How would you compare the life in Southern Europe with the proverbial excess and consumerism in America?
I’ve actually been in Sicily for almost four years now and living here really has changed the way I view the ‘American Dream.’ Notice I mentioned above that I would actually like to downsize the amount of stuff I have rather than buy more? Four years ago, I would have said that I could never have too much kitchen stuff! I have learned that we really don’t need as much as the television and magazines tell us we do. Coming back to the United States, it’s a bit shocking and unsettling to see the big cars, big houses, big stores and big restaurants. They’re everywhere and it’s just too much. I don’t know if it’s just because I’ve been away for a while but to me people just seem less happy in general. If so many people have so many things, why do they seem so unhappy? In Sicily, the unemployment rate is very high and most people don’t have a lot of money. The average family shares a fairly small apartment, has one small car, and one television. Children live with their parents until they ma
