blog assignment #3

Last Wednesday, the group as a whole went to the market of Piazza Vittorio, this neighborhood is well known for being where you would be able to find the ethnic community of Rome. It was very oblivious once we were there because of the abundance of Chinese shops. Our assignment was to interview people at the market. The interview was very simple; it was approached in a casual standpoint where the interviewer and interviewee could be in a comfortable environment and to learn more about issues of a multi-cultural community in Rome.

Once in the market, some might say that it is multi-cultural but this was easily explained by the first person that we interviewed “everyone here is from Bangladesh.”  Although there were other ethnicities represented, Bangladeshis were predominate. The market itself differed from other markets that I’ve been to in Rome, the workers were different, the products were different, it was clear to see that the market catered to the surrounding neighborhood and it’s residents.

My partner and I were walking around and we came across the seafood section, a man working at one of the stands then approached us. He first spoke to us in Italian but with my Italian not being anywhere close to hold a conversation I simply replied “sono americano, parlo italiano un poco. parli inglese?” Our interviewee laughed a bit and told us he could, this started our interview with him as well as him asking us questions. We asked various questions about where he was from, why he was in Rome, if he liked it here, and so on. He wasn’t hesitant to answer our questions, he also was from Bangladesh and told us that he had only been in Rome for a short time but has been an Italian citizen for 5 years now. He continued to tell us that he had traveled around Asia and Europe but decided to reside in Rome to work in his brother’s business, which was a fish stand in the market. He was very optimistic about saying that he enjoys his stay here in Rome, and that he didn’t have plans on going anywhere else.

The other person that we interviewed wasn’t a native Italian but he had been living in Italy for 30 years now. He was from Egypt and traveled back there twice a year. He worked in a meat stand where he thought I spoke Italian and when I told him different, he advised me that knowing Italian would only better myself. He claimed that Rome was gave him a great opportunity for his business. I assumed that since he has lived in Rome for an extended amount of time and travels back and forth from Egypt that his residency in Italy is stable, whether or not he’s a citizen. He too also stated that he enjoyed living in Rome.

Comparing my experience at Piazza Vittorio and then watching the film, it is clear that the creator of the film wanted it’s audience to know of the diversity through musical talents of the ethnic community but he also showed the problems that arose when being an ethnic minority here in Rome. The film also showed how the neighborhood become so diverse and the anti-immigrants sentiments towards the migrants settling in Piazza Vittorio and the efforts to demonstrate that there was an established ethnic community of Rome.

Coming from an immigrant’s viewpoint, both of our interviewees had nothing bad to say about being treated negatively for being immigrants as they were both employed and of middle to higher economic class. It would have been nice to get a viewpoint from an immigrant of lower class and an actually Italian, but the only Italians we encountered were at the nearby University and classes were in progress and the ones I spoke to didn’t understand what I was trying to ask them.

blog assignment #2

Write about what you think makes roman and Italian identity. What are the myths around this identity? What are social, culture, and physical forces that shape this identity? Who belongs and who doesn’t, and why?

Italy, the country that shaped as a boot, home of pasta, pizza, and probably some other Italian dish that starts with a ‘p.’ But there’s far more than just delicious food Americans have classified and commercialized, it’s the people that create the identity of this nation. Though here too there are many misconceptions of Italians, as mustache wearing, speaking with theirs hands, mafia affiliated, and a certain character that eats mushrooms and jumps on turtles trying to save a princess. Italy has become a country of people from many different backgrounds, cultures, and traditions. Compared to the United States, these issues are coming up more recently, in the last 20 years, and there are different controlling aspects of law regarding the integration of everyone, this makes it very difficult to define an Italian identity at a national level.

Coming here I felt as if I was going into an episode of MTV’s Jersey Shore where the characters are, according to them “very Italian,” so I was anticipating people that were overly tanned, wearing bedazzled shirts, and dirty hamsters. Although this show doesn’t depict anything of Italy itself, it actually depicts the youth of Italian decent who reside in parts of New England that even residents there considered to be popular culture’s definition of “ghetto.”

Being here in Rome and having the opportunity to learn about some of Italy’s history, I learned about the complexity of the nation and how it’s only been considered a unified country for only 150 years. Even with this unification the country is still considered split between the north and the south. As the north was able to industrialize compared to the south still being agricultural, many went north in search of jobs leaving jobs to be filled by the diaspora of migrants. Another reason for outsiders claiming Italian jobs was because Italy is a country that still allows those seeking asylum from being persecuted in their country of origin and under Italian law, to not be an illegal migrate,one must be employed to prove an income. This was the cause of tensions between the Italians and the migrant community. But now, most migrants are confined to working jobs that Italians won’t take or work in businesses that catering to the migrant community. This tension goes as far as even having growing tensions with Italians themselves as conflict arises when claiming who is truly Italian, the north or the south.

