by Tom Greene
Like Seinfeld greets his nemesis, Newman, I’ve met the Italian
daily break with the same enthusiasm.
Hellllo, Pausa.
From 1 to 4 p.m. every day, Italians in Cagli shut down shops, services,
restaurants -- everything. This has caught me off guard more than a few of
times. I walk down the hill to the grocery store for some necessities only to
find the closed sign in the window. The third day in row when pausa stifled my
plans to purchase toilet paper, the situation became more serious. The bidet
was not on my list of things I wanted to try in Italy, but it was looking
increasingly as the only option. I fumed walking back up the long hill to my
apartment sans toilet paper. I was foiled by pausa once again.
My cultural dissonance raged.
But, here’s the thing: If I was working and living in Italy where I
could actually take advantage of the three-hour long daily intermission, I’d
love it. When I’m at work in the U.S. sitting in front of my computer, I always get
tired right at that time of day. I usually have to take a walk around my office
building or grab a Coke just to stay awake. Taking a nap at 2 p.m. would be
wonderful thing. Unfortunately, afternoon naps are frowned at all the jobs I’ve
ever held. Pausa is an aspect of Italian culture that would be wonderful to incorporate into my daily routine in the U.S., but I don’t see that happening
anytime soon.
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