I know, I know!! I am so bad about updating this thing! Since it has been about a week and a half, I will simply select a few excerpts from the events that have occurred in this time.
Sorry for spelling and punctuation errors ahead of time. The spell check on this computer is in Italian so apparently this whole thing is spelled incorrectly. Also, this keyboard has the punctuation placed differently from a US QWERTY, so navigating that has been loads of fun.
The last entry I submitted was written before I had the pleasure of landing in Qatar -- my first venture to the Middle East. And though it was just a layover, I have to say that I will not be going back any time soon. On one hand, I understand that there are different cultures around the world and they all function differently. On the other hand, I found out the hard way that I am indeed a a feminist.
Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country and I think I had mentioned previously that I had problems with the way men were treating me there. particularly outside of the resort. They were just rude and disrespectful, but not to the extent they were in Qatar. I mean, I got off the plane and there were dudes shoving me out of the way and cutting me in lines. It was crazy. I felt sick to my stomach being there and wanted nothing more than to be out of there. It made me realize how lucky I am to live in a country where women have equal rights and (some) men are chivalrous.
On a side note, I saw Sex and the City 2 this weekend and it further confirmed my beliefs about the Middle East, fiction or not. The society is simply more conservative and oppressive than I can handle. Even thinking about being there makes my stomach turn.
I have been in Rome now for about a week and a half. In that time I have learned that this place is about 50 years behind the US. There is no WiFi available anywhere. In order to connect to the internet from home I had to purchase a wireless SIM card. It has 100 hours/30 days on it. Let me tell you, you don't realize how much you use the internet each month until you're limited to 100 hours.
The university here, Sapienza Universita di Roma, is very large and has upwards of 100,000 students in attendance. It has every type of faculty you could imagine, much like Khon Kaen University in Thailand. The particular building I am in was probably built circa 1960 and hasn't had much renovation since. It's really shocking... I thought Italy would be much more Westernized than it actually is, but it is totally behind the times.
My roomate and I were fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with students our age who are just now getting their Master's in something like foreign diplomacy. They were all very well informed individuals in terms of world events as it was part of the curriculum to be well informed. When I mentioned my thoughts about Italy being behind the times they totally agreed with me and offered me the following explanation: Italy is an old country. It is run by old men who are funded by old men. The agenda never includes change.
At this time, I pulled out my Blackberry and one of the students looked at it in amazement. He said, "Wow! Just like Obama!" For realz, he had never seen a Blackberry in person. I was shocked! And I was further shocked by their general obsession with Obama and the phrase, "Yes, we can!" Which leads me to my next thought...
These students are all very dissatisfied with the political situation in Italy. They don't like that they are all unable to find work and that coming across a good job - especially as an ambassador - is nearly impossible. All of the students had plans to either go home over the summer or leave the country to find work. I said to them, "If you guys are so upset about the political condition in your country, why don't you do something about it?"
They looked at me like I had 3 heads and gave me a lesson in why it could never work. I said, "You guys are so obsessed with Obama... How do you think he got elected? Grassroots movements! It starts with you!"
Again, 3 heads.
What I came to realize through this conversastion was that while I, as an American youth, was brought up being told you can, they, as Italian youths, were brought up being told you can't. I feel sad that the youth apparently feel defeated. Until someone gets the courage to be progressive enough to stand up and say that things need to change, I am afraid that this country will stay perpetually behind.
God, when did I become so ethnocentric?
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