Every morning when I walk into the Cafe GiMa, I am greeted with a warm smile from the woman behind the counter. She obviously recognizes all of us, and gives a friendly "buon giorno" when I enter the shop. It has reached the point where she expects my arrival around 8:30 every morning, almost like I am a regular. Sadly, our conversations usually end at the salutation stage because of the obvious language barrier. But at least like it seems she genuinely enjoys my frequenting her bar. When visiting some other cafes, often the workers are not quite overly fond of a group of tourists stampeding into their humble cafe.

On the other hand, the other morning is a man probably in his thirties. He seemingly carries a perpetual scowl, and is not much of a conversationalist. In fact, I do not recollect him ever uttering anything more than a "ciao" after we finish our morning coffee. When he takes my order, he solemnly walks to the machine and quickly fulfills my order without ever saying a word. It is still undetermined if it is because I am an American, or if he is just a quiet person.