Posted on by rinaz

An American girl in Italy

While watching Ballaro last evening, I saw an interesting illustration used as background image :

rinaz.net Ballaro American Girl Walking In Italy

As soon as I saw that, I excitedly told Cartcart, “Hey! I know that picture! That’s a homage to a famous photo. Here, let me show you!”

rinaz.net Ballaro American Girl Walking In Italy

An American girl in Italy is a photo taken by photographer, Ruth Orkin in the year 1951. This photo is one of her most memorable one as the subject, a lone woman walks down the streets of Florence with men leering and staring at her – one of them even grabbing his jewels.

That would have been a harrowing experience for any woman walking alone, but the odd thing, when interviewed, Ninalee Craig, the woman in the picture insists that, “It’s not a symbol of harassment. It’s a symbol of a woman having an absolutely wonderful time!”

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My uncle passed away recently. It was so sudden that it was a terrible shock to me. I always remember him as a kind and friendly person. Each time when us relatives would visit his house, he’d be busy cooking something and insist that we have a meal together and we’ll update each other about what’s going on with our lives.

It sucks so much to know the passing of someone that we love and I can only imagine what my cousins and aunt are going through right now. And frankly, this is one of my biggest fears I have living so far away from my family.

10 Replies to “An American girl in Italy”

  1. Why was the woman the only woman on that street? Why was it such a big deal? I wasn’t aware Italians kept their women indoors and out of public in the 50s. Or was it because she was an American and they were still sore from losing and having to switch sides in WWII and she was obviously American?

    1. Wow, that was the same question that I asked Cartcart. I don’t see even one Italian woman in this picture. where are they? Cartcart answered, “They were all at home, making pasta”.

      Err … Okay.

  2. Also, I am very sorry to hear about your loss. I can sort of understand where you’re coming from I think. I’ve missed the last years of a loved one’s life and funeral because I was too far away to get home in time. It’s a bad feeling. I feel like I missed an opportunity that will never come back again, but I suppose life is like that sometimes. I can’t be in both places at once.

    1. It is a bad feeling indeed, that you can’t be there to give any form comfort. I feel very helpless being over here and unable to do anything.

  4. Hugs.
    Innalillahi wa inna illahi ro’jiun.
    Salam takziah buat Rina sekeluarga.

    I can understand how you feel about losing a loved one. That’s also one of my fears living abroad and quite frankly, the biggest one. I have seen how my mother broke down when her own mother passed away last year when she and my ayah were in Sweden. It’s something I do not wish for it to happen to myself. I think my heart would break into a million pieces or more. The only thing we can do is doa for ourselves and our loved ones, with hope for good health, long life and that we will be there by their side should their time come before us.

    1. I’m really sorry to hear about what happened to your mother. I can only imagine what she was going through, but that’s exactly the fear I have about living so far away from Singapore. *hugs* We are in the same boat.

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