OBSERVATIONS OF NAPLES, ITALY: Part II

Here is part two of my observations of Naples, Italy. Again, let me reiterate in case you’re just tuning in, these observations are of SOUTHERN Italy, specifically the Naples region. There are big differences between the North and South of Italy, the same as in any country actually. So here are some additional things I noticed about Naples.

I previously spoke about how loud are Neapolitans. Let me expand on that. Neapolitans seem to have a certain affinity for yelling. They revel in it, snuggle up to it like a warm parka in the dead of winter. Now, black people can also be loud, but the act of yelling in black culture generally accompanies laughing or fighting, i.e. extreme moments of excitement. For Neapolitians it accompanies more mundane acts, eating, or walking, even breathing seems to illicit yelling episodes. The number of times I've been speaking to my girlfriend and she started yelling at me for no reason! Of course I start yelling back because well... I’m black and these count as extreme moment of excitement for me.  We've had countless “arguments” where I’ve had absolutely no clue how they began! One time we were talking about milk. Yes, milk. Not about what milk philosophically represents, or the history of sustenance.. just milk. Next thing I know we are screaming and yelling... about milk. After a moment I realize the madness going on and had the sense of mind to ask her why she was so angry over milk. She looked at me like I was the crazy one and said she wasn't angry at all. Talk about a WTF moment! I thought she was joking for a second, using reverse psychology to win the “argument”! But she was being sincere! Apparently yelling does not equal angry in Naples. So that of course begs the question, what happens when they actually are angry??!! My girlfriend and her sister will often sound like they are up in arms over something ready to kick off their shoes and roll up their sleeves! Catfight! Nope. Just talking about the weather...

Ok, so even though they can be ghetto and yell entirely too much, Neapolitans’ bark is much worse than their bite. All in all they are extremely nice people. I mean, everyone drives like a maniac here. Red lights don’t mean stop, apparently they mean access the situation and decide on the best course of action while still moving, terrifying for the uninitiated. After a while, you begin to notice the insanity is infused with niceness. Pedestrians always have the right of way, even if they are in the wrong. I live in Berlin and pedestrians are treated only slightly better than gypsies; real talk. Another thing is, they’ll yell of course, make wide arm gestures naturally, but no road rage. Not saying it doesn’t exist! But I haven’t ever seen it myself in Naples. The people accept the chaos of the roads and work around it and use being super nice as the common denominator through it all... and it works! Throw in how you are always greeted with a smile and kisses..  even from men, which is still taking some getting used to but hey, coming from emotionally void Berlin it’s a nice change,

The last thing I have to mention and I’m sure many of you may have expected it is the mafia, or as it is known in Naples, the Camorra. No one ever really sees the Camorra; you just see their hands, if you know what I mean. Now, in Naples, if you want to do anything, and I do mean anything that is a money making venture, you have to get permission from the Camorra. Period. PERIOD! You want to start painting pictures of tourists near the beach? Yep, you need approval. You want to help people find parking spaces in crowded areas and hope they give you spare change? You got it, needs approval. To an outsider it makes you wonder how anything gets accomplished in the area. But when you look more closely at Naples, there are a lot of empty dilapidated buildings and vacant lots teeming with potential. In no other city do I know are prime real estate plots with views of the sea undeveloped. Just wouldn’t happen in New York or London or Sydney. In Naples it is an epidemic. If someone does open a shop or center or even children’s museum that doesn’t have approval or doesn’t pay enough.. it gets burned down. Yep. They fire bomb the place. The smell of burnt concrete in Naples is just as common as the smell of sea water or the catch of the fishermen.  And it is so engrained in their culture. One would think that at some point people would rise up and say enough is enough! There is a huge scandal in the region at the moment because it was revealed the Camorra created fake holding companies to bid on European Union waste removal projects. They came in with the lowest bids so were awarded hundreds of millions of euros to dispose of the most vile and repugnant stuff known to man. Know what they did with it? They took it to the small towns and villages of the Naples region and buried it. Where people are living. The cancer rates in these areas are astronomical! Much of the ground water and farmed food is contaminated. People are dying and you can’t drink the water or eat the food, yet, other than a few protests (large) and decrees by local politicians, nothing has changed. Me being me, I asked. I wanted to know. From the answer I get the feeling that the Camorra is as much a part of the society in Naples as the air they breathe. Good or bad, the past, present and foreseeable future will include the Camorra. The anger of the people is more directed at the politicians for allowing this to happen when they were aware of who won the contracts in the first place. It is how it is here. This region is slowly dying with the lack of jobs and opportunities and now poison.  BUT there is real opportunity for revitalization which is cause for hope, and sadness if significant changes aren’t made. That is Naples. 

