Learning the Language: Concentric Circles - Turning Tuscan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Going Native - page 68

killings among Muslim families, about child abductions, about buildings that collapse be-
cause of shoddy construction, about bribery and political corruption, about lovers' quarrels
that end in shooting and death. It's not all wine and cheese on sunlit verandas…
In some ways when you come here the first time knowing only how to say “thank you”
and “please”, you are most open to the sensuous beauty of Tuscan life. The sheer joy of
that first immersion in the plenitude of landscapes, foods, monuments and markets is just
as real as the more sober realizations that come with time. That flush of first love was bril-
liantly captured by Francis Mayes in Under the Tuscan Sun . But it's a bit like the first wine
produced right after harvest every year, the vino nuovo : it's a delicious beverage but one
with a very limited shelf life. At some point, continuing to see Tuscan life through the rosy
haze of first infatuation becomes simply dishonest.
There are things to love, things to tolerate, and things to make you tear your hair out in
clumps. Read on for a sampling of all of the above.