From 1999-2000 I lived in Cortona, Italy while participating in a study abroad program. Cortona is a tiny, beautiful village on the spur of a mountain in Tuscany. Things move at a much slower pace in Italy, and even more so in the smaller towns, and this post is about how I learned that lesson.
I was doing a photography independent study, and I was still shooting film back then. There was one camera/film shop in the village, run by a man named Giorgio. My first week, I’d already shot several rolls of film, so I dropped them off at Giorgio’s shop for processing. I asked him when they’d be ready, and he looked me in the eye, patted my cheek, and said “domani,” which means “tomorrow.” I was used to getting my film processed in one hour in the US, but what the heck, I could wait one day.
The next day, I eagerly went back to Giorgio’s shop to pick up my prints. Giorgio stood behind the counter with a cigarette in his mouth, writing down information on film bags. He slowly looked up at me, shook his head, and said “domani.” I shrugged my shoulders and left. I went back the next day. Again, “domani.” The next day, the same thing. I said, “Giorgio, when will my pictures be ready? You keep saying ‘tomorrow,’ but it’s been four tomorrows already. Where are my pictures?” He looked at me and laughed. Then he said, “Signorina, what’s your hurry? You’ll get your pictures domani. Don’t worry about it.” He patted my cheek and walked away, smoking his cigarette. I was appalled. I started sputtering, “Wait a minute, you said they would be ready three days ago!” He turned around and looked at me, and with quintessential Italian body language and hand movements, said: “Signorina, you’re too stressed. You need to calm down. Relax, go have an espresso.”
At that moment, I realized several things:
- “Domani” doesn’t always literally mean “tomorrow”
- How the hell does one relax with an espresso running through their veins? Those things can power a small car. Crazy Italians.
- This is the way things are here. I could either fight it, or go with the flow.
So I gave in and accepted this was the way things were done, I’d chosen to come to Cortona to experience a new culture and new way of living, and this was a good first lesson. In the end, after 14 months there, I had learned to slow down a lot. It was a nice way of living. Of course, as soon as I came back to the US, I went right back to the American ways.
This year has been a lot of waiting and waiting, like a lion in grass. And I can’t control it. I feel like a racehorse at the starting gate, chomping on the bit, ready to go. When things get unbearable, I take a deep breath and remember Giorgio’s advice. I actually don’t drink coffee, so I don’t literally go have an espresso, but it’s a good mantra. When I repeat it to myself, it helps me deal with the things that are beyond my control.
Tagged as:
life,
personal
