Holiday Journal, part 8

After a week at the seaside, which I greatly enjoyed, we had a few days at my parents-in-law’s little village as usual.  Finally my youngest son had a good time, as he met some friends, and we all enjoyed delicious homemade food.

The square at the entrance of the village was as dull and grey as ever.  A faded Italian flag hung from a window, a shabby reminder of the hundred and fifty years' celebration of the Unity of Italy.

I found the weather unbearably hot (even though we were in the mountains, a thousand metres above sea level).  It was almost impossible to go out and have a walk during the day.  Besides, my husband had a high temperature so I was stuck at home with him most of the time.  The alternative was to have a walk in the scorching sun with Valentina.  I can’t say I enjoyed myself, though my parents-in-law did what they could to make our life easy.

To kill time, I kept on with my readings of Italian magazines and newspapers.  A few articles puzzled me, especially the analysis of the widespread economic (and political) crisis bouncing from Europe to US.  Looking for possible scapegoats (banks, speculators, politicians), most of the articles agreed that the global economic crisis originated from a political crisis. They identify it in a lack of leadership and in the harsh fights between Democrats and Republicans in the US government, and in the political fragmentation of the European governments.  All say that China did much better instead.  The unanimous conclusion is that democracy itself is at a critical stage.  Is autocracy a better alternative? they ask.

How it is possible to think such a crazy thing!  I strongly believe in democracy and couldn’t imagine living in an autocratic country.  Should we forget all the restrictions, low salaries, the long working hours that Chinese people are subject to?  Could any European accept this?  We have a very different mentality and come from a very different history, and are less numerous. Finally their high level of production is based on the fact that Europe and US buy their low price products and sell them at higher prices in our markets.  It has been working in this way for a very long time, since Marco Polo (1254-1324), the Republic of Venice and even earlier.  When Christopher Columbus left on his journey he wanted to discover the shortest way to the East, which was the source of precious products and huge profits for European merchants. What Chinese people seemed to have learned better than us is to save their money and make less demands.  This may be good teaching as the crisis pushes us towards a sober kind of life.

An intriguing article by Warren Buffet (the third richest person in the world) made me aware that not all rich people are careless about how the rest of the world copes.  He complains that he pays only 17% of his income to the government while his employees pay an average of 36%.  He says that in the past tax rates for rich people were higher and he is sure that a lot of well-off American people would be happy to pay more taxes and help their country. How generous and fair.  Am I dreaming?

The analysis of the Italian crisis was rather depressing.  According to the articles I read, the main problem is Italian political instability, which makes the country untrustworthy.  The attachment to the family and to the home town or village is more of a handicap than a help.  The consequence is a closed society, where family ties are more important than merit, and citizens don’t feel any link with the State, considered an enemy instead of a common body or a guide to respect and trust.  Besides, in the past people were still capable of sacrifices because they hoped for future benefits, but now the future looks  unclear and unpredictable.

To complete my short story readings I tackled the last collection, Everything ravaged, everything burned by Wells Tower.  I must say it was the most challenging of the three.  First of all the language, new, unexpected, striking.  Then each story grows spontaneously, always leading into an unexplored land, new but believable.   Absolutely fantastic.  Reading it was a greatly entertaining experience.

Besides reading, I met a few relatives.  My husband’s grandmothers were a bit weaker than last year and, one of them, more and more affected by dementia. It is clear she suffers from amnesia (she couldn’t recognize me and the children) and is obsessed about keys, locking doors, farm animals she kept fifty years ago.  A Romanian lady takes care of her night and day.

I also improved my handmade pasta and ravioli and am practising at home to prepare more recipes to post in this blog.  The secret is in practising and practising and to be passionate about it.  My husband says I am getting better and he is the food authority of the family.

Finally we went back to Rome for three days, which were the hottest of the whole holiday.  The children met their friends and we had one more evening out altogether.  Mosquitoes attacked us day and night: the air was so sticky you could sweat just staying still.  I longed to go back to England.

My mother cried the morning we left; she looked even more defenceless and childlike than ever.  All in all I was definitely enthusiastic about this holiday.  We had fun, a good rest, saw new places, enjoyed the children, and they had a good time as well.  Could I ask for more?

But it was still great to be going back to England.

Visit my website www.carlascaranod.co.uk (sorry it doesn’t work with Firefox), you’ll find out more about my readings and Christmas Fairs.