In December I learnt how to nod Indian style, in January I discovered that some customers can not shake my hand because I am not mahram (in case of Muslim customers traveling with non-Muslim customers I noticed it is better for me not to held out the hand to anyone, so no one will have to shake my hand, equal treatment, and there won’t be any embarrassment for anyone), while last week I frantically tried to discover whether intrigoni (the local Carnival treat) are normally fried in pork fat or in vegetable fat, as the sales manager was offering them during coffee break to two customers from Israel.
While I’m now familiar with the head bobble and comfortable with the (not) mahram issue, I’m still not sure about the pork fat. Someone says frappe used to be fried in pork fat while they tend to be fried in vegetable oil nowadays, and I’m quite sure intrigoni are usually fried in vegetable oil. But with processed food, you never know. Dear customers from Israel, I am sincerely sorry you may have eaten pork fat without knowing and I did nothing to warn you. Or maybe you don’t eat kosher anyway. Dear God of the Old Testament, please consider that finding kosher food in the Bologna is extremely difficult.
Next week I’m planned to work with Italian customers. With all the above considered, Italian customers are still the scariest ones. The are the ones, most of them anyway, who have voted and keep on supporting our present government.
