When you have just arrived in Rome, there is one thing you’ll learn very quickly. Because if you decide to wait every time the traffic light turns orange, it will take you forever before arriving at your destination. A Roman traffic light only stays green for less than five seconds to then quickly turn orange for more than half a minute. So contrary to what I was used to in the Netherlands, here in Rome an orange traffic light means GO GO GO.
When they arrive at the word attraversiamo (we cross), she says she finds it the most beautiful Italian word that exists, as the word has everything in it that makes the Italian language so beautiful. I believe she is right, just think about it
Attraversare, the Italian word for crossing. Anyone who has seen the film Eat Pray Love will remember the scene in which Elizabeth Gilbert is taught Italian by a charming Roman on a terrace in Rome. When they arrive at the word attraversiamo (we cross), she says she finds it the most beautiful Italian word that exists, as the word has everything in it that makes the Italian language so beautiful. I believe she is right, just think about it. The rolling R – made with the tip of your tongue against your palate – the beginning and ending with a vowel and the “iamo”, which many non-Italians consider so typical of this language. The meaning of the word is even more beautiful perhaps. Because it’s by crossing streets, bridges and oceans that we discover new worlds and come closer together.
I lost count of the many times I was asked last week what I would do if Italy were to go into a total lockdown again. Are you going to come back to the Netherlands for a while then, Anne?
However, literally crossing over and getting together physically will get a lot harder in the near future. Last week, the Netherlands put Italy on orange, and contrary to what I am used to here in Rome at the traffic lights, this orange does not encourage people to cross. All non-necessary trips to the country of la dolce vita are strongly discouraged and when you return to the Netherlands you will have to quarantine yourself for ten days. Meanwhile, the rumours of a lockdown here in Italy are becoming more and more persistent. I lost count of the many times I was asked last week what I would do if Italy were to go into a total lockdown again. And by that, I mean: only being allowed to go outside for the groceries, the dog (I don’t have one) and the trash (now that I think about it I’d better claim this chore a bit more). Are you going to come back to the Netherlands for a while then, Anne? Or will you stay there?
Against the backdrop of the beautiful pastel-coloured square Campo di Fiori, all these different cultures effortlessly blended in together. Perhaps because we already had one big thing in common
Exactly the same question was frequently posed to the other international girls with whom I celebrated Halloween last Saturday – do not worry, it was daytime and outdoors. None of us knew the answer yet. Together, we were a very colourful group, representing no less than seven nationalities. From China to America, from Finland to Serbia and from England to Italy. And myself, of course, l’olandese. All of us live in the Eternal City now, so we have all had our own crossing. Some out of the love for the country, others in search of adventure and coincidentally ending up in Italy, but there was also a girl who was stationed here because of her work and was not very happy about it. But despite the diversity of our reasons for us to be here, it didn’t matter on Saturday. Against the backdrop of the beautiful pastel-coloured square Campo di Fiori, all these different cultures effortlessly blended in together. Perhaps because we already had one big thing in common: we all knew what it is like to cross over.
From the moment you have decided you actually want to cross over, the traffic light turns from red to orange. And just like the Roman traffic lights, the light can remain orange for a very long time. That also happened to me
Attraversare, a leap into the deep. I think everyone knows the feeling. That point in your life in which you felt you had to cross a bridge. When facing an exciting new challenge or leaving a situation behind. From the moment you have decided you actually want to cross over, the traffic light turns from red to orange. And just like the Roman traffic lights, the light can remain orange for a very long time. That also happened to me. It took me at least a year and a half to gather all my courage and to interpret the orange light as a sign to really move back to Rome. Very often we think that once we have crossed, there is no turning back. However, if there is one thing the coronavirus has taught us, it is that everything can change at any time. Nothing has to be forever, and you can always go back. But it is by crossing over that we reach new worlds. Shift our horizon, often literally when you sit in an airplane and you look down from the window at the ever-moving horizon.
Then, the regions in Italy seem to be closing again, but there’s also rumours saying that there will be news about whether we will still be allowed to cross the Italian border, which is, of course, very relevant to me. But whatever new measures Prime Minister Conte will announce, we will continue to look for ways in which we can cross
Nobody knows what is going to happen next. Whereas only yesterday news articles were released in which was said that we were facing a nationwide curfew at six o’clock (which was a bit of a shock), today the same newspapers reported it would most likely going to be nine o’clock. And that too is not yet certain. Then, the regions in Italy seem to be closing again, but there’s also rumours saying that there will be news about whether we will still be allowed to cross the Italian border, which is, of course, very relevant to me. But whatever new measures Prime Minister Conte will announce, we will continue to look for ways in which we can cross. To friends and family far away by sending handwritten cards, endless overseas phone calls or even having a wine tasting or pub quiz together via Zoom. Or we cross over to bygone days by getting out old photo books full of wonderful memories. Because the moment you decide to just cross over, there will always be new paths to discover how. Even, or rather especially when the light is on orange. Attraversiamo?