Machismo Experience - Not the First, Nor the Last

My son and I were out and about one rainy evening, buying him new shoes and the like. He’s grown so much this last year!

We went into the Levi’s store on Via del Corso, as Levi’s are very popular in Italy and we know their garments are of good quality. That evening, the store was filled with male salespeople. Usually, there are a few female salespeople, but not tonight. Molto testosterone!

Luckily, my son found a couple items that fit him well, so we went up to the counter to pay.

Two young gals popped into the store and one of them asked, in Italian, where the Burger King was.

One of the Italian salespeople said simply, “A piedi Via del Corso, attraversare la Piazza del Popolo, in Piazzale Flaminio.”

A look of confusion stalled the girls.

A different salesperson basically repeated the same thing.

Again, confusion on their face’s.

The Italiani had done their job and they were clearly finished.

“Do you speak English?” I asked the gals.

The gal who spoke Italian said, “Oh yes! Of course!”

Her accent wasn’t Italian, nor was it American, but her English was good.

I asked them if they knew the Via del Corso and they shook their heads no, even though, Levi’s is right on it. So it wasn’t so much as a lack of communication as it was a lack of Roman landmark knowledge. These gals were touriste!

Quickly, my son and I pointed out to Via del Corso, how Piazza del Popolo is at the other end with the tall obelisk, one walks through the arches and is standing in Piazzale Flaminio, where Burger King is located – they couldn’t miss the neon lights.

One of the gals asked me if it was far.

I’ve learned from one of my best friends, who stayed here recently, that I am a liar when it comes to distance. Since we do walk everywhere, everyday, I consider everything in the centro of Rome as being “just down the way.”

Last week, I took my friend and her two daughters, to Santa Maria in Cosmedin for a photo op with Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth) and to see the famous relic in the church - Santo Valentino’s skull. I told them it was just down the street and around the corner. Honestly, I have no idea the distance, but it’s probably a mile away from our apartment. We’re all young! What’s a bit of a walk?! Well it was enough of a walk, one way, my friend and her daughters have now branded me a liar.

So when this exhausted tourista asked me if Burger King was far, I smiled and said, “No! It’s just down the way!”

The gals thanked my son and I profusely and out into the rainy night they went, looking for a slice of Americana in a Roma.

Meanwhile, our transaction was complete and our salesperson said icily to us, “Grazie. Arrivederci.”

I looked at the items folded on the counter. The salesperson looked at the items and smiled then smiled at me. He was not going to give me a bag.

I looked at the bag my son was holding. It was large enough to hold the items we had just purchased along with his new shoes –and- where we’re from, we usually travel with our own shopping bags anyway, so the idea wasn’t foreign to me. However, the fact that he didn’t offer me a bag clearly tipped me off, that I broke one of those many unspoken rules.

My son scooped the items up and put them in his bag and out the door we went.

The rule I broke? Actually, I broke several.

#1 – Italy is a machismo society - there’s no way around it. I, a woman, upstaged all of these male salespeople in front of two girls. Not only with my perfect English, but my knowledge of Rome. Slap in the face.

#2 – I am an American. THAT rule I shouldn’t have to explain, because we all know the Ugly American label. Americans who live abroad work very hard at not being labeled as the Ugly American Tourist. Yeah, well my middle name just became Brutta (ugly woman) to these boys.

#3 – My son (i.e., my treasure [little boys sit right up there with the Pope in Italian’s eyes]) was subjected to my bad behavior. My son demonstrated that he knows the same landmarks and directions I do – his accent is even better than mine. I should have allowed him to give the directions. After all, we do live in a machismo society.