Although there is one group of ethnic minorities that our class had the opportunity to learn about, and that group is the Roma, not to be mistaken as inhabitants of the city of Roma (Italian for Rome) or mistaken for being from Romania, this is a displaced group that has had a presence in Italy for over 500 years. Commonly stereotyped as “gypsies,” the Roma have been completely “other’d” by Italians and in world history, they were also supposed to be killed off with the Jewish by the Nazis. As of today, they have been placed into camps provided by the Italian government, there are a total of 40 camps, and only 22 of them are to legal Italian standard. This is the one group that has been completely ousted from the Italian community, although they have been here longer than other migrant group from more recent issues.

The city of Rome is considered neutral in the north and south question, though it can be said that it is very Italian, as the city center has very little influence by eastern cultures. Also being home to the Vatican, the Catholic Church is highly revered and there was actually a time when Rome only asked for “Catholic immigrants.” Here the ethic minorities reside outside of the city center and usually work as selling random things on the streets or in ethnic restaurants.

The concept of a national identity cannot be defined by a concrete definition; it is a social construction, which by definition isn’t static and is subjected in change. But Italian law conflicts with this as there are many different laws and requirements to being an Italian. For example, in America, if one is born on America soil, the 14^th amendment of the American constitution grants them citizenship. In Italy, to be granted citizenship at birth, it depends on lineage, as one’s parents must already be Italian. There are many different laws and requirements of Italian identity that are now being challenged by organizations such as the g2 and arcigay. These bring up questions, such as “what is an Italian identity? Who is or can be considered Italian? Is the migrant community apart of the national identity? Can one be Italian with a different country's ancestry? All these and many more are brought to the table as questioning what it means to be Italian. There has to be an entirely different approach to what is considered national identity, making Italy itself a new Italy.

weekend in Florence and Pisa

NE view from atop Michelangelo Square

Over the last weekend most of the group and me went on a trip north to Florence, although we were still in Italy, there is a fine divide from the north and the south. But the experience was well worth it; the sights, scenery, people, and the food were all different. But I think we can all agree there was a whole bunch of walking.

Asian food!

This was more than just finally being able to give me my Asian food fix that I've been missing back home. This also showed the established Chinese community here in Florence, as they are able to open businesses. Other races were also noticeable as the diversity was spread throughout the city. Comparing to Rome, as it is a very Italian City.

The Duomo

This was one of the sights I saw the first night, this thing is huge. There is no way I could of put this in one picture. The history behind this is incredible and the catacombs under it were also just as interesting.

Meat section of the Mercato Centrale

This market was filled with tons of selections of meats, seafood, fruits, vegetables, and Asian products! I'm pretty big on asian products because I miss these things from back home.

Locks of Love on the Ponte Vecchio

I thought this was pretty interesting how couples will "lock" their love with these locks and then throw the key into the river. If you wikipedia "love locks" this is a global phenomena.

Original Statue of David in the Accademia Gallery

All over Florence there are replicas of infamous statues, and the originals were put into places were you were charged to see. On top of that you couldn't even take pictures. This picture was taken as I was seating down and put my camera by my foot. I did not know how good it turned out till after I left the Accademia. I'm very happy with the results.

Sunset in Pisa

 Also on this trip we took a train over to Pisa to check out the tower and on the way there I was able to catch the sunset. Over at the tower, it was something else; everyone there was taking a picture of them either holding the tower up or pushing it over... very, very original. I went a different route and got pizza. I don't know if pizza originated from Pisa but they sound very similar .

Leaning Tower of Pisa

All in all, I had a great weekend trip away from Rome, but am glad to be back. There are other things we did while in Florence that aren't on here but pretty much we did every sight they had to offer and in some places we couldn't take pictures of.

blog assignment #1

I accidently deleted this post, so I'm reposting it.

Rome is a city, which is rich in culture and history. Traveling here I had that in mind but I didn’t know the intensity of it all. My first impression of the city is that it is very Italian with little outside influences. As for the youth culture here, it is very open to discussion. The definition of youth comes from my American ideology where there’s an age limit to the ability of what an individual can do, thus classifying them as youth, as they are not adults yet. Being here I’ve noticed a difference, there isn’t an age restriction.

google image

On a weekend night, after the market has cleared out, Campo de `Fiori gets filled with another crowd. The various restaurants, bars, and shopping, regardless of age, everyone is attracted to the nightlife here. The youth is very predominate, congregating in large numbers as they are drinking and smoking in the Campo. When I compare this to back home, I can’t think of any place where the youth culture could do this, given drinking publicly isn’t allowed. Drinking here compared to the states is different as well, getting drunk isn’t the objective, it is very casual. This probably has a lot to do with the upbringings of the Italians. This is only my first week here and I know I have a lot more to learn and see, so my views are subjected to change