Just a few days ago I finally made it back home after 2 years spent in 12 countries and 4 continents.
After having wandered in New Zealand's Alps, Nepal's Lang Tang valley, Thailand's Similan Islands, and all throughout North America, I am back to my homeplace, a small town in the industrial, with still a country touch North-East. This town is named Cadoneghe (incorporated in the city of Padova)
Now, what's the point today you might wonder?
The point is that I'm already disgusted by my country, and my fellow citizens.
You don't have to go mad to search for signs. They're everywhere: on TV, on the roads, in every store. You might even just need to talk to an Italian.
I hope to not fall into too much generalization, but the message I'm trying to convey with this write is easy: I know why Italy is in such poor conditions.
Talking to some friends for example, I got to know how some decently big businesses nearby still operate like people used to some 50 years ago. Somewhere out there, it still works like "we're all friends, and if you help me, I'll help you". The unfortunate thing is that this help means to work under the table, so you help your employer by avoiding him some taxes, and he'll help you by putting some extra dough in your pockets. How cool. There's no track of any kind of contract, at least for "a while", they tell me. You don't end a positive job interview with a signature on a binding piece of paper. Instead, you end up with the word of an uncertain powerful employee that tells you when to start to work. No mention of workplace accidents, for instance. If that should happen.. well, I have no clue who you are buddy.
Let's pretend I've never heard that, me citizen of the world used to sign contracts and pay taxes wherever I go. I keep going about my business, which happen to bring me in a restaurant. I won't describe everything, you just need to know that me ad my buddies ordered a selection of 3 fried items, which the waitresses of course mistook as one portion with a bit of everything. We wanted to feast on a bunch of fried food and when a plate with 3 items (I mean, 3 damned little piece of fried crap!) each appeared, I just wondered how much they would have charged us. Turned out it was 9 euro, or 1 euro apiece. I was just mad. I do understand that taxes, food costs and workforce wages do vary in each country, but.. fried food is fried fod everywhere, and coming from a country - my beloved U.S.A. - where you can buy a gigantic meal with that amount of money, I just couldn't let ig go easily! Like when I had to ask to a small b&b in the neighborhood the rate for one night in a double room. The answer? 70 euro. Yes, and we are not in Rome nor in Milan. We're in Cadoneghe, with ugly-looking corporations all around and some fields to top it up. In low season. And remember, it's no Hilton either. I was stunned. Give me back my Motel 6 please, I don't care if that's a chain. I always find a warm, tidy room and plenty of towels!
But hey.. we're in the nicest country of the world, com'on now! There has to be a reason fr this, right? Let's have a drive.
I got frustrated too quick. It seems like they places speed cameras everywhere. I can see the reason though: just so many Italians don't like to stick to the limit. After months and months of covering ground in so many places, I think I'm more sensible to this issue. I drove for an hour without breaking any speed limit - for the first time in my life in this country, I reckon. And peace too those road-raged souls that would angrily speed past me or flash their lights. Hope one of those camers will get you a nice Christmas present bro.
I finally enter a shop, since I need a SIM card now. It's the end of my journey today, but provides me with the best outcome ever. It shows altogheter the backward mentality of the average Italian (not all of us, but most), that tells you to get a job as soon as possible, keep til you die since it's impossible to get a better job and you need money to start a family, and live around here. Pretty much.
So I tell this middle-aged woman that I've been away travelling and working for a couple years, and during the talk, she asks me what I was doing here before I left. I told her I was working for a bank, before I quit that job and left home with no job ad no guarantees. From her position with her back towards me, she turns, her eyes widening greatly as for astonishment mixed with shock, and says "You're CRAZY!".
I put up my best smile, and calmly reply: "It's the best decision I've ever made!"
After having wandered in New Zealand's Alps, Nepal's Lang Tang valley, Thailand's Similan Islands, and all throughout North America, I am back to my homeplace, a small town in the industrial, with still a country touch North-East. This town is named Cadoneghe (incorporated in the city of Padova)
Now, what's the point today you might wonder?
The point is that I'm already disgusted by my country, and my fellow citizens.
You don't have to go mad to search for signs. They're everywhere: on TV, on the roads, in every store. You might even just need to talk to an Italian.
I hope to not fall into too much generalization, but the message I'm trying to convey with this write is easy: I know why Italy is in such poor conditions.
Talking to some friends for example, I got to know how some decently big businesses nearby still operate like people used to some 50 years ago. Somewhere out there, it still works like "we're all friends, and if you help me, I'll help you". The unfortunate thing is that this help means to work under the table, so you help your employer by avoiding him some taxes, and he'll help you by putting some extra dough in your pockets. How cool. There's no track of any kind of contract, at least for "a while", they tell me. You don't end a positive job interview with a signature on a binding piece of paper. Instead, you end up with the word of an uncertain powerful employee that tells you when to start to work. No mention of workplace accidents, for instance. If that should happen.. well, I have no clue who you are buddy.
Let's pretend I've never heard that, me citizen of the world used to sign contracts and pay taxes wherever I go. I keep going about my business, which happen to bring me in a restaurant. I won't describe everything, you just need to know that me ad my buddies ordered a selection of 3 fried items, which the waitresses of course mistook as one portion with a bit of everything. We wanted to feast on a bunch of fried food and when a plate with 3 items (I mean, 3 damned little piece of fried crap!) each appeared, I just wondered how much they would have charged us. Turned out it was 9 euro, or 1 euro apiece. I was just mad. I do understand that taxes, food costs and workforce wages do vary in each country, but.. fried food is fried fod everywhere, and coming from a country - my beloved U.S.A. - where you can buy a gigantic meal with that amount of money, I just couldn't let ig go easily! Like when I had to ask to a small b&b in the neighborhood the rate for one night in a double room. The answer? 70 euro. Yes, and we are not in Rome nor in Milan. We're in Cadoneghe, with ugly-looking corporations all around and some fields to top it up. In low season. And remember, it's no Hilton either. I was stunned. Give me back my Motel 6 please, I don't care if that's a chain. I always find a warm, tidy room and plenty of towels!
But hey.. we're in the nicest country of the world, com'on now! There has to be a reason fr this, right? Let's have a drive.
I got frustrated too quick. It seems like they places speed cameras everywhere. I can see the reason though: just so many Italians don't like to stick to the limit. After months and months of covering ground in so many places, I think I'm more sensible to this issue. I drove for an hour without breaking any speed limit - for the first time in my life in this country, I reckon. And peace too those road-raged souls that would angrily speed past me or flash their lights. Hope one of those camers will get you a nice Christmas present bro.
I finally enter a shop, since I need a SIM card now. It's the end of my journey today, but provides me with the best outcome ever. It shows altogheter the backward mentality of the average Italian (not all of us, but most), that tells you to get a job as soon as possible, keep til you die since it's impossible to get a better job and you need money to start a family, and live around here. Pretty much.
So I tell this middle-aged woman that I've been away travelling and working for a couple years, and during the talk, she asks me what I was doing here before I left. I told her I was working for a bank, before I quit that job and left home with no job ad no guarantees. From her position with her back towards me, she turns, her eyes widening greatly as for astonishment mixed with shock, and says "You're CRAZY!".
I put up my best smile, and calmly reply: "It's the best decision I've ever made!"
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