Cultural peculiarities aside--and it is rather weird to obsess about gusts of air a nd vulnerable kidneys, etc.,--Italians do appear to have it more together than their American counterparts. They look better. They eat better. They certainly sound better. Whether or not they ARE indeed better is up for grabs. Americans are in general not terribly sure of themselves sartorially, culinarilly (is that a word?), and oratorally. Because of this, we (speaking as one of them) are only too eager to absorb the affect of those we feel are effortlessly sophisticated and cool. It is essentially impossible, of course, to look, eat, speak, or behave like an Italian unless you are one. People will think you're an ass--and they'd be right in their assessment. So we simply have to stand back and admire rather than attempt to ape.