Last summer I was in Perugia, Italy to study in University for Foreigners for a month. Here in Armenia we sometimes say that Italians and Armenians are alike, so I decided to found out if it was true. Well, there are some similarities like people always complaining of the government, highly developed bureaucratic system, chaotic traffic, hot-blooded people, etc. But there are also some differences like educational system, way of dressing, arranging a party, etc. Here is a list of the most obvious similarities and differences between our two nations I managed to find.
Difference n. 1. The apartment we rented wasn’t in the centre of the city by Armenian standards. The buildings were old; the streets were so narrow we had to keep to the walls to let the cars pass. Even the university once was an ancient palace. The centre by Armenians standards had broad streets and modern buildings. But for some reason the inhabitants of Perugia considered “centre” the place we lived. When we wondered what the reason of that strange phenomenon was, we were told that the real centre is the historical centre of the city when the ancient monuments are preserved. In that area all cultural events are held, in that area the most expensive apartments are. And then they asked us if our city was different.
Similarity n. 1. When our plane with great difficulty and scaring me to death (I had never flown in plane before) at last landed in Rome Fiumincino airport all the passengers began to applause. I looked at my friend. She was bewildered like me. We were told after that it was usual for the Italians. Then I found out that also the Armenians thank the pilots for not crashing the plane in that way.
Difference n. 2. The bus that took us to Perugia from Rome didn’t pass near the historical monuments. That’s why our attention was drawn to the inscriptions on the city walls proudly informing about the love or hatred of Romans to various people, musical groups and football clubs; to the Stadio Olimpico home of my favourite “Roma” and my… (well, no comment) “Lazio”, and to the Roman nature. Yeah, Rome was surprisingly green. So surprisingly green were also Perugia, Capri, Florence, Naples and all the cities we visited, even Pompeii that is what had remained from Pompeii. But the greatest surprise was that the Italians themselves weren’t surprised their cities were green, moreover they considered it wasn’t enough. I understood what they meant when after leaving Italy we stopped in Riga for a few hours. Of course, in comparison with Riga Rome was almost a desert. But in Italy I was comparing Rome to Yerevan.
Similarity n. 2. At last we were in Naples, my favourite city. I had been dreaming for a long time to visit Naples, the controversial birthplace of Neapolitan songs and camorra, one of the most dangerous Mafiosi organizations. The burning sun, traditional Neapolitan sweet bebé, a street named Armenian St. Gregory with a church of the same name, “Te voglio bene assai” heard in one of the squares, the “Spanish Quarters” (the guide advised us not to enter), mediaeval castles, students protesting again something. So romantic… So, feeling in the seventh heaven I nearly fulfilled the proverb “Vedi Napoli e poi muori” (See Naples and then die) because I hadn’t noticed the car that was rushing towards me with unbelievable speed. The feeling I was in Yerevan became even stronger when I saw why the car had broken the traffic regulations: on the most inconvenient part of the street something was being rapidly constructed. We decided not to follow the motto “we are Armenians, we can cross the street where we want to” for once and went to find a zebra crossing. Overcoming the obstacles caused by broken waste containers and rubbish on the streets we finally found a zebra crossing but didn’t manage to cross the street even when the green traffic light was on. Seems like Neapolitan drivers had a motto close to ours.
Difference n. 3. We didn’t have the chance of visiting the Ferrari museum in Bologna. To our great surprise neither we managed to see a Ferrari in the streets. Some of my friends started to suspect that Italy wasn’t one of the world leaders in the field of automotive industry. The others didn’t even understand how Italy had managed to squeeze in G8. We didn’t see a single decent car. And some people didn’t even have one. Instead of cars they travelled on bikes and motorcycles. The only interesting car was FIAT 500 for the reason it was considered Italy’s national treasure. So, it turned out it’s easier to see brand new cars in Armenia than in Italy. And it doesn’t matter that in Armenia new cars are just for showing off.
Similarity n. 3. I missed Armenia terribly. Yes, not only my family and my friends but also Armenia the country, the capital Yerevan, Yerevan streets, listening to Armenian language in the streets. I was walking in the streets of Perugia and dreaming of appearing in Yerevan in that exact moment. And the chaotic traffic of Naples, the applauses in the plane, the hot-blooded people didn’t console me. Only Rome did. I can’t express in words the feelings I had during the short period of time in that city. I don’t know it was just me or also the other Armenians or maybe also representatives of other nations. I only know that I felt at home in Rome. It wasn’t similar to Yerevan in many ways but it reminded me of Yerevan. The Armenians and the Italians have many differences but in Rome I understood what the similarity was. I did but I can’t explain because I rather felt it than understood. After returning to Armenia I attended a meeting in our university where the ambassador of Italy in Armenia made a speech. He said he had been in many countries and cities but never had he had the feeling of being in his birthplace Rome. He felt it only in Yerevan. And I do believe that those weren’t just regular polite words of a clever diplomat.
