Winston wrote: ↑November 7th, 2020, 9:16 pm
But hypermak,
Italy also has more soul and authenticity too right?
Yes, but that is a blanket statement that can apply to any community that has managed to preserves its core values against modernity, globalisation, etc.
You could say that Hong Kong has more soul and is more authentic than Singapore because it has more of its original Chinese culture and none of the Malay and Indian components. You could say that mainland China has more soul and authenticity than Hong Kong because it was almost untouched by colonialism.
For all of your criticism towards Taiwan, I could say that Taiwan managed to create its own unique authentic culture, based on some of the best elements of the Chinese and Japanese cultures and ways of life. For the few days I spent there, I actually like Taiwan almost as much as I liked Japan, perhaps even more considering I had an exceptional host friend.
Then you could say Bulgaria (where Tsar is going) is more authentic than Italy because its post-Sovietic economy has been exposed less to globalisation and soft power from the US, and so on.
I think the question any expat has to ask themselves, especially when planning to settle in another country, is: are the good things this country has to offer of any value to me? Italy still has an extraordinary culture of food and conviviality but if you're a loner and don't attach much value to good food, like many Brits for example, than that quality of Italy isn't going to affect your quality of life much.
If you like meeting random people and spend until the wee hours talking about deep, philosophical topics, over wine and cigarettes, nothing beats Spain (remaining in Europe). Yet, in Spain few people are fluent in English so, to do that, you would have to couple your passion for those kinds of discussion with fluency in Spanish.
And so on. I am sure you get my point.
Winston wrote: ↑November 7th, 2020, 9:16 pm
Im sure if Tsar was in Italy longer, even a year, he would still like Italy better than the US even if the novelty wore off. Right? Thats the bottom line.
I don't know what environment Tsar grew up in. Perhaps he has been living a small suburban community where, unless you go to school and you're one of the rich/popular kids, you don't get much of a social circle. The fact that he has some Italian ancestry is cute but not that relevant, in terms of his ability to settle in Italy, or Bulgaria, successfully. I can't speak for Bulgaria but almost anybody can (and will!) enjoy a few day in Italy. Not as many will be able to see the beauty and the advantage of living in Italy after, say, 6 months or a year of residence.
Winston wrote: ↑November 7th, 2020, 9:16 pm
Btw in Italy do they call Asian people "chink" or "chino" like they do in Mexico? Do they make racial slurs or stretch their heads to make slanty eyes while making fun of asians?
We Italians are not as accustomed to foreigners as, say, the British and the French. There are still lots of people who don't know how to act politically correct towards an African or Asian member of their community, even if they are second-generation, so fully Italian citizens who speak Italian with the local accent, go to local schools etc.
Much of the discontent and racial (or racist) criticism may come from perceiving certain minorities as more prone to crime and illegal activities, or less able to integrate and be productive. Asians are usually perceived far better than people of african and middle eastern origin, again not because of their skin colour, but because they generally work harder and cause no trouble. Case in point, up north where I come from there is a general mistrust of Albanian and Romanian men, who are caucasian and slavic, so "whites" like us.
That's because, unfortunately, a lot of less than decent people from those two countries migrated to Italy to cause trouble: they were gipsies or burglars, the types who pimped their gfs/wives and even daughters to make some quick cash. Of course there are a lot of Romanians who are great, hard working people, they study and find jobs. Yet, the rotten apples ended up giving the whole basket a bad name.
And take Filipinos, for example. Everybody has the stereotype in Italy, that Filipinos are domestic helpers, maids, nannies, professional cleaners at best. We don't even have the stereotype of the Filipino nurse as they have in Britain and the US because we already have plenty of Italian nurses and doctors, in fact too many. Despite the stereotype, nobody would ever talk about a Filipina as a criminal, a troublemaker or a bad person because the experience of decades of Filipinos coming and working in Italy (mostly illegally) has been overwhelmingly positive.
The only thing I find relatively annoying about Italians is their stubborness in wanting to call everbody who looks Asian, a "Chinese". When working in Italy, many times I heard other kitchen staff including my sous or head referring to Asian patrons as "the Chinese". In some cases I would give them a quick glimpse and realise that they were much more likely to be Japanese, Korean or Thai.
I know it takes some time to get accustomed to the details of different Asian races look like and I know that, sometimes, it's hard to actually tell the nationality from their facial or body features. Yet, I don't like when people are lazy and don't make an effort.
The Rise of Tsar! 
