6 Questions from "6" cont...

My roommate "6" sent me 6 questions...if you want the whole story (and questions one and two) see a couple entries below! Read on :-)

3)Having lived in a country where you didn’t speak the native language, what do you find to be the most curious/interesting/frustrating about language and the barrier it can impose?

When I moved to Italy I obviously did not know the language but I do think that after that initial shock wore off, I was able to observe a lot of as it was my only way of adjusting and communicating. My initial observations were:

-Every town, no matter where they are, has the same archetypes…the hero, the whore, the drunk, the jester…look hard enough and you will see them even if they are conducting their behavior in a different language
-Europeans are much kinder about “transients” then Americans
-People have a way of telling that you cannot speak their language just by looking at you…it has to do with how you carry yourself and the confidence you evoke
-There is always someone who knows how to speak English
-You know if someone likes you even if you have no idea what “l’amo” means
-Submersion is the best way to learn anything
-Great friendships can be formed when you are in “the same boat”…searching for someone who speaks your language means that you are searching for someone who knows a piece of who you are and where you come from
-Great loves can be formed when you can barely speak to one another

There is so much more. I cannot tell you how different the experience would have been if I had known the language. I think that not knowing Italian right off the bat put me in a vulnerable spot that left me open to change and growth. It was painful sometimes because the little things are missed and the ability to communicate fully is overlooked but I really believe that I was better off not knowing the language and learning it as I continued. It was also quite an amazing feat to learn Italian and to be able to conduct myself in everyday life.

The defining moment for me happened on the train. When I arrive in Italy I took the train from Rome to Viareggio and could not buy a ticket, speak with the conductor or the people in my train car…I was so exhausted and scared. I was afraid that I would miss my stop b/c they were speaking so fast I could not understand. About 3 months later I took another long train expedition to Venice and I realized that I could read the signs, buy my ticket, talk to the hot Italian man in my train car and converse with the conductor as I waited for the bathroom. I had become a part of their culture, language and everything. I was able to function and better yet I was able to be somewhat of an Italian.

Non sono italiano ma parlo l'italiano molto bene. Ero molto felice in Italia e l'esperienza era grande per la mia fiducia in che sono.


4) What thing most fascinates you about books? As an avid reader, what constitutes a “good book” for you? What draws you into a story? At what point do you give up on a read? Feel free to expand and explore your favorite authors and books with us.

I love books…really, I am a literary nerd. Brett asked that question because I talk about books all the time. I read a book a week (if not more) and I am always on a quest for the perfect work of fiction, best classic story or a great hardcover edition of my old favorites. Over the years books have become a passion that I have cultivated through study and friendships. One of my first date questions and one of my favorite questions to new friends is, “what is your favorite book?” You can tell so much about someone based on their favorite authors and the books that they cherish.

Literature presents a world with which we are often unfamiliar. We can delve into people’s worlds for a time being and live outside of ourselves. When it is a particularly good book it can serve as a retreat from which the reader often does not want to return. The use of prose or poetry to construct fantastical sentences and ideas is astounding and the way an author can string together melodic sentences in order to capture the attention of those turning the pages. Great writing keeps you enthralled even after the book has been finished. There are characters and settings that I think about weekly, there are texts that I reference daily and there are books that I will pick up and read again year after year.

I think that it is only fair to list my favorites as they have given me such reprieve over the years and are literally books that have changed my life in some way:

The Complete Works of Shakespeare (worth the time it takes to get though the entire thing); 100 Years of Solitude by Marquez; A Secret History by Tart; Emma by Austin; A Prayer for Owen Meany by Irving; A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Eggers; On the Road by Kerouac; Midnight’s Children by Rushdie; Shoeless Joe by Kinsella; Harry Potter Series by Rowling