Rebel without a Rhinovirus
Remember that line from the movie ‘Chinatown,’ in which Jack Nicholson’s character mutters, ‘Summer colds are worst’? Turns out he was right. According to Claire over at the Humans and Viruses blog, summer colds are caused by enteroviruses, which create nastier colds than winter colds, which are caused by rhinoviruses.
In any case, everyone knows that colds are caused by viruses, right? Wrong! Anthropologists have recently discovered an entire tribe of mozzarella-eating folks, living on a remote boot-shaped peninsula who believe that colds and other illnesses are caused not by viruses, but by cold weather.
In fact, in southern Italy, you don’t need to be a Flying Wallenda to participate in seemingly death-defying feats. Here, all it takes to frighten locals and elicit a chorus of Madonna Mia’s are such simple acts as using the air-conditioner, drinking chilled water and walking around with wet hair.
Fellow Naples-dwelling expat, Delina, knows firsthand how Italians feel about soaking wet hair, while Cherrye, over at her blog “My Bella Vita” explains these Italian attitudes in hilarious detail.
So it’s no surprise that the word ‘influenza’ comes from the Italian phrase ‘influenza di freddo’ and refers to the deeply entrenched Italian belief that cold air causes illness. As James Martin points out in his post (aptly titled, ‘Summer Colds are Wurst,’ since he’s about to cruise the schnitzel circuit) Americans held the same beliefs about the cause of illness up until recently.
Perhaps now you can understand why I dreaded the response I’d get when I realized yesterday that I had succumbed to a summer cold. I tried to hide my symptoms, but shortly after lunch, I sneezed while sweeping the kitchen.
I thought I was out of the Italians’ earshot, but no, Angelo’s mom suddenly appeared and asked if I had a cold. Yes, I guiltily admitted, to which she shook her head and said, ‘I knew it! You never dry your hair, and you use the air conditioning too much.’ She pointed out, too, that I was sweating, and added that I really shouldn’t drink so much chilled water.
Never mind that the slightest exertion in this extremely humid, 90+ weather leaves me sweating like Meatloaf in his Bat out of Hell video. Never mind that I have been air-drying my hair for months, because a blast of hot air in the face is the last thing I want to feel after a cool shower. Never mind that her toddler grandson recently returned from vacation with a nasty cold of his own, and probably passed this lovely enterovirus to me as smoothly as an Olympic sprinter passes a baton to a fellow athlete (well, unless they’re from the US, but that’s another story.)
No, never mind all these things, because from her very Italian perspective, I brought this illness on by my reckless actions alone. Yeah, that’s me, rebel without a rhinovirus, living on the edge with my wild and wacky, wet-hair-strutting, breeze-loving, air-conditioning-using ways.
Hilarious. I can’t tell you how much I *LOVE* the mozzarella-eating tribe” description. Priceless!
Feel better soon …
Argh, yeah… It hurts to lean forward. Gonna go take a nap and repent my dangerous ways! Glad I could make you laugh. I love your blog post on this topic. ~Tui
I made a room full of Italian men gasp by telling them I sat directly in front of my fan every night during the heatwave of ‘03.
No, say it isn’t true! And you lived to tell the tale, my dear? ~Tui
Ha! So true!! I’m Canadian and have always air dried my hair, even in the winter, and nothing happened. Since moving to Italy, I don’t know how many times people have told me I’d catch my death by going outside with wet hair. But I must admit that I usually get sore throats and coughs in the summer when the air conditioning is too cold and it’s sweltering outside. I think the change from hot to cold to hot is a bit too much for my little ole body. Or maybe I’ve been eating too much mozzarella lately ;)
At first I thought it was just Angelo, then I thought it was just his family… Now I see it as an Italian phenomena! I do agree, though, that darting between the outdoors and air-conditioning too frequently isn’t healthy. But eating too much buffalo mozzarella? Not possible! ;P ~Tui
Oh, I know this SO well… but from Russians! And then there’s this other, little-known medical fact that the teachers at my school in Krasnodar swore by: Cold water will freeze your kidneys and you can’t have babies (obviously this only applies to women).
Um… huh?
Oh my… so this cold phobia extends beyond the boot? Freeze your kidneys? LOL! Wow… You learn something new every day! ~Tui
My exercise partner has been telling me daily about her cold. She even knows it’s an allergy, and has started acupuncture treatments for it. And still she is wearing a jacket in 80 degrees because she has a cold.
I am going to invent frozen pasta on a stick, I swear.
I’m laughing, and yet… Yes, Judith, I can just imagine seeing TV ads for this frozen pasta on a stick! I think you’re onto something! ~Tui
Hi, I just found your blog and really love reading about your life in Naples!
My husband and I stopped there for three days on our honeymoon this past May…anyway, I read the post where you mentioned “Snufflepuss” and posted something I think you will find interesting in my blog!
http://erynchandler.wordpress.com/
How hilarious, Eryn! So I’m not the only one who’s noticed that wacky looking dog. I’m gonna head out and take some more photos of her. Not sure where she’s hanging out exactly these days. She likes Caffe Gambrinus a lot. I’ll start my search for her there. Thanks for stopping by my blog. :) ~Tui
This is probably one of the things that gets me arguing with the locals more than anything else!
Lol! And yet it’s one of those arguments that you really cannot win around here. Guess we’d better save our breath. Thanks for linking to me, btw. I’ve added your new home to my blog roll. :) ~Tui
The first Ad by Google on yer blog is fer drug addiction. Not sure if they’re sellin’ it or treatin’ it.
Hmmm… Well, how exactly would one sell it? Oh - maybe it’s not clear ‘cuz you’re on something? ;P Haha! I can say that ‘cuz I’ve known you for decades. Ha!