Since this is STUDY abroad, I thought I should probably do some academically minded posts while I'm here. One thing that I've been noticing a lot is the different gender structures in Italy. A couple of guys on our trip have run into a little trouble with this. If a couple is walking down the street and another guy looks at the girl, her boyfriend/husband will immediately put his arm around her and pull her close and have been know to start fights over it. There seems to be this need to mark territory when it comes to romantic relationships. There's a general theme of women as possessions here that I haven't encountered so explcitly in the States.
As a younger lady travelling abroad, I got my fare share of lectures pre-departure about safety abroad thanks to my parents watching the movie "Taken" ealier in the year. But I'll tell you, the best way to feel safe in this city, I hate to say it, is to travel with a boy. There is such a dicotomy between how I get treated if I'm say riding the bus with a guy on my trip as opposed to riding with a group of girls. I'll pretty much get left completely alone by native Italians if there's a guy in the group (even if it's like a 10:1 ratio), but get caught without one and the onslaught of derroggatory language and permiscuous invitations begins.
Being a rather independent person, this bothers me more than a little because I like my time alone and don't want to be confined to my apartment if there isn't a man to escort me 'round town. But given the choice between spending the afternoon peacefully on my terrace or getting gawked at and hit-on by Italians who don't understand my polite attempts at evaison and I'll pick the terrace. Good thing my roommates are up for adventures so I'll never have to go alone.
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