Volume in the Piazza

by Christy Ward
 In the time that we have been in Cagli, it is interesting to be able to realize the small things that have become more apparent of how we, as American citizens, stand out in different ways. One of the things that has stood out to me more and more recently as we sit and enjoy a glass of wine or gelato in the piazza is how loud our group is compared to the Italian people around us.

Our group of students, families and instructors enjoy gathering and creating an ever-growing table that some of the locals join in on. It is a fun time of conversation and a time to wind down after our day of work to debrief or share our experiences and thoughts. This is probably not so unique as compared to what many of the other families do, but what I have noticed is that the volume of our conversations is generally much louder than all the other tables.

It is not uncommon for people to begin to talk or laugh louder as more people join in or there is a point that we want to share in the conversation with others. I now have begun to notice looks and curiousity from other tables as our volume escalates. I am at the point that it has become a bit of an embarrassment. I don’t want to be disrespectful to this community that has so openly and warmly welcomed us, and so as I observe it strikes me that this is a point of dissonance.

Even sitting quietly at a table in the piazza it can be unusual to be able to hear a conversation from an adjacent table. Rarely can you hear a child being fussy or argumentative with their parents. They appear to generally be well mannered and quiet. A similar scenario in the United States could often be louder and more chaotic. This is certainly something in my future travels that I will have a heightened awareness of.