Sorrento, Napoli, and Civic Pride

So this is short, Sunday we left Sorrento. Sorrento was really really pretty, but quite small. Early in the morning before we left we went to the port and I have to say the view of the sea was amazing.


Our street in Sorrento.

After heading out of Sorrento we went to the second most famous pizza place in the world, becuase the first most famous pizza place was closed until noon and we had to catch a train at 12:42.

Napoli was pretty cool, but I didn't really spend much time in town. The skyline was pretty neat though, and I got one or two decent shots of the skyline (which was the first real modern skyline I've seen in Europe) on the train out of town.


Napoli had the most modern skyline I've seen in Europe yet.


You can see the weather sucked all weekend.

So we finally arrived back in Castiglion after a layover in Rome at about 7:30 pm, thus ending the long long trip.

Ok, some commentary:

I've found since we've been here in Europe that people here don't have any sense of Civic Pride. For example at the top of St. Peter's cathedral there was writing all over the building, sharpie markers and whatnot. While we were there we saw some kids with markers writing on the building. There was graffitti on the Pantheon. I just can't fathom how these places are not held in high esteem by the locals.

I was talking with a group of Italians during our Italian conversation partner groups this Tuesday (yesterday) about this same phenomenon, and one of the local teachers who was there had this to say about it. She said that the kids here are careful with their own things and desire to have a nice home and nice possessions, but in their minds public spaces belongs to no one, rather than the American perspective that public space belongs to everyone.

I was telling her that if you were in America at the top of the US Capitol building, or even the Texas Capitol building or San Jacinto monument or something, and some guy grabbed a marker to write on the building people would punch him in the face! There would be no need for security, though we have it anyway to show we are serious and won't allow terrorism etc. But seriously, if I saw somebody about to deface a public landmark I would be furious and I would yell at them to stop, and if they didn't I'm sure my yelling would attract a large crowd of people who would help me to forcibly stop the vandal.

Its the same even with litter in the street in the USA, I mean we all quote "Don't mess with Texas." If I was walking around the city and somebody dropped a coke can on the street in front of me I would pick it up and I would yell at them to not litter. I would fully expect that if I tried to stuff trash in somebody's window that they might come out and tell me to eat that litter, certainly they wouldn't allow the garbage to be stuffed in the nooks and crannies of their buildings.

Alas, the teacher explained to me the people here know there will be no punishment for them and they have no fear. I told her it was sad, that in an ideal state people would care and punishment would be unneccesary, which she agreed with. But we both recognized that actual punishment is nessecary to preserve rule of law. She said that europeans just don't feel like anything matters, that no rules are enforced and that no punishment will be harsh even if it is administered.

I think this probably sums up a great deal of the tragic difference between the culture in Europe and America. I think one of the reasons the Europeans have fallen so far behind the US, despite the higher population and the massive head-start they had on the US is two parts. First of all they are pretty lasy compared to us: consider the schedule of the local "pastichiera" (which means basically dessert store) They are closed on weekends. Normal weekdays they are open from 10:00am to 1pm and again from 5pm to 8pm, but they are closed monday mornings, wednesday evenings, and they don't work at all on thursdays. That kind of shop schedule is very typical here. Secondly people don't have any pride or sense of greater community, and they have no value of right and wrong because there is never any punishment for them. I am not sure how their society drifted so far away from Christian values, but it really is a sad state of affairs here. Needless to say the economy in Italy is tanking pretty hard, and the people here are unwilling to do what it takes to fix it.

A quick side note about the teacher: her name was Selena, and she learned english by living in the US for three years. She lived in a small town in North Dakota for a year, near Indianapolis for a year, and for one year she lived in CARBONDALE ILLINOIS! Small world?

Ok that's about it for this update. Finally the weekend is concluded! Hope you all enjoyed the pictures and stuff, this was a huge trip, I think the only bigger one will be Spring Break.

-Ciao!