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In Order to Love Your Country, You Have to Leave It.BY: Alessandro Saetta Vinci | Category: Travel | Submitted: 2010-06-30 03:30:23
In the last two years, I've worked it out, I've gone through the check-in agony at airports on an average of more than twice a month. I've flown to two different continents and visited roughly about fifty cities. In about ten different nations. I travel a lot, then. I like it mainly because it's a very good way of learning new ways in which a girl can tell you to "sod off", or hopefully, "undress me" but I also do like it a lot because there's a saying where I'm from that says "In order to love your country you have to leave it". I do not know where you live, or where you've been growing up, but I do know where I have. Italy. We're notorious for being the most disorganized, corrupted, inefficient nation of them all. What's more, it's almost impossible to find a road that's not dirty, we've got the stupidest traffic laws enforced in the world, and lately we've also been accused of being ignorant and void of culture. Not the mention to funny little bald man with a wig who's always on tv, and as it turns out, is actually our Prime Minister. This makes Italy, apparently, the worst place in the civilized world to live in, nothing like France, Germany, Spain, the Uk and America and so on. And it's all true. Mostly. Well as a matter of fact it isn't true at all. In fact come to think of it I'd like to stab the people who believe this is true in their chest, and then twist the knife. We all hear stories and tales about foreign countries. I could bet and not be wrong that at least once in your life you were stuck in a very bad bit of road in traffic and a mate told you that in Germany roads are much better. No toll, no speed limit, a billion lanes, no road works and so on. And it is all factual, except for one small thing, it isn't. In recent years I've crossed Germany from its bottom to its top, all the way from Italy to Holland. First thing to be said is that everyone believes that Germany has a motorway network that is 100 % free of speed limits. That's remarkable, and yet again not true. Only about 40 % of Autobahns are actually not restricted. If that wasn't enough in the 900 miles that I've driven there I've found road works, tractors, lorries doing about 5 on the overtaking lane, lorries overtaking lorries that were doing 5 while doing 6, and yes, it is true that there are eight lanes (four in one direction, four in the other), but it's also true that this happens only around big cities, and it goes the same for every nation in Europe. Drive around Milan, or Rome, or London, or Amsterdam and you will find four lanes as well. Some might argue that this only involves cars, what if I don't like to drive? What if I prefer public transports? I'd be much better off in the UK. Right? Wrong. Very wrong. In Scotland for instance, trains from Edimburgh to Glasgow are not that clean, not roomy enough, therefore not comfortable, then the London tube is constantly "being improved", which is slang for "is not working properly", many delays, many cancelled routes, trains don't work on Sundays, it's very expensive, really hot in Summer, and overground trains don't work any better. For no good reason at all a ticket from London to Cambridge costs 44 pounds if you buy it at an automatic machine, and 28 if you buy it at the ticket office. And, to top it all off, if you want to throw something in the bin in a station or on a train, you can't. Because there isn't any bin. Because Mr Brown, and Mr Blair think that you might convert a cheeseburger into a bomb. Ah-a! I know what you're thinking, I still haven't mentioned the USA. The very perfect, very advanced nation of the United States. Well, they do have lower taxes than us, and a social prevention system that works better than ours, but while I was in Vegas I had an argument with a guy who said that the Italians are ignorant and broke. He was wearing Prada shoes. I tried to tell him that Prada is Italian, as well as Gucci, Armani, Versace and pretty much every shop in every casino sells an Italian brand. I tried to tell him that three of the most important casinos take inspiration from Italy. But he said that Prada is a brand by an American chap who was born in a small town in California that's called Prada. Yeah, right. I might also add that in 2006 survey it emerged that 7 out of 10 young American adults (whatever the hell that means) can't find Iraq on a map and 9 out of 10 think that dropping a bomb on Afghanistan is a good idea. So, they're ignoramus. They're not particularly smart. They're surely not good at cooking. Their best NBA player is Chinese. Their most important monument is a gift from France. And the melody of their anthem was written by a Brit. You may state now that at least the Americans are very severe about their laws and security. Do you know what happens in Italy if you get caught doing 340 kph (about 210 mph) on a motorway with a 130 kph (80 mph) speed limit? You're fined from 500 to 2000 euros, your driving license is temporarily confiscated for 6 to 12 months, 10 points taken from your driving license (in Italy you have 20 as standard, you lose points when you break laws, when you reach zero the driving license is taken away). And if you do that again in 2 year time your license is taken away. Forever. Would you like to know what happens for the same traffic offence in California? You're fined. The highest amount possible. 500 dollars. That's all. What if you do it again? 750 dollars. Am I the only one who'd now want to sell his house, spleen, lungs, get a Lamborghini and move to California? In Las Vegas, access to gambling rooms and casinos and purchase of alcohol is strictly prohibited if you're under 21. That's probably the reason why I've seen babies and teens in every casino, drinking. And that's also the reason why, I might guess, with a 70 mph speed limit I was constantly overtaken by people in Hyunday Sonatas doing a million. Now for those of you who have a bit of a culture and knowledge. I know that you might deem that Scandinavian countries look a lot like Heaven. Denmark, for example, we imagine it's full of snow, butter, and Amleto fans who try to rip off the head of the Mermaid in Copenhagen. This is what comes to mind when we think about Denmark. Not that we do very often. From a survey in 2008 Denmark turned out to be the least corrupted state in the world. And the Global Peace Index say that Denmark is the second most pacific country in the world. So this is a Haven of soft cream and tranquility. It also well known that health services and justice in Scandinavian countries are at an incredible standard. However, to make an use of all these amazing advantages, the Danish pay a whopping 65 % of income taxes. The BMW 3 series, a car that you can buy anywhere for about 30.000 euros, will cost you 50.000 euros in Denmark. On the opposite side of the world we have Japan, which has an extremely high level of education but also the highest suicide rate in the world. And did you know that if you kill yourself in public, in Japan, your family will be fined for "breaching of the peace"? The French, then, they are presumptuous and rude, but also have 246 varieties of cheese and Marion Cotillard. Speaking of the French, their language gives me a rather...bright conclusion. "à chacun son goût". Each to his own taste. What's the outcome then? What can we glean from these facts? Well, don't buy a car in Denmark, fill your fuel tank in America, eat cheese in France, chocolate in Belgium, don't use the London tube, and for God's sake, don't kill yourself in Japan. Article Source: http://www.writearticles.org/ About Author / Additional Info: Comments on this article: (2 comments so far)
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