothing like them. They were much taller and darker. Much darker? I found it ironic how I am known as one of the darkest of my group of African-Americans friends. Now here I was, in a foreign country where I was considered lighter skin. I was never threatened or felt threatened, but the glares were quite obvious. The only time they ever interacted with me was to sell me fake or stolen materials; hats, sunglasses, watches, Beats by Dr. Dre, wrist bands, women's bags etc. The one African who gave me the time of day was a bouncer. My roommate Chris and I needed to use the bathroom while strolling the streets of Florence like we did most nights. We went to the closest bar/club and asked the bouncer if we could use the bathroom. I asked him in Italian, "Dove e il bagno". The conversation transformed into where I was from. How did it get this far? I don't remember but he assumed I was Nigerian like him. I told him I was born in Liberia but live in the States. His next response was, "so why are you speaking Italian?" My usual defensive response would have been; "so why the ignorance?" But I knew better than to be a smart ass towards a man in a foreign country that's twice my size.
Point is, I never got to connect with any of the African Italians. As a matter of fact, I did not want to from the start. Their reputation wasn't something I wanted to associate with. The Africans are notorious for the black market in Italy. Ironic, Black people being involved in the black market. Like I stated earlier, they sold fake or stolen goods to tourists and students. And of course they ran whenever a "polizia" or "Carabinieri" (Italian Police) came around. I sometimes found it entertaining to be honest. Whenever I saw them looking anxious or packing up and running, I assumed there was a police presence. It was amusing at times but extremely embarrassing! I understand sometimes one has to do whatever to survive, especially in the country where there is subtle racial segregation. From my observation, it wasn't a case of a few bad apples. They were all Africans and they were all involved in illegal activity. How could I always tell? Well, 1. that’s the reputation, 2. I'm African so I can easily identify other Africans, and 3. they were all physically East African! Care to know what an average East African looks like? Especially from the Kenya, Ethiopia area? Tall and dark. Much taller and darker than the general population in the West. As an educated black or African male to be exact, I do not approve such behavior and never will. It just doesn't help the situation. How can others (White, Indian & other Asian Italians) have respect towards them when their entire population (African Italians) is involved in an illegal business? The last thing you want as an immigrant in a country with racist reputation is a reason to be discriminated against. Maybe that's why I was never a victim of discrimination or racism from the general public. My American identity was more dominant compared to my African identity. I never thought about that before this blog but it makes complete sense.
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| The GSE Crew |
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