Two Italian Men

Traveling to a foreign country is a true adventure. Experiencing the culture up close and personally is only done by spending time with the people. Not the tourists who have cameras dangling from their necks, although they can be an adventure also, but the locals.

On our recent trip to Europe, we endeavored to stay in short-term rental apartments and B&B's when we could. This led to experiences we never would have had otherwise.

Let's start with Italy.


We rented an apartment (pictured above) in the Trestavere (tress TAH vare eh) neighborhood, far from the madding crowds who frequent the more touristy areas of Rome. It was on a side street, part of a maze that got us lost trying to find it on our first day. There were numerous small restaurants nearby, along with bakeries and small grocers.

Our first night required that we do some laundry, having already been travelling for 16 days. I was thrilled that there was a washing machine. A small one, but a washing machine nonetheless. The rental agency representative showed me how to use it upon our check in, while Kevin had chatted with another rep.That was the first mistake! I was fatigued and knew I probably wouldn't remember all the buttons and their purposes.

I proceeded to load it with a small load. Well, a small load for me, anyway. When I went to unload it, I discovered that the machine was still half filled with water. We fiddled with the buttons, all to no avail. The rental agency office opened at noon, so I emailed them to explain our problem, knowing that they would see it as soon as they opened....or maybe sooner.

In the morning, Kevin and Daniel went to the local grocer to buy bread, milk, etc for breakfast. Upon their return, there was a man waiting at the apartment door. Assuming he was there to repair the washing machine, we let him in.

The thing about traveling to a foreign country is that they often don't speak your language!

This was definitely true in our case.

I led him out to the balcony, where the offending machine resided in a closet. The man shook his head.

Oh.

The man started explaining - in Italian - what he wanted. He found the electric box on the kitchen wall and made motions of snipping wires. What?!

He wanted to turn off the electricity! He showed Kevin a bill with an outstanding balance.

We tried to explain that we did not own the apartment and were just renting it for a few days. This did not sink in.

The man motioned as if he were writing and said "Escrive?" At least, that's what I thought he said. Ah! Write it down! Maybe he can read English or we can read Italian better than we hear it!

I'd like to give credit to whom credit is due, but I don't remember who came up with the idea of using the Internet to translate. Brilliant! We went to the babelfish web site and merrily typed back and forth, both shaking our heads as we tried to understand each other. It became quite comical, but frustrating at the same time. I imagine he was truly baffled when the computer screen said we were renting from under the roman sun, not knowing it was the rental agency name!

The man was determined. The electricity must be turned off. We finally called the rental agency and explained our problem. The person who answered the phone told us something to the effect of calling back.

Were we supposed to call them back? Were they going to call us back?

As we were about to call them again, a knock came upon the door. We let yet another Italian man into our apartment. He began conversing with Italian Electric Man. After a few minutes, Italian Electric Man departed. I turned to Italian Man II and asked "Parla inglese?"

"Yes, I speak English."

Oh, hooray!

Apparently, the apartment owner had been away from Rome for several months and had not settled his bill. Italian Man II had convinced him to wait.

Italians are wonderful people. They help one another out whenever they can. You see, Italian Man II didn't even work for the rental agency. He was just a friend who lived in the area. The agency had asked him to come over and intervene, which he did willingly and happily.

I just love the Italian people.