How Do You Say Copious In Italian?

Copious amounts of hand-baggage!

Traveling back to Italy after a few months of being sequestered in the foothills of southern California, I opt for two flights and depart from LAX (instead of the three required from P.S.). On this trip the Universe is reminding and entertaining me about the subtleties of language and its nuances.

LAX to London Heathrow non-stop gave me a solid 10 hours sleep (instead of a three trip journey with no leg of it really long enough to have a great long sleep). So I am very refreshed as I spend the hour waiting for my connecting flight to Milan. (Just a short hour and forty five flight and I will be in Bella L’Italia once again!)

I polished off a pint of Stella – in my opinion one of the greatest beers made — and a tasty club sandwich at British Airways’ new terminal 5. I probably could have put a third-world country though college for the price in British Pounds that I paid for it, but it’s OK: I am indeed traveling with the Universe and She is Worth it!

I must say that I loved my first time in Terminal 5. Where else can you get a pint of Stella and use the Loo, each within 10 meters of the gate? Damn Sensible!

As I board my second flight I am joyfully reminded of the subtleties of language, and the manner by which it is imparted. It is a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Milan, and the plane is chock-o-block FULL of Italians returning from holiday (taking advantage of the Pound’s drop below the Euro for its first time in history I imagine). Mix that with very fussy Brit types heading down to the balmy climes of Italy in the spring and I get a good chuckle.

This last leg of my journey is PACKED full, and if you know Brits and Italians it is the proverbial LIKE OIL AND WATER syndrome. Brits being obviously water (bottled, naturally). The Italians are happily the oil (olive, tangy and assertive, naturally).

The flight staff is all Brit, while the passengers are mostly Italian (a quick scan around the plane confirms that the Brits are outnumbered by 5 to 1). I have not only traveled, but also lived for long periods of time in both these countries, and you learn to spot the not so subtle differences.

Italians love hand luggage and not conforming to rules (ever the anarchists). While the English take more than a modicum of pride in being mindful of others and finding a safety net they relish in following the rules.

The Italians have gone way over on their number and size of their allowed carry-ons, and this is getting the goats’ of the BA flight crew. But being British makes them incapable of telling their customers that this is too much.

All the upper bins are full, and people are still boarding. Finally, a young BA flight steward who has spent the entire boarding process trying to get the overburdened people to use the space under their seats, as well as the overhead. Not to much success.

So he heads to the microphone as a way to inform, as well as to offer his fellow BA Flight attendants some support.

He says, “Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to Flight ### to Milan, we have a FULL flight as you can see tonight, and limited space in our overhead compartments tonight.”

(Here comes the subtle kicker.)

“We seem to have a copious amount of carry-on luggage. It would help us a great deal to help you if you put your smaller items down on the floor in the space provided. Leaving room up top for the rolling wheelie bags and the larger items!”

I laugh to myself as none of the Italians move to help. It was just the way he said “copious“ that made me chuckle, as did all of the other flight attendants.

I wonder how many people actually got what he was saying.

Sometimes language gets in the way of communicating – even when you’re trying to use language to communicate about luggage that’s literally in the way!