- September 26, 2014
- 8:53 am
- Jacob Guise
- no comments
Eurozone Crisis: Perspective of the people
I recently tutored a local man in English this past week. He is a 50 year old businessman in the electricity markets here in Rome. He previously knew English about 20 years ago, but it went by the wayside. I opted to just sit down and talk with him to get his English speaking memory flowing again. Not only did this prove helpful, but the topics we spoke about where insightful.
He mentioned that he did business with energy companies around Italy, and would often deal with the ‘inefficient’ Energy Minister along with other difficult individuals. Intrigued, I asked how his business has changed over time, and he gave me a witty laugh. He told me that despite all the awful numbers they put on TV or in the newspaper, the crisis going on in Europe is about something even greater: hope.
He asked me what mood most Italians were in when I have interacted with them. I thought that most have been up-beat and positive – but then again, most locals I have interacted with have been at pizzerias and gelaterias, and who can’t be happy around that? He gave me another laugh. He told me when he was in Greece for vacation a few months ago that he saw faces of despair and hopelessness. He said that he sees those faces in his own people more and more as time goes on. He said that no one wants to partake in the world with such bad things occurring.
It brought me back a bit – and reminded me of the power of one’s mental attitude.