I am writing this from the Venice airport as I wait for the check-in desk to open and pray that my bag, which is definitely over 23 kilograms, is under 32 kilograms. A word of advice–Venice is not a city that you want to be lugging an insanely large suitcase through. But I did, and as I was struggling and wondering why I didn’t just hire a porter service, I remembered the promise I made when I left Venice at the beginning of my trip: when I get back to Venice, I’m going to show them that I can speak Italian.
It turns out that all you have to do is tell the people here that you know a little bit of the language and are in Italy to learn more. Then the Italians are much more sympathetic. The first time around, I could see them roll their eyes at my first ciao. They definitely thought, “Here’s another tourist who has a book of Italian phrases trying to show off.” But once I explained my purpose, they were much more willing to help me. The woman at my hotel was very excited to help me learn, and when another group of English speakers came in, she asked me for help with a couple of words. The waiters, too, were very willing to help out. No matter how hard I try, I look and sound American, even when I speak Italian, so they initially speak in English. Some continue to speak English even when I only respond in Italian, but some would switch to Italian without me having to say anything. Then I would share my situation, and everyone would immediately compliment me and only speak Italian. I felt so validated every time someone would tell me that, and now I know that, even though I’m not fluent yet, I’ve come so far.
Now to the reason I am at the airport 5 hours before my flight: the country-wide transportation strike. When I got a notification about this a few days ago from Alert Traveler, I thought nothing of it. They said the same thing would happen during my weekend in Rome in the city’s public transportation, but I didn’t notice any delays. I wasn’t worried until the woman at my hotel said something. I asked her why they were striking, and she said that it’s jsut something that the transportation industry does fairly often that no one in Italy really pays attention to unless it affects their travel plans. She told me to make sure that my flight wasn’t cancelled and to get to the airport early. Now that I’m here, it doesn’t seem to be a problem, and my airline’s desk doesn’t open for another hour, so I have time to ask around. I spoke to the help desk about the strike, and she said that any delays or cancellations due to yesterday’s demonstration, so my flight shouldn’t be affected. She also didn’t seem very phased by this–just a normal strike like any other day.
This seems so strange to me. Yes, there are strikes and walkouts in the US, but nothing country-wide, and it’s never actually affected me. And I’m lucky here… no trains will be running today, so my friends back in Siena who were planning on leaving today are in trouble. I’m starting to really appreciate the American air transportation service. Europe wins with the trains (when they run), but I would really rather not have this stress hanging over my head. Oh well. I’ll have plenty of time to contemplate these different systems in the air and when I’m home.
I guess this is my goodbye to Italy. Not the farewell it deserves, but I know I’ll be back someday, if my flight isn’t disrupted by another strike.