1/5 D. W. 1 year ago on Google
After
a
long
walk
through
Palermo
I
was
planning
to
visit
the
Castello/archeological
site
today
(Saturday)
around
midday.
As
I
arrived,
I
was
sitting
down
on
a
bench
outside
the
ticket
office
(not
even
passing
the
door
of
the
office)
outside
the
site
to
rest
my
feet,
taking
off
my
shoes,
and
recover
a
bit
before
sightseeing.
My
feet
were
hot
but
clean
and
odorless,
and
anyway
there
was
nobody
around,
no
visitors/tourists/students,
no
one
at
all
(end
of
March
seems
to
be
off-season
still).
A
few
moments
later,
three
employees(?)
exited
the
ticket
office
and
sat
down
on
another
bench
in
sight,
about
10
meters
away,
for
a
break.
They
didn't
mind
me
sitting
on
the
other
bench.
Ironically,
at
this
moment,
I
was
musing
whether
I
fould
find
working
in
a
ticket
office
when
business
is
slow
relaxing
or
rather
frustrating.
The
employes
seemed
relaxed
and,
as
I
said,
did
not
mind
me
minding
my
own
business
on
the
other
bench.
A
few
minutes
later,
a
fourth
employee
arrived
but
he
did
seem
to
mind
me.
As
I
don't
speak
Italian
and
he
didn't
speak
anything
else,
I
had
to
deduce
from
his
gestures
and
reccuring
words
(basic
Italian
words
I
can
understand
knowing
a
bit
of
Latin
and
French)
what
the
problem
might
be.
The
most
common
word
was
"biglietto"
(ticket,
of
course),
the
second
most
common
"archeologica"
(Well,
I
did
know
that
what
I
was
planing
to
visit
were
ancient
ruins,
so
no
mystery
there).
His
gestures
pointing
at
me
and
my
feet
made
clear
that
he
was
bothered
by
me
sitting
there
(again:
his
colleagues,
who
must
have
noticed
my
before
him,
had
shown
no
irritation
towards
me),
worsened
by
missing
shoes.
I
was
trying
to
communicate
that
I
was
planning
to
enter
the
ticket
office
(with
shoes
on
my
feet,
of
course:)
in
a
few
minutes,
but
apparently
unsuccessfully.
He
repeated
the
same
words
over
and
over,
still
with
biglietto
as
the
most
prevalent.
I
guess
I
would
have
been
less
confused
if
he
indicated
that
the
bench
was
generally
off-limits
(it
wasn't,
it
was
right
ahead
of
the
door
of
the
ticket
office,
and
next
to
a
tourist
information
poster
and
a
trash
bin)
or
if
he
had
concentrated
on
the
crime
of
naked
feet
on
sacred
ground
...
but
why
then
repeating
the
need
for
a
biglietto
over
and
over,
thus
implying
that
the
exchange
of
money
would
absolve
my
feet
from
sin?
We
both
were
polite
the
whole
time
but
obviously
getting
a
bit
frustrated
with
the
situation.
As
I
was
already
putting
my
shoes
on
and
was
about
to
leave,
he
finally
called
over
his
colleagues
who
also
seemed
to
exclusively
speak
Italian
(unfortunately
for
me,
because
I
really
would
have
wanted
to
understand),
and
naturally
showed
solidarity
with
their
colleague,
whatever
it
might
have
been
that
he
had
on
his
mind.
So,
to
wrap
this
up:
1.
I
didn't
visit
the
Castello/archeological
site.
2.
I
really
should
learn
Italian
(cruel
joke
that
my
school
made
me
take
five
years
of
Latin).
3.
My
final
analysis
regarding
what
my
friend
wanted
to
communicate:
40%
"You
have
no
ticket",
25%
"This
is
an
archeological
site"
(again,
this
seemed
not
to
be
in
conflict
with
my
feet,
as
the
whole
context
made
quite
clear,
that
having
a
biglietto
would
override
foot-related
crimes),
30%
"I
might
have
a
chance
to
exercise
some
authority
here,
towards
this
guy
minding
his
own
business
and
also
towars
my
colleagues
who
didn't
mind
this
guy
minding
his
own
business",
and
5%
"This
is
my
personal
favourite
bench
and
only
I
am
allowed
to
sit
here".
4.
As
witnessed
by
me
posting
this,
I
obviously
am
petty
enough
that
I
might
be
suited
to
follow
in
my
friends
footsteps
and
work
a
similar
job,
making
my
own
entertainment
when
business
is
slow.
But
I'm
quite
sure
the
job
would
frustrate
me
no
less
on
the
employee-side
than
on
the
visitor-side.
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