Baffled over Bush win, Europeans engage expatriates (BARRRRFFFF!!!!)

FLORENCE, Italy -- I sure picked an interesting time to move across the Atlantic. Regardless of the outcome, I knew much debate would ensue after this month's U.S. Presidential election. If Democratic challenger John Kerry had pulled it out, celebrations would have erupted all over Europe for a man regarded by many as the last hope for peace, love and understanding in these troubled times. But since President George W. Bush won re-election, the mood among much of the population here is one of indcredulity. Shock. And genuine apprehension about how the U.S. President's subsequent policies will affect everything from global warming to future world conflicts.

One gets the sense that the citizens of Europe comprise one big "blue state" that surely would have sent Kerry to the White House by large margins.

But on this continent, where so many of the national economies depend on tourist spending from abroad, how will this month's election -- now that the majority of the electorate has spoken -- affect their perceptions of American tourists who will travel here in the future?

I must admit that for me, an American who relocated to Florence less than three months ago, Nov. 3 was a tough day. Despite our Democratic leanings, a fellow American expatriate journalist friend and I were genuinely reluctant to leave the house the morning after the election, wondering how we'd be greeted in the streets by puzzled Italians. So we were determined to stalk around Florence behind our ever-present dark shades, chatting as much as possible in broken Italian, and not calling attention to our American selves. Sure enough that week, we were constantly asked how we felt about the Bush victory. (Many expressed surprise at our ability to vote absentee and at least were pleased we made our voices heard from across the ocean.) In this country where citizens staged massive demonstrations before the start of the war in Iraq -- despite Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's support of both Bush and the invasion -- the Republican president's win was seen as a giant leap back for world relations.

Which really is incredible when one flashes back to Sept. 11, 2001, that horrific day when people worldwide, including all across Europe, proclaimed, "We are all Americans today." Riccardo Zucconi, a 58-year-old owner of four upscale Florentine hotels, recalls a gathering in the city's famed Piazza della Signoria that fateful night. Thousands of people came out to express solidarity with the United States, he said, many clutching American flags they'd bought at shops around town. Zucconi -- whose hotels and wine bars host many U.S. tourists -- remembers giving his small flag to some Americans he met that night.

Times certainly seem to have changed. Says Zucconi: "The spirit of the 11th of September is gone just because of the war in Iraq."

In the United Kingdom, says 26-year-old Tom Harrow -- himself a recent transplant to Florence -- "American stock of being the world leader has suffered as a result of the incumbent president, not in the least because it affects us." A former officer-in-training with the British Army -- and with friends serving in Iraq -- he cites his country's increasing involvement in that conflict as one example. Plus, the recent vote "diminishes faith in the American people -- it seems against reason." Harrow says that to many in the U.K., it's more important who sits in the White House than who lives in the British prime minister's residence at 20 Downing Street. No wonder the Guardian newspaper in London urged readers to write to independent voters in Ohio's Clark County in a much-maligned effort to sway presidential votes Kerry's way.

From trattoria owners to mobile phone dealers, from Italian language classmates to taxi drivers, I'm quizzed daily in both English and Italian: "Are you happy about Bush?" Once they hear my frustration, they feel comfortable sharing theirs for as long as I'll listen. Admittedly, it's much easier in Europe these days for those of us who voted for "the other guy," as we were as surprised and disheartened by the final vote as are most of the Europeans we encounter in the streets. One young American female student says that even the Senegalese street vendors -- the ones peddling fake Louis Vuitton bags that tourists nearly trip over on every corner in Florence -- have come up to her saying, "Man, we're sorry."

And while no one I've talked to has seen overt hostility directed at Americans, nor really expects to, they know Europeans want to engage willing Americans in conversation, wanting desperately to make sense of what seems unfathomable to many on this continent. Of course, no tourist or traveler wants to be forced to talk politics -- or to apologize for or explain their country's electoral choices -- but like it or not, we're all ambassadors when we go abroad. Regardless of where one stands on the "red" or "blue" political spectrum, the recent election offers an incredible opportunity to share a view from the American homeland. And if I can play a small role in helping shed some light on my country, it's a small price to pay for living here during a time of intense change.

"Europeans are much more into world politics than Americans -- they know every single nuance," says Ricki Stevenson, an American journalist living in France and founder of Black Paris Tours, which offers behind-the-scenes tours about black history in the City of Light. It's little wonder they do, as they feel as much a stake in our presidential elections as we do. (Interestingly enough, Stevenson says the French often seek out African Americans taking her tours, wanting to engage them in discussions about the Iraq war and U.S. foreign policy.)

Because many Europeans consider this month's Bush win as a vote for U.S. isolationism, they wonder if this signals Americans' unwillingness to travel, to connect with folks from other parts of the world.

Despite their frequent penchant for fatalism, some Italians actually express hope that just maybe a second Bush term might prove uniting, that somehow the strained trans-Atlantic relationship will be bandaged up and healed. They realize it's in all our best interests for the hard feelings to soften -- and from a very pragmatic standpoint, for the battered dollar to rise in value and spur Americans to return to Europe in large numbers.

"Of course (Europeans) were sorry about the election and Kerry," Zucconi says, "but now they say we must find a way to rebuild a relationship with George Bush and the United States, because there is no other way."

It may have taken three long years for the historic European-American bond to weaken, but I'll bet it takes more than a little time to restore the bruised friendship and trust. But for those of us who believe travel is one of the best ways to shrink not only physical distance but also global misunderstandings, we can only hope.

Over the next year, Chicago native and freelance writer Maureen Jenkins will write monthly about her expatriate experiences in Europe for the Chicago Sun-Times Travel section.

Maureen Jenkins sounds like a female Jayson Blair.

