Il Mercato and Nesting

Yesterday we went to the weekly Saturday mercato in Communanza...every Saturday the same vendors with the same wares in the same slots show up....and every Saturday the locals come to do their shopping; everything from shoes and coats to housewares to prosciutto to fresh produce (grown in their gardens, of course!).  And every Saturday the locals takes advantage of a communal experience to wish each other "buon anno," to catch up on the gossip, to be with each other, to shop. 

THIS is the Italy that charms, THIS is the Italy everyone remembers, THIS is the Italy that creates deep, heartfelt yearning for a simpler time.  When the butcher HAND CUT his home-cured prosciutto for me, proudly displayed his homemade pecorino fresco--with the offer of a taste, of course--, when the woman went to the trunk of her car to get the freshest eggs for me, when the young woman pulled the "best-tasting" apples for me to try, THIS, I remembered, is why we are here.  The people are proud of their work, however simple or even menial it is, they are proud to cure wonderful-tasting prosciutto, have excellent egg hens, and an orchard with great-tasting apples.  Not only are they proud of their work, they want to share it.  And I, for one, welcome the sharing!

There is also a bittersweet acknowledgment that we will never be an integral, accepted part of this community.  We will always be stranieri, strangers, we will always be Americans; no one will ever mistake us for Italians---not once we open our mouths to speak!  I am reminded of my friend, Lynne, a francophile for years and years who moved to and now lives in France--7 years now, I think.  I was surprised 2 years into her time there when she said, "I am and always will be an American.  I wanted so badly to be French, but I'm not and never will be."  (And SHE is fluent!!!)  It gave me some perspective, some understanding, some acceptance of what our role will be...we will attempt to assimilate, we will act according to the mores (as many as we understand---there's another issue:  what is unspoken and understood by those who are native to a place!), we will try not to offend and not to embarrass ourselves, be the best we can be.

Living here is not easy--too many obstacles for that--BUT, to appreciate the good, to stop, to breathe, to afford each other civilities, to share a brilliant tangerine, THIS is worthwhile.  It's also fun...Saturday morning at the mercato, grab a cappuccino with a brioche, watch the people, shop a little, taste a little, try on a hat---what else would you want to be doing for a couple of hours???  and it takes us back to the basics, to the essence of what we love about Italy....AND, the sun is shining and the sky is a brilliant blue--the forecast calls for clouds to roll in in the next couple of days--but in the meantime, our outlook is sunny and we are at peace with this roller coaster we're on!