During the Spring 2012 semester, I traveled around Europe during my stay at Kasteel Well, Emerson College’s European campus.
Sardinia was, by far, my least favorite trip of the semester. By no means is it an undesirable location, even in the offseason when we went. We were in the town of Cagliari, near the southern tip of the Mediterranean island. I was excited for a peaceful, warm weekend full of bike rides, sunshine, and seafood. What I got was a lesson in kindness and understanding.
Image courtesy of Flickr.com
Our day in Cagliari, my girlfriend and I decided to walk around the area of Old Town, where our hostel was located. For lunch, we went to a nearby cafe for a latte and panini. We made sure to learn a few basic Italian phrases. “Due macchiato, per favore. Grazie.” However, we obviously weren’t fluent, and were obviously from out of town.
After we had sat down with our drinks and food, two guys walked in. They kind of looked like they belonged on the Jersey Shore, with gelled hair, bright, matching baseball sweatsuits, and heavy chain necklaces. They eyed us at the table, smiled, and order their espressos. Uneasy, I smiled back and continued eating, keeping as much to myself as possible to avoid contact with them. However, they were “friendly,” it was a small cafe, and interaction was inevitable.
While one of the men read the newspaper, the other began talking to us in Italian. He asked us if where we were from, if we spoke Italian. We’re studying abroad, and No. Then he began talking to us, and from his voice and gestures, it looked like he was incredulously talking to others in the cafe about us and why we were there. He continued to speak to and about us until they left ten minutes later. I left soon after, upset and deflated, and feeling like I was being bullied.
I stayed grumpy for the rest of the trip, which in hindsight was unfortunate. Though many of the people of Cagliari were a little strange to us, tourists in the off season, I shouldn’t have let one or two bad encounters with locals color my opinion of the town. I also learned that:
- It’s important to be kind, no matter where you go. This doesn’t mean that people will be kind in return, but it’s better to give them no reasons to be rude to you.
- Try to learn the language. Print pocket guides. Watch some YouTube videos for pronunciation. Though you won’t be fluent, people really appreciate it when you at least try to speak to them in their native language.
- Don’t let rude people get you down. It’s their fault they have a problem with you, not yours. Keep on keeping on.
I don’t think that I’m ever going to go to Cagliari or Sardinia again, but I do know what I’m going to do when I encounter rude, unwelcoming locals again.
