Last night, at a party, I met a couple of Italian guys. One from Rome and one from Venice. Interesting fellas. One of them didn’t want to speak English with me because he wants to improve his French. And the the other preferred to speak in English or Spanish.
We talked about places we have been to. The English/Spanish speaking Italian told me he’s been around Asia a lot, that he has a Japanese baby living in Japan, and that he chose to go to Brazil instead of the Philippines. He asked me if I have been to Italy and I said never.
“You mean, you’ve never been to Roma?” he asked me, eyes wide open.
“No, I chose to go to Berlin instead for my last Eurotrip this year,” I answered, confused. Maybe something’s wrong with his emerald green eyes.
“But you won’t even go to Roma?” he asked again.
‘”You know,”‘ I began to say, ‘”Rome is not the center of the world.”‘
‘”What is, then?’” he asked.
‘”Actually, it’s Paris.”‘
But of course, I didn’t say that. Because it’s not true. And I read somewhere that only Parisians think that Paris is the center of the world.
Seriously, what is the big deal if I don’t go to Rome during my stay in Europe? I should ask the same thing to him about not visiting the paradise that is the Philippines while he was in Asia.
I was sick of having to explain myself why I’ve never been to “Roma”.
And so, I answered, “Because, I don’t speak Latin.”
And then they all laughed.
