As I've walked around Rome it seems that the Italians who are not working are still out and about. I see them shopping or leisuring in parks and piazzas with friends. Although Americans do this too in similiar ways I still think in some ways Italians are more productive when it comes to their leisure. I think that one difference is that here kids can begin to go out at night at a younger age. When I was a young teen I would hangout with my friends at someone's house but here it is not uncommon to see younger teens in the bars or out in Rome's night life. It is more acceptable here than what it would be back home. This being that the laws in Italy are different also.
Another difference of leisure I've learned about is siesta. Siesta is a time in the mid afternoon where business' and shops close for a few hours and then reopen again in the early evening. I'm not sure what all Italians do during siesta. One I have learned about though is that the mother or wife would go home during their siesta to prepare dinner or lunch for her family before returning back to work. This is a huge difference than in America because back home I don't know many women that would spend their limited time off from work preparing food. Usually one would spend it relaxing or sitting down after a long morning of work.
After this trip I think my idea of leisure will change. When I am here sitting around or sleeping in on my free days I feel like I am wasting this experience. I always want to spend my free days out doing something or seeing something new. I think this will carry over when I return home. I think it will be very hard to just sit around at home watching t.v. all day because I have been without it for two months. I see this as a positive change though because I feel like I get so much more out of my day even during my leisure time.
I agree with you that there will be a change in the way I view my free time when I get back to the U.S. I also feel that when we are just sitting here at campus we are wasting our time and I just always want to be on the move to make the most of our time here. Hopefully, this goes back with me to the U.S. so I want to get the most out of my day everyday there too, but to leave time for a little leisure are relaxation.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Italians seem to be more productive in their leisure time. Personally when I have leisure time I don't do anything productive and would classify myself as lazy. As for Italian women spending their time on siesta cooking for their families, I think that this has changed a lot in contemporary society. I know that when we are in the city during siesta hours I notice a lot of women, with wedding rings on, sitting down at a cafe' or staying in the city to eat or shop. I think that the idea of women going home on siesta is an outdated notion that is going away with the emergence of more independent women in Italy.
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