OBSERVATIONS OF CHICAGO

Last month I went to Chicago for the Fall Urban Land Institute (ULI) conference. The reason I went to this conference is for a completely different blog entry. Going to the conference did give me the opportunity to visit Chicago again after being away for over ten years. Me being me, I noticed a few quirky things about this city.

The people are nice. Seriously, the people are really nice. I am painfully aware that me living in Berlin, a city famous for the cold and harsh demeanor of the residents might have significantly skewed my niceness meter in Chicago towards friendly and cheery but hey, it is what it is. The people in Chicago were in my opinion extremely agreeable.  Case in point, drivers in most major cities exercise their right to run down pedestrians caught out in the middle of the street when the light changes to green. If they don’t run you down they honk on their horn long enough to alert everyone within a 12 block radius that they spared your life. Quite often they will roll down the window to explain at the top of their lungs how you are forever indebted for their act of mercy. Not in Chicago. Not only did I notice cars not accelerating into defenseless crowds, but they didn't even blow their horns to hurry people up! They waited patiently for the people to cross then went on their merry ways. Amazing! In turn, pedestrians just meandered across major intersections with no fear at all. In Berlin, when the crossing light turns red half the people immediately break out in sprint to escape the coming onslaught of traffic. The other half TRY to act all cool and nonchalant knowing in theory they still have time even with a red light to cross safely. At some point though their nerves break and they too end up dashing those last few feet. Berlin drivers do not play that! Move or get ran over! And if you take too long walking across the street some will rev their engine to warn you they coming! Then when they drive pass they’ll stare at you to make sure you get the point! None of that stress crossing the street in Chicago. Loved it!

There are about 10 million people who live in the Chicago metropolitan area. That’s a lot of damn people! But you don’t ever get the sense there are 10 million people around when you are in Chicago. I was downtown for my conference and never felt I was surrounded by a mass of people one gets in New York City, London or even Madrid. Spoke about this sensation to Chicagoans and they agreed. There isn’t an area or district in Chicago that is always consistently packed with people they told me, unless there’s a sporting event. But in general, it’s a rather laid back quiet city. Ten minutes travel time from the financial district on public transportation you are in areas that feel like the suburbs. You’d be hard-pressed to find that in any major city in the world and I lost count of areas like that in Chicago. Different, but kinda nice.

There are homeless people everywhere in the world unfortunately. The number we have in the states is nothing compared to say India for example. What I did notice about Chicago is that the homeless are so present. I don’t visit Wall Street so often when I’m in New York, but I don’t recall seeing dozens of homeless people when I am there. Even in Berlin, a city with almost double the unemployment rate of Chicago, I don’t see that many homeless people around the downtown area. Maybe it’s smarter for them, higher foot traffic and all. Other thing I noticed is how many black people were homeless. In New York City I see homeless people of all colors... well except Asian. Has anyone ever seen a homeless Asian person in the United States? I know they exist, but I’m just saying. But in L.A. or New York it’s all races on hard times. In Chicago I only saw black people. That’s it, just black homeless people. 

My next observation might be connected to the number of homeless people I saw in Chicago. The energy of Chicago is flat. In New York for example the energy is alive and pulsating. You can easily get caught up in the “Go, Go, Go” of it and not even realize it. In Berlin the vibe is, “Do whatever the fuck you want as long as you leave me the fuck alone.” In Chicago it was more... flat. Almost like people couldn’t be bothered, or even slightly depressed. Again, could be related to the area I was in, but I felt it everywhere I went, this palpable undercurrent of... hopelessness just under the surface.

Last thing I noticed, I live in Berlin and went to University in Boston. I know intimately what winter cold is. But Chicago weather is an altogether different beast. Chicago weather is like a bitter ex who is unhappy and bitter over the break up and made it her mission in life to ensure you’re gonna be unhappy and bitter right along with her. Cold is one thing, but that wind?? Lord have mercy. It was the first week of November and that wind was already serious! Chicagoans were out in long sleeve t-shirts and shorts like it was NOTHING! They were laughing at me because I had a scarf and jacket on. It was in the low 40’s people! I was choosing my walking paths based on which streets offered the best protection from that sadistic bitch they call wind. No way I want to experience that in January or February. Nu uh, no way. 

So, I was in Chicago for about a week. With the nice people and all the yummy food I had, I hope it's not another ten years before I get back. But it will be late Spring next time I visit. Indeed.