by Michelle Tumolo (Loyola College)MY FAVORITE PART of life in Cagli is the feeling of community. In the states, we hardly ever come together as a community. There is rarely ever a general location where people gather to relax in the presence of their neighbors. We tend to be standoffish and keep to ourselves and to our own cliques.
In the piazza, life is communal. Life is friendly and verbose. Neighbors interact with each other and get together for lunch and conversation. The other night, we attempted to assimilate into this tradition. After dinner, we gathered at the local café with a glass of wine and a gaggle of conversation. I thought it would be a good idea to engage in a friendly game of charades. After a few stimulating rounds, some of the Cagliese, also enjoying the night air in the piazza, began to guess at our attempts to convey our favorite movies and books. Comparatively, their guesses were more on target than some of our own.
It was nice to feel included in the customs of the town and to integrate some Italian into our lives outside of school. It was also nice to be able to bring some of our American culture to the already existing traditions of Cagli. I can only hope that the next time I’m out on the piazza there are Italians playing a game of charades that I can join in on.
