Do you feel "welcome" in Italy?
#61
Re: Do you feel "welcome" in Italy?
Italians seem to be very sensitive to foreigners. My partner can spot an Eastern European by the colour of a dress or the length of the shorts before a word has been said. I sometimes wonder when I am walking along the street if passers by can instantly see that I am English. I wouldn't be surprised.🤔
I have also noticed that if I speak in a different language from English and Italian I am being looked at differently.
#62
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Re: Do you feel "welcome" in Italy?
I sometimes wonder when I am walking along the street if passers by can instantly see that I am English. I wouldn't be surprised.🤔
#63
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Re: Do you feel "welcome" in Italy?
As the jokes go "An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman", I can normally spot any of them, but being a Geordie they are all foreigners to me! Oddly enough I do not think we are spotted (as Geordie or English) judging by the numbers of times we've been asked for directions from Italians.
#64
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Re: Do you feel "welcome" in Italy?
As the jokes go "An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman", I can normally spot any of them, but being a Geordie they are all foreigners to me! Oddly enough I do not think we are spotted (as Geordie or English) judging by the numbers of times we've been asked for directions from Italians.
#65
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Re: Do you feel "welcome" in Italy?
Last week a man heard 2 Eastern European shoppers in a supermarket speaking in their own language and said to the cashier-There are no Italians left in Italy.
In another shop I witnessed the following: A man complained to the woman at the till for the long wait, she bit his head off. He stopped arguing with her, then threw the items in his trolley and left visibly upset. The other cashier said to cashier who was arguing, you should do this and blew a raspberry.
Two girls behind me said the shopper who argued was Calabrese, to which the woman cashier replied-he is not real Italian then.
I know these might be isolated incidents, but I see more and more of this behaviour recently....
In another shop I witnessed the following: A man complained to the woman at the till for the long wait, she bit his head off. He stopped arguing with her, then threw the items in his trolley and left visibly upset. The other cashier said to cashier who was arguing, you should do this and blew a raspberry.
Two girls behind me said the shopper who argued was Calabrese, to which the woman cashier replied-he is not real Italian then.
I know these might be isolated incidents, but I see more and more of this behaviour recently....
#66
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Location: essex and calabria
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Re: Do you feel "welcome" in Italy?
Hi,4 of us got the train to Reggio on monday,while the girls were in the toilet,3 cops asked for our documents,they thought my mate was Romanian.The only reason we had our passports is because we booked tickets online otherwise we would be in trouble,cheers,Brian.
#67
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Re: Do you feel "welcome" in Italy?
In another shop I witnessed the following: A man complained to the woman at the till for the long wait, she bit his head off.
He deserved it! He should have complained to the management, not the cashier... like getting angry with the driver when a bus is late, when he's the last person likely to be at fault.
No justification for the racist comment, though.
He deserved it! He should have complained to the management, not the cashier... like getting angry with the driver when a bus is late, when he's the last person likely to be at fault.
No justification for the racist comment, though.
#68
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Re: Do you feel "welcome" in Italy?
You only have to watch Italain tv to see the endemic 'isms' of Italy. Its like watching ITV in the early 70's - Bless this house, are you being served, funny accents and blacking up. And they roll around laughing and will then say that they're not racist, sexist, homophobic etc. Its going to take a long time to change.
#69
Re: Do you feel "welcome" in Italy?
In another shop I witnessed the following: A man complained to the woman at the till for the long wait, she bit his head off.
He deserved it! He should have complained to the management, not the cashier... like getting angry with the driver when a bus is late, when he's the last person likely to be at fault.
No justification for the racist comment, though.
He deserved it! He should have complained to the management, not the cashier... like getting angry with the driver when a bus is late, when he's the last person likely to be at fault.
No justification for the racist comment, though.
Last edited by Isakat; Aug 7th 2017 at 11:44 am.
#70
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Joined: Apr 2007
Location: Verona/ Nr Turin
Posts: 4,670
Re: Do you feel "welcome" in Italy?
Jonwel, have you ever tried asking to speak to a manager in a supermarket? They are never there you will be told. And the cashier should have replied in a civilized manner whatever the complaint was about. On second thought, this would have happened in a another country where the word 'customer services' means something.
A few weeks ago, OH stuck his heels in after a fall out with a cashier and, demanded to speak to the manager. The head of security was sent to sort things out -it was a credit card issue. OH dug his heels in even more. All this with the queue behind him growing. Nobody moaned as they all agreed with him. Eventually, the manager arrived. Well, a proper woozy he turned out to be! He definitely wasn't there due to his capabilities!