I Am Not Italian

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

I Am Not Italian

Billy Collins reminds us that when we travel, even if we are not natives in the country, we can “do as the Romans do” and enjoy the delights of the local culture. By drinking an espresso in a “little white cup,” the speaker – not an Italian – can taste “the same sweetness of life” as the locals.

I am Not Italian, Billy Collins

I am not Italian, technically speaking,
yet here I am leaning on a zinc bar in Florence
on a sunny weekday morning,
my foot up on the smooth iron railing
just like the other men, who,
it must be said, are officially and fully Italian.

It’s 8:40 and they are off to work,
some in offices, others sweeping the streets,
while I am off to a museum or a church
to see paintings, maybe light a candle in an alcove.
Yet here we all are in our suits and work shirts
joined in the brotherhood of espresso,

or how is it said? La fratellanza dell’espresso,
draining our little white cups
with a quick flourish of the wrist,
each of us tasting the same sweetness of life,
if you take a little sugar, and the bitterness
of its brevity, whether you choose to take sugar or not.

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About Me

Cissy Lewis, an award-winning educator, has been involved in schools all of her life. As an eleven-year-old, she started her first school in Santiago, Chile, teaching reading and writing to children who had no school options. She comes from a line of educators – her mother earned a Ph.D. in political science in an era when few women were earning advanced degrees, and her grandfather taught Greek and Latin.

She started her teaching career at The Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas, where she taught English in both the Upper and Middle Schools. At The Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, Tennessee, she was honored with the Best New Teacher award. At the Castilleja School, she twice received the Distinguished Teacher Award.

Cissy Lewis held leadership positions at The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and at The Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California. At Baylor, she joined the administrative team, initially as Dean of Girls and then as Assistant Head of School, to help the school implement the transition from an all-boys school to coeducation. At Castilleja, she was academic dean, Head of Upper School, Assistant Head of School, and interim Head of School. Her responsibilities included oversight of the daily academic operations of the school, and coordinating the recruitment and hiring of new faculty. She also oversaw curricular review, the faculty evaluation system, and faculty professional growth.

Ms. Lewis attended Mt. Holyoke College and subsequently received bachelor’s degrees in both biology and English cum laude from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. She pursued graduate studies at The Bread Loaf School of English where she received her M.A. and was honored as Class Marshall. She also earned an M.Ed. at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, where she was influenced by Carol Gilligan’s groundbreaking research as reflected in her seminal work In a Different Voice, and focused on the psychology of adolescence and the education of girls.

Ms. Lewis has served on the Board of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, California, and The Carey School in San Mateo, California. She enjoys reading, hiking, yoga, and travelling.