Below is one of her previous great writings about Metro Sexuals"

www.suntimes.com
http://www.suntimes.com/output/lifestyles/cst-ftr-metro17.html

Could you love this man?

December 17, 2003

BY MAUREEN JENKINS

Ladies, there's a new breed of man on the loose -- and watch out. He just might be prettier than you.

Walk into your favorite spa or salon, and you might see his masculine fingers soaking at the manicure station, waiting to be massaged and buffed. You might hear him waxing poetic about a spicy Sangiovese at a trendy wine bar. Or you might see someone like Miami Dolphins defensive star Jason Taylor, he of the 6-foot-6, 260-pound frame of chiseled muscle, lathering up on TV with a Neutrogena Men Power Scrub Deodorant Bar -- and one wrapped in a textured washcloth, no less.

He's the metrosexual, and he's been discussed -- and dissed -- in chat rooms, on sports radio, and among groups of girlfriends throughout America. But despite the faddish moniker, he seems here to stay.

He likes his nails just like his drink -- neat

Of course, there's more to a metrosexual than just his look. For the modern man who fancies himself an international spy, there's the "Metrosexual Martini," now being shaken (not stirred) at the Fairmont Chicago's Bar at Aria. This downtown hotel bar calls the $12 drink "a controversial cocktail for the well-adjusted man," one featuring French-produced Ciroc vodka and three giant olives and served on a mirrored vanity tray. As any true metrosexual knows, accessories make the man -- and this martini comes with a side of Shu Uemura sample-size skin products and a card for a free manicure. At 16 bucks, the treatment at nearby Petrosino's Parlor is worth more than the drink itself.

Now that's smooth.

Maureen Jenkins

So the Sun-Times invited a few single thirtysomething Chicago-area women from its new Dating Panel to chat about this new modern man -- and whether he's the type of gift they'd want from Santa this holiday season.

Credit this year's initial American interest to a Euro RSCG Worldwide study that surveyed 510 American men and found many were snubbing classic gender boundaries. Unafraid of being deemed unmanly, the survey found them "primarily urban, heterosexual, well-educated, and on easy terms with women and feminine ways." A New York Times Sunday Styles piece outed these skin-sensitive dudes back in late June. Since then, the metrosexual's been having his moment in the spotlight.

And some women, like 36-year-old Kimberly Williams of Hyde Park, say it's a good thing -- and think the trend might even be signaling a new gender equality. A dating columnist for Chicago-BlackSingles.com, she's also the author of The BASICS: Tantalizing Tips and Techniques for Attracting Good MEN!

"If throughout time we go back through the years," she says, "a man would place value on himself according to how good his woman looks. But now he's placing value on himself according to how good he looks.

"Sometimes what would happen in a relationship, a woman would get with a man, a boyfriend, or even a husband, and then she'll let herself go. But if she's going out with a metrosexual, she has to stay neck and neck because this man is doing everything to keep himself looking good."

Sherilynn Allen, a South Side resident and avid Internet dater who's now involved with someone she met online, has gone out with metrosexual men before. And she's good friends with a guy she joins for pedicure appointments every couple weeks.

"I've found with the couple I have dated they are a little more narcissistic, more than your average man," says Allen, 38, an executive assistant at Loyola University. "But they will spring for pedicures -- you can get a spa date out of them. They have no problems doing that with you."

But when self-care turns into narcissism, 38-year-old Catherine Filarski draws the line. This Glendale Heights pharmaceutical representative who dates a couple times a month says she can't imagine being attracted to a man more obsessed with his looks and his wardrobe than with his inner self. Rather than viewing this concern as a sign of respect for the ladies he dates, she views it as selfish.

"I don't think it has anything to do with women," she says. "I think it's ego. I wouldn't want to go out with a guy like that. What would you talk about? I mean, I don't talk about shopping -- unless you're talking about antiquing or something like that. But I don't do that with my women friends," either.

The feminist movement of the 1970s gave women the freedom to tap into more traditionally masculine roles. And today, pop culture vehicles -- including Bravo's watershed cable TV hit "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" -- offer men the freedom to sample attitudes and behaviors that may once have seemed less than manly. Those go beyond buying moisturizers and low-rise jeans and step into areas like yoga, cooking and interior design.

Filarski believes the gay community's growing acceptance within mainstream American culture "is probably what's starting to happen, and guys are going, "Hmmm -- Honey, can I do that? Get the pedicure and manicure and take better care of myself?' It's starting to intertwine and happen, and a hundred years from how, there won't be so much segmentation" between the sexes.

She and Williams think the popularity of reality-based TV shows also have played a role in the rise of the metrosexual male.

"If you look at reality TV, everyone looks fantastic," says Williams. "The women, nobody is over 130 pounds, everybody's 5-foot-8, the guys all have washboard abs, and people are saying, 'If this is reality, I'd better step up to the plate.' Nobody wants to feel 'less than.' "

While some of this may seem new to American men, it's not a foreign concept to other cultures. European men -- especially the French and Italians, who are known for having an almost innate sense of style -- often hail from societies that celebrate the well-put together male. Within some Latin American and African-American circles, men have traditionally been allowed to fuss over their personal grooming and dress without stepping out of bounds.

Williams and Allen don't mind guys inching onto their traditional female turf, but believe there's something to be said for gender differences.

"I like that we're opposites," says Allen. "That's what makes it interesting. I think we come from two totally different places, and no amount of grooming will change that."

Really, though -- who are we kidding? Straight men's methods may change, but the goal remains the same: to woo and win the chicas of their choice.

"Guys are doing whatever they can," says Williams, "to make themselves attractive to women."

As Michael Flocker, author of The Metrosexual Guide to Style: A Handbook for the Modern Man says, "The term 'metrosexual' may have a shelf life, but this new awareness of style is permanent."

Maureen Jenkins is a local free-lance writer.

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