Posted by fum on Wednesday, May 31, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

Everything in Sicilian culture is similar, but slightly different from elements of American culture. So it was no surprise to find out that family values and expectations are different here as well. The woman that I interviewed, Elisabetta, has a unique perspective because she comes from a half Sicilian, half American background. She even lived in New Jersey for some time while in high school due to family circumstances while simultaneously flying back to Sicily to finish her university. As a person who has experienced the two different cultures, she pointed out some key differences between the expectations and life maps expected of children.

Growing up in Cefalu seems similar to growing up in the small town that I grew up in, in northern New Jersey. Parents are strict on their kids because they don’t want their mistakes being known around town and gossiped about. However, the expectations of parents differ drastically when it comes to after high school. In Sicily, many people don’t pursue a college degree and instead decide to go straight into the workforce. Meanwhile in the United States, it’s pretty much expected that you obtain some form of a college degree, whether that’s through community college or a private institution such as Vanderbilt. Elisabetta also told me that if you go to university in Sicily, it’s traditional to go to one close to home, and live at home while you study there. Being close to family and friends seems to be a lot more important in Sicily; Elisabetta stated that it’s common for people to stay in the town they grew up in and never leave, which shows how they prioritize familiarity over change. In Elisabetta’s experience, she moved to New Jersey with her family so that her brother (who went to college in the States) could stay close to the family and to take care of grandparents, which is yet another example of prioritizing family. In my experience, family is very important to me, but I wanted to branch out and start experiencing the world on my own, which is why I ended up at a college far from home.

The differences keep diverging after college. In the United States, there’s a typical path that is expected of a young girl like me; go to college, work for a few years, get married (not too old), raise a family. This dynamic is changing with the times, but the pressure to get married at a decently young age is still present. In Sicily, there is no such pressure. Elisabetta said that you’re encouraged to live at home until you’re married, and parents would find it offensive if you moved out simply to live on your own. She told me about her friend who’s 42 years old and has a successful job, but still lives at home. While this would be considered strange in the United States, it’s pretty normal in Sicilian culture. Speaking from her own experience, Elisabetta said she’s 35 years old and doesn’t feel any pressure to get married anytime soon.

The main differences between American and Sicilian culture are that while it seems that Americans value independence and new experiences, Sicilians place more value on family loyalty and practicality. I can’t say that one set of values is better than the other, but I can say that Elisabetta has given me a unique insight into the challenges of growing up in two different culture.

A clip of Elisabetta talking about expectations after college: https://vanderbilt.box.com/s/lni6mh44x7i5yq05lbfzjjtyr6e2h2cj