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The first thing I remember about my trip to Italy is how big the Italian people are on hand gestures, how loud they talk, and the rhythm and tone of their speech.
I was in Italy for two months last summer. In the first month, I was in Urbino. Then I was hopping around from Pesaro, Verona, Parma, Bologna, and Roma in the second month (image 1). I've seen the gestures highlighted in this show in every single town and city I visited.

It's very normal for Italian people to use hand gestures and they talk that way. Even Italian politicians use them when things get heated (image 2).
In the first couple of days, I hesitated when I ordered a cappuccino at a bar, as the way of the barista (image 3) toward the customers, seemed to me just, dare I say, arrogant. Hearing the raised voices, sounded just like a big argument. Several days later when I was able to talk "normally" with that barista,

I found out that they were just having a chat about daily life. "Man, my team lost again last night...", "How's your kid?", "Hey, why don't you come by for brunch this weekend?" and alike.

Then I suddenly remembered my mother tongue, my Hiroshima dialect. There are a lot of sayings besides what you may hear in famous Yakuza films. One day I was with a friend, also from Hiroshima, when another friend from Tokyo overheard our conversation. She said, "Aren't you two good friends? You sound like you are having a fight." At that time, we were just talking about which shoes to buy.

Both languages may sound a bit shocking at first, but I believe that there is a common thread. I hope you enjoy my drawings and my Hiroshima dialect together. All pieces of this series shown at THESE

Sincerely,
Eiko Nishida
     
   
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    All material Copyright © 2005 Eiko Nishida