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 As a relocated
American, Donna Galletta brings a dual perspective to life in Cagli.
Usually dressed in a casual sundress and comfortable sandals, she
seems to convey the slow-paced Italian life. She grew up in the
United States, but has lived in Italy for almost 15 years. Her transition
into a true Italian is evident in her regular use of the phrase,
"I don't know how you would say it in English…"
She constantly
deals with the challenges of having her immediate family in Italy,
and her family of origin in the United States. While in
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Italy, she thinks about "going home" to the United States, but once there, she thinks the same of Italy.
Donna's
life is anything but slow-paced. Her ambition is reflected in her
many jobs and community involvements. She is a partner in the Atrium,
an international school, with her husband, Franco Mansi, and Cristina
Antoniucci. It is an American misconception, she says, that Italian
women stay home while their husbands work. Donna herself provides
the perfect example to refute this false impression. On a typical
day she is on the go from 7:30 a.m. until midnight. Her only breaks
in the day include making pranzo and cena for her family.
In the
mornings she works at the Atrium, where she seems to manage everything.
She can often be found sitting in front of a computer handling correspondence,
publicity, and keeping track of the accounts, while solving problems
on the computer at the same time. If that doesn't keep her busy
enough, she also helps to solve students' problems, including making
occasional trips to a doctor or hospital to act as translator. In
the evenings she translates technical documents from Italian to
English in her home office. Donna also finds time to involve herself
in Cagli's community activities including the Cultural
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Association and Contemporaneo, an organization that works to stimulate interest in contemporary art and music.
Looking
back on how she was raised, she jokingly admits that she is a product
of the 1950s and "The Donna Reed Show." Believing that she was a
"traditional person," she expected to get married, have children,
take care of the house, cook, sew, and stay close to home and her
family. She still enjoys all of these activities, but having a career
is a radical addition to her plan.
"Anyone
who knows me from America," she jokes, "will tell you they never
expected me to become a career woman -- things never work out the
way you think they will."
Because
she raised her children, Gabriella, 24, and Antonio, 16, in two
different countries, she wants them to make their own decisions
about where they will live and what they will decide to do with
their lives. They, too, are immigrants and face similar difficulties
to hers.
"You
never really become the nationality of the country that you moved
to," she says, "but you're no longer what you were when you left
home."
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Text: Liz Iasiello
Graphic Design: Anne Marie Purdy
HTML: Liz Iasiello
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