Vedi Napoli e poi Muori

what life is like in my new home

Since I have been in Napoli, I have definitely been suffering from culture shock. I forgot how strange it feels to be stripped of your creature comforts and get easily overstimulated by sights, smells, and sounds. Despite how uncomfortable I sometimes feel, being attuned to your senses is a great time to write about what’s going on around you. When that doesn’t work, I remember that when I moved to San Diego I missed tall buildings (seriously?).

Multiple people have told us since we arrived here that Napoli has it’s own unique grit, distinct from the rest of Italy. Here are my first impressions of Neapolitans and Naples as I settle into my new home.

apassionato

Neapolitans are fierce and strong and loud! So loud! They are strong willed and express themselves with a boldness I have not seen in any other culture. One particular example that comes to mind is when I was taking a neighborhood walk with a potential landlord, a tall Neapolitan gentleman. We were walking around a park and saw a little pond with hundreds of turtles in a very small space. He commented on how unfair it was that the turtles were all fighting for sun spots. Out of nowhere, he started screaming in Italian to two guys sitting on the park bench, who immediately snapped back with ferocity, using various hand motions and gestures. My eyes darted back and forth between the two men as they ping pong’ed shouts to each other. Finally, he translated to me that “everyone agrees - the treatment of the turtles is horrific and unacceptable”. I never would have guess by the way they were talking that they were in agreement, but as a team they took their concerns to the park manager who ensured us it was being dealt with by the local humane society.

delizioso

The food, and the pizza, is as good as they say it is. Neapolitans really want you to have the best. We held up an entire line in the Vodaphone store for about 10 minutes so the lady working there could write down a few good pizza spots in Napoli. Speaking of pizza, despite the amazing pizza restaurants in Napoli, our favorite pizza to date was a little different: pizza nel ruoticella. When we saw the pizza cake pan it came in, we were confused. A woman at the table next to us explained pizza nel ruoto is what the Neapolotans make when they make pizza at home (without the pizza oven and in a baking pan). This particular pizza had light and fluffy whole grain dough with a crunchy textured exterior. It was baked in rich olive oil, topped with cheese, spicy red peppers, and eggplant. Other great meals we’ve had include darling little bowls of gnocchi, comforting rigatoni with local tomatoes and cheese called caciocavallo, rich cacio e pepe in Roma and “la cucina povera,” spaghetti con vongole. The dolce, or dessert, is also very good. I also love this local Neapolitan breakfast pastry called sfogliatella (riccia o frolle). The “frolle” has ricotta, almond paste and lemon inside of it - it’s simple and delicious.

caotico

When Napoli won the “scudetto” for being the best soccer team in Italy, I saw some crazy things. The US mommy squad would come for the Napoletane because there are babies riding on scooters, on laps of their parents in the car, or even entire families sharing a scooter. Our bus drove backwards two entire city blocks to avoid a street blockage due to an accident. The metro and the funi seem to breakdown most days. Even walking on the street is difficult sometimes with the barrage of tourists barreling through Napoli from the cruise ships and the mopeds weaving in and out of the roads. Coming from calm and peaceful San Diego, this is a change for me!

amichevole

Neapolitans are friendly and warm people. It makes it much easier to learn Italian when people want to talk to you :) I’m told this is a “southerner” thing and I love it! Today my waiter brought me a little sip of prosecco before lunch because I was chitchat’ing with him in my broken Italian. At yoga, the teacher was late, and the class adopted me and welcomed me here. I noticed that chit chatting with strangers is pretty common amongst everyone here in Naples, and it’s one of my favorite parts of living here so far.