How pensioners live in Russia and Italy

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

“Why is it decent to dance in Italy at 70, but not in Russia at 60? Because old age has already come? In Russia, it really comes very early. Immediately after 30 ". The author of the project "" Elena Cecchini, who has been living abroad for a long time, told how the perception of old age differs in Russia and Italy.

Attitude to age

Let's honestly admit to ourselves that we are afraid of getting old. With horror we find wrinkles in the corners of our eyes, in panic we pull out the first gray hair. We buy expensive creams and botox. We exhaust ourselves with diets and the gym so that the body remains slim and fit.

We do not want to grow old, because we are afraid to become ugly and weak, to drink pills instead of coffee and wine, to wear flat shoes and dresses that are terrifying. And about sex in general we will not say anything.

When the word "old age" is used, pictures of grandmothers in kerchiefs sitting at the entrance and washing bones of neighbors, and grandfathers with bent backs, leaning on a stick while walking, appear before their eyes. Who in sound mind and memory will not shudder?

But she, this old age, can be completely different. Living in two countries, I observe with interest the difference in attitudes towards age and inevitable aging among Russians and Italians.

What awaits a Russian person upon reaching retirement age? Even yesterday, a working woman in the blink of an eye turns into a grandmother, who is given grandchildren if she is lucky and they are available. And the evening time is devoted to solving crosswords to the accompaniment of Baskov's songs and living someone else's life and passions in endless TV series.

It's good if there are active friends who will take you out on Sunday to the fresh air to go skiing or go to the bathhouse. They will quickly put you in your place if, having decided to cheer yourself up, you buy a new thing, in their opinion, not befitting a new status:

- What are you? At our age, this is not worn!

- Yes? And I've always worn.

“Forget it, you're retired now.

For men - newly minted pensioners, if they have a summer cottage, spring-autumn entertainment is provided in the beds with a hoe in one hand and a shovel in the other. That is, in fact, all the "vernissages".

These bright prospects are forcing redoubled efforts in trying to stay in the job as long as employers will allow. For some, work generally replaces personal life, and its loss is equated with a universal catastrophe.

But going out on a well-deserved rest is a wonderful time when you can finally do something that your hands did not reach before. Run in the morning, take vocal or guitar lessons, learn to dance. Remember your youthful dreams! It's time to finally implement them.

And many, fortunately, do just that. They begin to take care of their health and proper nutrition, travel whenever possible, devote their time to what their soul lies in. But, as a rule, this is done by those who have traveled around the world and have seen a different way of life.

The rest are giving up on themselves, saying: “That's it, life is over. Now we will only survive. It is strange and offensive to hear, because in Russia, compared to Italy, people retire earlier, at a younger age, when they have more strength. You can still do a lot of things that were not possible before due to lack of time and effort.

For example, in Italy, retirees (and not only) love to dance. Someone prefers ballroom, and someone Latin American dances. Do you like dancing in the style of the 80s? Please go to the disco and dance with the young. No one will say a word to you and will not look askance. Do you know why? Because a person came with desire, dances with pleasure and energizes those around him.

Now do an experiment. Try asking your mom or her friend if she wants to go dancing. I suppose that the answer will be like this, because I checked it myself several times: “Yes, I loved dancing so much when I was young. Where will I go now in my years? This is not appropriate!.

Who determined it? Why is it decent to dance in Italy at 70, but no longer in Russia at 60? Because old age has already come? In Russia, it really comes very early. Immediately after 30.

Don't believe me? Do you know what they write on the cards of women giving birth after 30 years? Old-born!

In Italy, there are more and more women over 40 who are planning to give birth to their first child. Why not give birth, if health allows. And the level of medical obstetrics is very high. It would not even occur to the Italian woman that she would not have time to raise a child, she would take it and die. She knows that everything will come in due time, why make any plans.

Recently in Russia I heard a conversation between two friends:

- You know, I may marry him!

- She gone crazy! Thinking about marriage at fifty! Old age is on the nose, and you go there, get married!

Here they are, the prohibitions and stereotypes that the state, mothers, grandmothers, friends and the media are gradually putting into us. And we do not always realize how much they deprive us of joy and knit hand and foot.

And in Italy, those who have crossed the threshold of 80 years are called old. All the rest are adults. Maybe it's time for us to change definitions, and at the same time to abandon stereotypes.

