A Global Perspective: Italy

This is not your usual blog post about COVID-19. Rather than adding to the massive floodlight that has been shone upon the great U.S. of A, we are instead going to take a trip abroad and shift our focus elsewhere in the world. Today we will begin our journey by taking an intimate sneak-peek into the lives of those who reside in beloved Italy.

A few dear friends of mine, who live in various part of the globe, have agreed to share what life has been like for them and their home country. My hope is that this new perspective might offer understanding and appreciation, and enlighten you with information you might not have ever learned otherwise.

You don’t know what you don’t know.

Let’s begin in the tiny town of Vo, Italy, where the government shut everything down as soon as they had their first confirmed case of COVID-19. My friend, Laura, who was born and raised in Italy and frequents her hometown quite a bit to be with her family, is my direct resource for this particular segment.

I can hear it now: But if they were so responsible in shutting things down, why then did so many die?

Italians are culturally far more huggy/touchy/feely than even my own Mexican family; and we hug and kiss each other quite a bit! I experienced this personally years ago while hosting a delightful girl from Reggio, Italy.

According to Laura, Italians do not have a great need for nursing homes as their families are quite close. Elders live with their children/grandchildren which means that they were exposed directly to the virus by vibrant and healthy family members. “We lost an entire generation . . . those who rebuilt Italy after the war,” Laura said.

Like Americans, they too started out in a state of denial, taking things lightly, especially the younger generation, but soon realized the severity of things and began to take it all quite seriously. In fact, free masks were delivered to homes, meal trains provided sustenance, they received 300-400 euros for childcare on top of the 600 euros to help them through the pandemic. They struggled to restart the economy, had to establish upgraded business practices all in the name of Social Distancing, and were forced to increase prices on needed goods as well.

What I personally found beautiful is that at no point did anyone lose their health insurance, a critical support during a pandemic, even after three months of being shut down.

What’s more is that even their homeless where gathered and placed in safety. That’s incredible!

If I’ve learned anything this year, it is to appreciate life and all living beings.

Be safe out there, and don’t forget to wash your hands 😉