The native Venetians are generally some of the most welcoming folks I’ve gotten the privilege to meet. One night, while strolling the streets of Venice, a 60 year-old woman needed a lighter as she stepped outside of a bar to smoke a cigarette –one of the only establishments where dancing could be seen through the windows and music poured out of it. (We discovered Venice is certainly not an area with a party scene!) She immediately took us under her wing, interested in our origins and our passions. She was so willing to discuss her life in Venice and gave us a lot of information about the social aspects of Venice. Her name was Sylvia and she affectionately spoke about dancing, how its always been a massively impactful part of her life, and how its a less and less accessible feature of the culture here. Sylvia said dancing keeps her young and that many people in Venice are very traditional and judge others when they see her freely expressing herself through dance. It was very enlightening to see her illustrate this division of culture between a conservative nature and a very self-expressive mindset that people possess in Venice. Sylvia immediately introduced us to her friends and family and danced with us as if we had known her for a lifetime. She had a very progressive mindset concerning other social elements –such as queerness– which provided us with information that we were very curious about, seeing as Venice is a very holy place to many and usually condemns the LGBTQ+ people. She also remarked that it was difficult raising her daughter, Emma, here due to the lack of things to do to enrich the children. This island is now for the tourists, not the residents, she said. Unless your child is interested in fine arts or architecture, the opportunity to explore your interests while growing up is limited. Also many children are forced into working at their family's generational business when they get older. All in all, it was very rewarding to meet someone who has grown up on Venice and raised a child there to give us the unabridged pros and cons of this island. Sylvia invited my friends and I to a relaxed New Year's Eve event in a hotel a few days later and we danced the night away!
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