That is a Compliment?

by Elizabeth Collins

Grille fest 2013 was a happening weekend in Cagli. It brought in many people from nearby towns including what seemed to be a younger crowd than what usually occupies the Piazza on a Saturday night. During the first night I was lucky enough to run into a guy that spoke English very well. He was with a group of his friends but they only spoke Italian. 

As the night went on, we joked a lot and got pretty comfortable with the group - and it was great having a translator! Near the end of the evening one of the guys that didn’t speak English started to let a few words out. He has not confident about it but he knew a good amount. Definitely one of my favorite nights in Cagli. 

We had a great time but a few things caught me off guard. First, the guys told us how they sometimes referred to each other… “the fat one”, “the skinny one” and “the squinty eyed one”. Immediately, I said “no wayyy! You’re not fat!” but the guy’s friends kept insisting (he really wasn’t). Anyway, the one that spoke English explained that “American’s are much nicer about those things” and his friends were much more matter of fact.

Later in the night, on of the guys told me I “was arrogant”. My face dropped and I put my hand on my heart… “What?! Nooo”. This time they were confused by my reaction. “That is not a compliment”? they asked me. I am still a little confused by this because I don’t think I got a clear explanation but I suppose we simply have different meanings or a different connotation for the word. They assured me that they did not mean it in a negative way and that it was meant to be a compliment. But, it just shows you – even when we were both speaking English we still had trouble communicating because of implied meanings of language.