Excursion: Apertivo
One of the most interesting cultural activities I participated in here at my first month in Rome, Italy was the tradition of Aperitivo in a new neighborhood called Trastevere. Trastevere is the neighborhood located next to mine but is less residential and is more up and coming. It is filled with quaint bars, café’s and restaurants and the streets are lined with apartment buildings that have laundry lines stretching across the street to the adjacent window. Trastevere is the epitomy of what you think a “typical” Italian city neighborhood would look like with people lounging around near the fountain at the Piazza center and couples strolling and eating Gelato. This has since become one of my favorite neighborhoods in Rome.
In the beginning of the semester some fellow students and I ventured there for a traditional Italian event called Aperitivo. This event takes place anywhere from around seven to ten at night and happens before dinner. In most places, you pay for one ticket which includes a drink and a table of appetizers to choose from but it is mostly based on the social experience. The majority of the time before dinner is spent talking and socializing. I particularly enjoyed Aperitivo because it was one of my first experiences with some traditional Italian food. I had obviously experienced Italian foods such as pizza and pasta before but at Aperitivo I was able to experience some of the smaller less known foods such as fresh mozzarella and tomato, a cheese and sauce dish similar to lasagna but with less noodles and Pasta Carbonara which is a pasta in an egg and bacon sauce.
This event also gave me an opportunity to realize that although many people think Italian culture is very “food centered”, exactly the opposite is true. The meals are not very large and the point of Aperitivo is not to eat or drink for that matter but to socialize and spend time with friends. This Italian tradition has really given me a better sense of Italian life and was an eye opener to the endless possibilities available here in Rome.
Film: Baciami Ancora
After viewing Baciami Ancora which is an Italian film following the intertwined lives of a group of friends I was able to a different aspect of Italian life I had not previously been exposed to. Banciami Ancora means “kiss me again” and the film is a follow up happening ten years later showing the troubles and difficulties a group of Italian middle-aged friends are going through. The film showed the aspects of divorce, a small family of only one or two children, and also adults living with their parents longer then what is acceptable in the United States. My Italian class has discussed all of these aspects as a part of Italian culture that varies from typical American cultural values and it was interesting to see them displayed on screen.
One of the main differences in the film was how the characters viewed divorce and adultery. Because Italy is a catholic country there is typically a low divorce rate and this held true in the film. The characters tried harder then what I would have expected to keep their marriages together. They also expressed great frustration and angst over leaving their significant other where as in American films it almost is expected that a character or two will get divorced, and almost with ease.
Not only were cultural difference portrayed but I was also able to see a lot of similarities. The movie was very entertaining in the fact that it had a lot of the same elements that an American film would have, which I was not expecting. I realize that a lot of interests are the same but I was thinking the movie may focus on different aspects than a typical American drama film. I was wrong. The movie, like any American drama, was filled with divorce, cheating, suspense, past relationship problems and anger towards ex-lovers. Also, like any typical American drama, the group is brought together despite their problems over a friend’s death. Overall, I enjoyed the movie because it had a good story line and showed the Italian language and culture in a beautiful way but I was also to draw cross cultural comparisons from the film which is always interesting as well.
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