Happy “Hump Day”! Wednesday was an eventful day packed with an Italian lesson on ordering food, a philosophical, eye-opening, enriching… for lack of better words “deep” presentation from Amara Lakhous, the author of CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS OVER AN ELEVATOR IN PIAZZA VITTORIO and a spicy, blissful group dinner hosted by Germaine and myself. I would like to thank everyone who joined us for dinner. Let’s do it again!
Buon Appetito! Aurora’s Italian class dealt with how to order food. We had the chance to learn some of the common Italian foods such as cappuccino, cornetto, gelato, birra, pizza and so on. We also had the opportunity to play the role of a cameriere/a and cliente, using our newly acquired phrases. Exchanging a few phrases amongst ourselves wasn’t enough. Aurora ended class 20 minutes early and took the class to a local bar where we practiced our Italian and ordered macchiatos and cornettos.
The highlight of the day was Amara Lakhous’ presentation of “Youth in Italy: A Resource or a Problem.” Although some of his philosophical ideas and responses were lost in translation, what the English-speaking audience was able to pick up remained impactful and thought-provocative. Confidence and wisdom radiated from Amara. I love his stance on identity, “half immigrant, half citizen; half Italian; half Algerian; half North Mediterranean, half South Mediterranean” As a daughter of immigrants, I have always felt this sense that I fall in an group “Ni de aqui, ni de alla,” Spanish for “Not belonging here or there.”
In summary, “Italy is NOT A COUNTRY FOR YOUTH.” Amara made many good points as to why, and that is 1) the brightest youth leave the country because they know they don’t have a chance to prosper, 2) youth is acquainted with inexperience and immaturity, 3) there are no unemployment benefits for youth, 4) over 90% of Italy’s immigrant population is young, which proposes an immediate threat and 5) there are many reasons more! I also loved the idea that it is impossible to speak about the youth without addressing the elderly. In a world where ‘old age’ is frowned upon and drastic measures taken to reverse biological maturation, Italy is one of the few places in which coming of old age is looked forward to. One question that stood out to me was “How should we bridge gaps between different truths? According to Amara, “in order to tell truths, diversity is needed.” Lastly, his explanation of Amadeo’s dream was profound. The birth of violence and immigration depicted by blood, agony, and sacrifice is genius. Absolute genius.
Alas, the night ended with a joyful get together in Trastevere. The spicy pasta, fresh salad, local bread and great company was the perfect ending. Ciao, Amici!
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