It’s too early for me to provide anyone with a house arrest-style update on this COVID-19 life here in Italy. I say this because we are not under house arrest, and we can indeed move about. I would say that you’re kinda dumb if you don’t limit your movement to the essentials at this moment—and I say this for just about anywhere in the world right now. Become a ninja hand washer instead. Learn to speak another language. Start making obscured sand art with your empty wine bottles. But most of all, remember that if you’re not a person with a weakened immune system—well someday you will be.
Empathy, as is always the case, remains a crucial consideration in these strange times.
And while I don’t really have anything funny to tell you about, I do want to think on the empathy aspect a bit. Italians are very social human beings, and whether it’s for the better or worse, their brains are always launching daggers of consideration into the existence of others. I’m not sure if that makes complete sense—I’m currently sipping some virus-free Montepulciano—but I will tell you that people are always thinking about others in this country. And they are not afraid to show it. It’s one of the things I like best about Italy.
As I’ve been running through my amended task lists, I’ve been reading and listening to a wide swath of reporting. Today while walking to work (yes, I walked and it was totally normal), I listened to an Italian podcast that aimed to focus on the positive stuff going on. I really appreciated the narrator’s take, as an Italian she admitted to being both confused and shaken by recent events. But she then moved forward and spoke about some Italian traditions that are currently being adapted to support this red zone lifestyle.
The first was the tradition of caffè sospeso, or “postponed coffee”. This gesture reportedly began many years ago in Naples during the Second World War. Under somewhat murky origins, the idea was for a person to pay for the coffee of a faceless client who would come to the bar after you had most likely gone on your way. While I have never personally experienced this (not even in America), I do know that this philanthropic act is performed in places far beyond Naples. But here in the era of sickness and distance-keeping in Italia, the caffè sospeso has seen a bit of an update.
Le pizze sospese has become an occurrence all around the boot. Pizza is purchased for health care providers and others who are working around the clock to tend to this health crisis. They are those who cannot obey the “STATE A CASAAA!” decree and are doing the important work of getting a handle on the current situation. While lately I have noted exceedingly polite people and vehicular traffic, this gesture of love and support is exactly what we all need to hear about. Especially when folks are forced to keep a distance from each other. As I was speaking to an American friend living in France, not seeing French and Italian folks give even a kiss on the cheeks right now is extremely strange.
The other thing the podcast mentioned was something that I also saw in the newspaper today. It was the act of taking care of the people on your block: “Mi prendo cura di mio vicino” AKA I take care of my neighbor. For the young folks who are cooped up or have newly-found spare time on their hands, they are offering to help out people in the community who might not have such an easy time getting around—or, more understandably, do not want to go out during this time of hyper-contagious sickness. Folks are giving of themselves in a time where most of us feel helpless against an invisible threat.
Every morning at around 6am I wake up and open my eyes. It’s usually the gabbiani who wake me up most mornings, but sometimes it is also the opening of an incredibly creaky metal gate from some unknown neighbor. Before moving too many muscles, I pick up my phone to start up a meditation app that will give me at least a 10 minutes radio free start. I find it’s a preferable to what I would like to do: open one eye and pirate squint at the screen to see how much further into the shit we had slid overnight. Politics, pestilence. The Bruins blowing it. You get the idea.
The need to be in a better mindset through all of this will be key. And as it is early days, I write this just as much for myself as I do for anyone else who might be reading. On the ground, I love that the Italians have found ways to vest their energy into embracing (figuratively) their communities. Nobody really knows how this thing will play out. It more seems like a big numbers game at the moment. So pizza and finding someone to carry things home for you—these are two great news stories that are worth sharing.
I of course miss my loved ones- both here and abroad, in land and on sea. I miss not living with the real concern that this virus could compromise the body of someone I know. I am grateful to be living in this country, and I am grateful for the support that has been extended to me by both the American as well as the Italian community. I don’t feel alone or afraid—but like everyone else living in this Coronavirus reality, there is more that I wish could be done.