C HANGING CONTINENTS

So the time has arrived. I begin packing my suitcase. This time I won’t be gone for just one or two weeks. I am moving to Europe.

What do I need? Will I be able to get a job? more questions than answers.

All I really knew is that I was moving to the old world and leaving the new. The new world was a lot more practical.

I had seen French and Italian women buying bottom bed sheets at the white sale at Saks in Manhattan. In the old world I soon discovered there were no elastic corners on bottom sheets.

Probably because there weren’t always standard mattress sizes. Beds were hand made often enough that standard mattress sizes weren’t always used. However, there were no longer hand-made beds as you would discover if you found a perfect looking bed at an old furniture fair. It might look perfect, but the mattress? Old handmade beds usually had hand-made mattresses.

The U.S. mania for standard everything from furniture to light bulbs was taking off in the old world as well. I found beautiful furniture when I came to Italy, but it cost. I got to Italy before IKEA changed the furniture scene entirely.

Then came the question of ironing. Californians aren’t big on ironing. But in the old world ironing is a must. Coming from the world of no-iron sheets I had to determine how to handle my sheets in my new home.

I had the fortune to have cleaning help, but I still had to determine about ironing the sheets. At the beginning we got to use old linen sheets left over from relatives who were no longer alive. This sounds a little spooky, but the family was determined to use everything as long as possible. For awhile I got to experience the delight of sleeping in old linen sheets. These were the most comfortable sheets I have slept in.

The draw back is that they must be ironed. Ironing sheets takes time as well as coordination. In the new world where time is money, ironing sheets was one of the first things to be sacrificed.

The old wooden bed I used was just a little wider than the standard mattress size. This is the problem with old furniture that was hand made. The American obsession with standard everything I read can be traced back to the early 1900’s, when New York City had a web of wires bringing electricity to homes, all individual. There was AC and DC as well as distance to calculate, so things were standardized to make New York more livable.

But the wooden bed with mattresses just a little wider than usual has survived to the present. Finding sheets for this became more and more difficult because the sheets have slowly become the same as those in the U.S. So either you resort to old-style sheets that are a little bigger than standard and should be ironed, or you succumb to being standard.

This is the basic problem, to be standard or not.

Another difference is to be found in driving. Coming from Southern California where everyone drives. I was a little shocked to find that women in Europe don’t always drive. For example, my mother-in-law didn’t drive. She had lots of company. Women her age didn’t drive quite often.

As the world changed, driving became essential. The ability to drive a car is now more a necessity than a luxury. I have seen groups of women of various ages shopping at IKEA stores in Italy. So if you don’t want to drive you must get a ride, to visit these new places.

l know there are lots of books written by women who came of age during the Second World War. They often show women becoming more independent because of increased responsibility. Now women are expected to make a contribution to family income, unlike before when women took care of the house and were not expected to make extra money.

When I first came to live in Italy in 1985, everything seemed nicer. People were dressed better and there weren’t the immigration problems there were in Southern California. Clothing was made better and cost a little less.

This did not last. I remember reading an article in the Wall Street Journal, the point of which was that the population of Europe was aging and diminishing. The end said ‘no problem, there are plenty of Africans’. I remember thinking ‘oh sure, Africans are not the same thing’. Its a matter of education, not just the color difference.

I came to Europe just in time for the beginning of big immigration, not only from Africa, but also from Eastern Europe, including Albania. These are people who do the most traditional form of immigration. Just walk across the border.

Unfortunately, the population of entire countries began to move at the same time. When one or two people enter a new country, they may be welcomed easily, but now the immigrants numbered in the hundreds, which inspired rejection.

News reports tell of hundreds of Africans drowning in the Mediterranean, of people finding snow blocking the path while walking barefoot. Hundreds of North Africans are walking into Spain while boatloads of Southern Africans drown in the Mediterranean after leaving from Libia, which is only a five hour boat ride from Italy, an entrance to Europe, so they say.

The residents of Lampedusa became desperate. Lampedusa is a small Italian island, south of Sicily, in the middle of the water, always a vacation place for Italians. There are a number of hotels, with attractions like boat rides and the usual restaurants and night life.

Now it has become an entry point for African immigrants. The hospital as well as all available medical personnel was suddenly overworked. The number of immigrants sometimes outnumbers the population of local residents.

What all these immigrants want is education as well as work. Some churches have always had education in Africa. But it is not enough. Now there are a number of tribal wars as well as hunger problems. The dangers are what send so many to Libia to try the five hour trip to Lampedusa.

European education is appreciated in the U.S. also. Europeans are more educated than Americans in general because they tend to study Latin and Greek as well as the usual basics. Not everyone studies the ancient languages, but they tend to have a better use of logic and physics.

Having raised my daughter in Italy, I saw the differences in education. It now doesn’t surprise me to see so many Italian architects. The education leads anyone that shows an interest in architecture to pursue that.