Bl6—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 8,1383
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Because Italians know that Americans think wine is still
made by stomping with bare feet, they specially set this bin
up for Deb to test her talent. Deb laughingly adds that, no,
she didn’t wash her feet first. She probably will tell of this
experience during the several presentations she is scheduled
to give in the next couple months.
~ •' 1.
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#4
LEBANON The people of this
granny boot-shaped peninsula —•
bulging with history and jetting out
so daringly into the adored
Mediterranean Sea have
adopted a ‘one-day-at-a-tixne’
philosophy, oblivious to the
American version of the ‘rat race.’
They take lunch breaks from noon
till 3 p.m., they visit each other
hour upon hour, and they ap
preciate not only the taste of good
food, but also the quantity of their
epicurian treasures.
Sound like Utopia?
Perhaps to the natives it borders
on a ‘perfect world,’ but to
Americans, it’s known simply as
Italy, home of the Romans, of
earthquakes, of spicy food and
speeded language and talking
hands.
But one American recently got to
challenge the stereotypical notions
that still live ‘in the states,’ by
spending six months living and
traveling in Italy.
Deb Kreider, daughter of Homer
and Faye Kreider of R 4 Lebanon,
says Italy was her second choice
when she completed die ap
plication for the International
Foreign Youth Exchange
program. But now, she already has
plans to return to Italy in August of
1964, and, she made this decision
before returning home.
Deb, a member of 4-H for almost
ten years, studied such projects as
flowers, photography and gar
dening. But her first love is
traveling. So, about a year ago,
when she heard another IF YE
describe her experience in
Trinadad-Tobago, she “told my
mom, ‘I think I’m going to try for
it.’ ”
With a pen pal in Austria and two
trips to Europe already entered in
her bode of experiences, she set out
for ‘romantic’ Italy with its over 57
million people all squeezed into a
region slightly larger than
Arizona.
IFYE to Italy defies stereotypes
BY DEBBIE KOONTZ
As a youth exchangee to Italy for six months, Deb Kreider of
R 4 Lebanon had opportunity to watch that country’s soccer
team capture the World Cup. Back home. Deb plans to begin
her new job and perhaps attend the annual IFYE meeting
scheduled for Friday evening of Farm Show week.
“The northern people were mucn
wealthier overall. When they found
out I had to stay with families in
the south, they would always try to
warn me of what I would see and
the people 1 would meet,” she says.
Her third host family was
located near central Italy and
owned a fruit farm. Deb picked
Because the United States' 4-H pears here,
program can be equated to Italy’s Moving south. Deb’s fourth
3-P program a program family raised beef cattle, and the
honoring progress, produce and fifth grew vegetables and com. She
(im)prove which caters to the also encountered her first grapes
agricultural world she was vines here,
exposed to several types of far- “The family knew Americans all
ming while there. She stayed with thought they still stomped grapes
eight families throughout Italy; with their feet, so they dug out the
Each family being quite a distance equipment and let me do it. And no,
from the one before, thus allowing. I didn’t wash my feet first,” she
Deb to travel almost all of ltaly’s laughs.
706 miles of length.
Her first family was dairy
farmers in the north central
province of Brescia, raising about
50 Holsteins. It was here Deb says
she learned how to speak Italian in
From the start, Deb says she
knew not to expect the stereotypes,
perhaps because she already
learned how erroneous these
preconceived notions can be from
her trip to Austria and Greece.
“I went not expecting a lot, so I
got a lot out of it,” she says matter
of-factly.
a hurry only one member of the
family spoke English.
Her second family raised cash
crops of wheat, corn and sugar
beets, and one brother sold Nor
thrup King Seed Com, a fact which
delighted Deb.
Having been introduced to the
country through an orientation
period in Rome, located in central
Italy, Deb learned that the people
of die north lived much better than
their southern Mends.
The 4-H program can easily be equated with Italy’s 3-P
program, a group of clubs catering to the farming world.
Therefore, Deb’s stay in Italy included eight farms. The upper
left photo shows a farmer baling hay with a Same {saw-may)
tractor. Right shows how they build their muscles loading
hay. Lower left photo is at a cattle sale. Deb says after much
banter back and forth, the owner and buyer shake hands in
agreement. Below is a family in their lettuce field. The
women, traditionally, always wear dresses.
Though she says grape stomping
is now outdated in Italy,'' she
readily admits that families
making enough wine for their own
consumption will still use the old
methods.
Her sixth family was located in
the sole of the boot which forms
Italy, in the province of Catanzaro.
This family grew only a few olive
trees.
From Catanzaro, she journeyed
to the island of Sicily, west of the
main land. Having been warned
jokingly by her notbern friends
that the Mafia might get her, she
found the experience refreshing
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