Anyway you have to experience it firsthand. I am used to life here andlive the way Chinese people do. Of course， he doesn’t agree that foreigners living China shouldblindly follow the Chinese way of life. They can continue their famil8iar lifestyles in China sinceeverything a Westerner mightwant is available here. “Actuallyyou can find everythingyou want. You have Westernfood here in Beijing. Youcan enjoy performances byforeign artists. You can takepleasure trips. My familywent to Pingyao during theSpring Festival holiday thisyear. It goes without saying that China has its problems， such as trafficand pollution. I believe it will getting better since China has embarkedon its way to internationalization and modernization. Soon after the interview in his office， we were invited to his 4-Ahome， with its happy atmosphere. The home consists of two big apartmentswith the partition wall removed. It is decorated tastefully. Hangingin a prominent place in the sitting room is a picture of “the Prieston the Sea”。 Vividly depicted are the sea， buildings， a ship， the priestand the people seeing him off. Standing in front of the picture， youcan almost feel the sea breeze coming out of it. It is obvious that thehost favors this oil painting， because the picture allows him to feel thespirit of “making one’s home wherever one is”。 Could he be an actualcultural priest of modern times?
The sitting room looks like a miniature museum. With all theseitems on display， the host has vividly and completely expressed his love for Chinese culture and his attachment to his country. Hanged onone wall are many old photos of Chinese maps and buildings of differenteras， and portraits of modern life. Hanging on the other wall aremaps of Italy and his hometown of Sicily. He particularly pointed out amap of Sicily with shining gold dots which stand for cities and towns.
Homeland is as precious as gold in his mind. We found that highbackedMing Dynasty wooden chairs exist together with a modernsofa; Buddha statues stand side by side with post-modern sculptures.
The display is in great harmony， nothing out of balance. The host coupleare truly master-hands at coordinating East-West cultures.
At home， Mr. Laspina is a good father and a good husband. Thepetite hostess greeted us with a smile. Just as a Chinese saying goes：“There must be a great lady behind every successful man.” We werelucky enough to meet the great lady behind Mr. Laspina. To supporther husband in his career and to raise their kids in a healthy way， sheresolved to give up her own career and stay at home to take care of thehusband and the children. His gratitude to his wife shows clearly in hiswords and manner.
His wife accused him of “heckling” her during an exam， whilehe was teaching at university and she was his student. “The day beforethe exam， he asked me what the most difficult part was for me.
Then the next day he intentionally gave me a pop quiz on the difficultpart. I wouldn’t have minded if he didn’t give me a preferential treatment.
But he shouldn’t deliberately embarrass me！ Even our friendscondemned him… I was almost ready to say good-bye to him.” Thewhole room rocked with laughter. “That was why I stopped teaching， he said in his defense. “I always stood on principle and displeasedalmost everyone.” The couple， who had just celebrated their silverwedding anniversary， still felt the sweetness when they recalled theirdating stories.