Venice is ‘Life on the Streets’
Louise Nunnink, UCLA

There are two reasons I decided to move to Venice, Italy:  the quality of life here, and the humanness of this society.

While working at UCLA from 1971-1987, I used to spend summer vacations traveling around Europe, often visiting people who had visited UCLA. I have Italian roots, and everything here felt familiar. I was immediately attracted to the Italian life style, and over the years spent more and more time here discovering the wonders of the country and the Venetian Society.

In Sept. 1987 I decided to spend a year here. That year became 11 years, during which time I taught English at various schools, organized international conferences, translated books and articles and studied the Italian language, culture and cuisine. The stage was set!

In Sept. '98, having to work enough to qualify for Medicare, I moved back and settled in Carmel, CA.  After nearly eight years in Carmel an extraordinary thing happened that has changed the quality of my life during my "golden years.”

I heard through a friend in Venice that the apartment in a 500 year old palazzo I had rented for 11 years would soon be available. When the academic year ended, without giving it a second thought, I left Carmel and again rented my old digs in Venice. I was able to step back into my former teaching job in Treviso, where I go on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings and teach English to young professionals who are really interested in learning.

Life in Venice is a life "on the streets", as there are no cars. Every morning I walk to the local bakery for bread and to the campo for fresh fruit and vegetables. Eating in Italy may qualify as a "religious experience" as fruit and vegetables are fresh -- many having been harvested only hours before finding their way (by boat) to the fruit stands.

One cannot leave the house without meeting friends or acquaintances on the street. Everyone stops to chat for a minute -- even the busy doctor whose children I taught in the past. I also socialize with my (mostly Venetian) friends who are about my age (65), meeting for a coffee at the local coffee bar in the campo, or having dinners together. Tables in restaurants are yours for the evening -- dining here is an experience that may last for several hours!

In lonely moments I simply go out for a walk and am immediately cheered up by the beauty that surrounds me. While walking around one can hear classical music such as "Vivaldi" wafting out of windows, or the TVs of the old, blaring!

Venice can be a difficult place in which to live, as it is a series of islands, and does have problems. Italy isn't an efficient country, and getting a phone can take up to a month, and twice that long for an internet connection -- so there are trade-offs. But when all is said and done it is worth the trouble. Age is an asset in Italy, and people respect your age and experience.

I must add here that having been involved with the University of California prepared me for the life I am now enjoying. There were always visitors from foreign places, and meeting and working with those visitors taught me about cultures apart from our own.

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