My local mom friend, Ketty, who lives across the street has been one of my favorite new friends. Her daughter, Sofia, is in class with Isabel and we often swap pick-ups and drop-offs for school, and I consult her when I really don't understand the homework. Ketty believes, as do other Italians, that Americans are simply made from different stock. We are hearty and can withstand the cold and the sickness that comes with going outside without a scarf in the winter. Italians audibly gasp when we lift our arms to put on a coat and a bit of skin on our belly peeks outside and is exposed for the brief 3 seconds. No undershirt??!? Unheard of....especially with children. I overheard a preschool classmate of Josh telling his mother in astonishment while we were getting coats on to go home, "la pancia e fuori!" It means the belly is outside. He saw Josh's belly peek out while he put on his coat. The undershirt has a couple names in Italian, but one is la maglietta della salute, that is the shirt of health. Surely if your child develops a fever or sickness, it's because he was not wearing one (or he was walking barefoot in the house on the cold marble floors as is usually Ketty's theory).
One of the other essentials is a scarf. Everyone wears a scarf in Italy starting around October and going through March and some longer. The kids are all wearing scarves when they go to school.
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| Two greyhounds strolling with their owner in Bergamo, Italy. November 2012. |
This picture may be a bit extreme in terms of the everyday scarf wearing one sees, but I couldn't help but include it as an illustration of the ubiquitous nature of scarves in the cool weather. Isabel has come to like her scarf in the cold weather. The only time she hates it is when the weather is cold in the morning but mild later in the day. After school is done, the kids are all bundled up tight in whatever outerwear they wore to school that morning. It could be 65 degrees when I pick her up from school and she will have on her hat, gloves, and scarf wrapped tight. The first thing she does when she sees me is whine about being hot and start ripping off all her outerwear piece by piece until she finally sighs with relief.
We have finally stopped wearing scarves, even in the mornings. I am ever conscious of the way the kids are dressed, though. I have started to let Josh wear shorts, though not to school. I have an American friend that took her family to a near-by historical town a few weeks ago. It was a day that was mild and sunny, though still the temperature was only around 60. She and a couple of her kids wore flip-flops. She said they would not have gotten more stares if she was wearing a purple wig. It's just not done.
In a couple weeks, when the temperature stays more consistently above 70, we will see more sandals and fewer scarves. I think the magliette della salute can finally be moved to the back of the drawer. Soon everyone will start complaining about the heat. Right now, I'm looking forward to it. Last summer, we survived.....even without central air which nobody has.
In a few weeks, we will be embarking on our summer trip to the Amalfi Coast and then on to Sicily. That will probably be our first taste of some real heat. Luckily, there should be plenty of beaches available to help cool us off!
Happy Primavera (spring), everyone!