How Italians live and age

It is interesting to observe the difference in attitudes towards age. Among the Italians, it is diametrically opposed to the Russian view of this subject.

It's not scary to grow old in Italy. You have before your eyes a different way of life for adults. While everyone wants to stay young and healthy as long as possible, Italians are not afraid to grow old. They accept their age, but do not surrender to its mercy. They just don't think about him. They work, remembering that you will not earn all the money, and how far it is to retire. Why put off something for later? So they do what they love, despite their age.

Tell the Italian: "You are no longer a boy!" - means to offend him. In response, you will surely hear: "Yes, I am still not 18 in my soul!" And he himself quite sincerely believes in this and lives as if he really were 18, if, of course, health allows.

He will ride a motorcycle with friends, despite his gray hair and tummy. Play soccer with your kids and grandchildren, raising a new generation of crazy fans. Sunbathe on the beach without being afraid of the sun and drinking just one less cup of coffee a day than before. "Alas, the doctor advised." After all, how can you willingly deprive yourself of the pleasure of a cup of espresso?

In Italy, for some reason, it is considered harmful to drink tea. Any. So they drink coffee and live much longer than Russian men.

Perhaps their most important secret lies in this: to live here and now, enjoying every day and from the simplest things. From delicious food and a glass of good wine, from a cup of Americano with a cigarette, from the sight of a beautiful woman passing by. From a conversation with a casual interlocutor. From Sunday weekly dinners when the whole family is at the table.

They know how to be friends and enjoy communicating with friends. It is especially touching to observe the meetings of adult men who are going to eat pizza in a restaurant with a purely male big company. And dinner is just an excuse for everyone to get together to chat, laugh, share problems and discuss sports news.

They do not know how to grieve for a long time. A favorite Italian proverb sounds like this: "If this small door has closed, then another big door has opened somewhere!"

They do not like to talk about illness or death - pah-pah-pah! But they love to have sex. And the opinion that Italians are excellent lovers and are able to please a woman until old age is not an exaggeration, but a reality.

Italians, like all early aging southerners, do not bother about the years they have lived.“The main thing is that the eye burns,” one friend told me, at the age of 60, she has two young fans, with whom she not only drinks coffee, but also regularly has sex.

They love themselves at any age with all wrinkles and imperfections, believing that only God is without defects. And they wear what they like without thinking: "Can I wear this?" The main thing is that she likes it, and if you don’t, then these are your problems!

And this is not a frivolous attitude to life, as it may have seemed to you, but a positive one that prolongs it. So is delicious healthy food.

How Italians eat

For Italians, food is sacred. They understand a lot about it, they love to eat deliciously. They love to cook, and men do it no worse, and often better than women.

At the same time, you practically will not meet fat Italians. They have some important food guidelines to take into account. Which I did. And I recommend it to you. Here they are.

• Eat only food that is prepared just before serving. This is the main rule of healthy eating: no hot food yesterday. Let it be just boiled spaghetti sprinkled with cheese.
• Drink at least one glass of dry red wine a day.
• Eat as much of any greens as possible fresh.
• Cook the beans and chickpeas.
• The best sauce is fresh tomatoes stewed in a skillet in olive oil, preferably with a clove of garlic.
• If possible, eat as much sea fish as possible.
• Eat two walnuts a day and at least 30 grams of Parmesan cheese.
• Don't drink more than four cups of espresso a day! (This is not a joke!) And you will feel great.

Attitude to health

What you need to learn from Italians is their attitude to their own health. Organic, organic foods, morning jogging or Nordic walking, a gym twice a week, a bicycle instead of a car are all part and parcel of a healthy lifestyle.

On weekends - compulsory football and long walks along the sea in any weather.

Every six months, it is customary to take tests and visit your doctor. Since dental services in Italy are very expensive and are not covered by insurance, teeth are taken care of in the most meticulous way and, at the slightest suspicion, they run to the dentist.

This is the norm of life - taking care of yourself and at the same time taking care of loved ones. If you get sick, you will create problems for them. You shouldn't make their life difficult.

And they are right, my beloved Italians. Don't think about old age: it is inevitable. It is better to learn to live with pleasure here and now, if you do not already know how. This will prolong your inner youth. And this is not an unfounded statement, because I see examples before my eyes every day. And I learn from them, not postponing anything else for later.