Almost Knowing the Language - Caffè
Who knew that a simple word like “caffè” could get me in so much trouble in Italy?
We spent months learning Italian while we were still living in Florida. Then we studied at the Istituto Venezia for about four months in Venice. Then Duolingo.
After all that, we felt fairly comfortable with our knowledge of Italian when we moved to the small town of Pieve di Teco in northern Italy.
But there are important things that they don’t teach you in school.
I walked past the local bar/coffee shop, trying to reach the bakery before they closed for the midday break. Our neighbor Daniele was sitting alone at a table in the sun when he looked up at me and said, “Ciao Barry. Caffè?”
“No, Daniele, I’m on my way to get bread at the bakery. Have a great day!” Daniele said nothing as I walked away.
Another friend of mine, Matteo, had observed our conversation. That evening, over a glass of Prosecco he explained my mistake.
“When Daniele said to you, “Caffè?”, you thought he was asking if you wanted a coffee, didn’t you?”
“Well of course. Anyone could have understood that.”
“And you replied that you were on your way to the bakery.”
“And I was. So?”
Matteo paused for a moment, had another swallow of Prosecco and explained.
“Allow me to translate. When Daniele said “caffè?”, he was actually saying “Hi. I’d like to spend some time chatting with you. Sit with me. Have something, anything, to drink. It’s on me.”
“And you replied, “No. Going to the bakery is more important to me than chatting with you.”
Matteo then looked directly at me and asked, “Is that what you really wanted to say?”
“Wow, he said all that with one word? But I didn’t mean…”
The next morning, I showed up at the bar before Daniele. When he arrived, I greeted him with “Ciao Daniele. Caffè?”
“Yes, certainly.”
We sat and conversed for over an hour. I learned about his trip around the world when he was a teenager, how he loves gardening but is too old to properly care for it. So, now he buys his vegetables from Patrizia who he says has the freshest vegetables in town.
When he left, he smiled and said, “It was nice chatting with you, Barry. Tomorrow I’ll buy the coffee.”
So, if you ever come to Pieve di Teco, look for me at one of the tables outside the coffee shop by the clocktower. If I say, “caffè?”, don’t worry about how many you have already had today. Join me anyway, and have a Prosecco, water, or coffee. It’s on me.