For me, though, a major obstacle in my pursuit of pleasure was my ingrained sense of Puritan guilt. Do I really deserve this pleasure? This is very American, too—the insecurity about whether we have earned our happiness. Planet Advertising in America orbits completely around the need to convince the uncertain consumer that yes, you have actually warranted a special treat. This Bud's for You! You Deserve a Break Today! Because You're Worth It! You've Come a Long Way, Baby! And the insecure consumer thinks, Yeah! Thanks! I am gonna go buy a six-pack, damn it! Maybe even two six-packs! And then comes the reactionary binge. Followed by the remorse. Such advertising campaigns would probably not be as effective in the Italian culture, where people already know that they are entitled to enjoyment in this life. The reply in Italy to "You Deserve a Break Today" would probably be, Yeah, no duh. That's why I'm planning on taking a break at noon, to go over to your house and sleep with your wife.

然而对我来说，追求快乐的主要障碍是我根深蒂固的清教徒罪恶感。我是否该拥有这种快乐？这也是很典型的美国态度——对于自己是否值得快乐，感到惶惑不安。美国的广告系统完全环绕在说服拿不定主意的消费者：是的，你确实有权享受特殊待遇。这啤酒是给你的！你今天应该休息一下！因为你值得！苦尽甘来了，宝贝！缺乏安全感的消费者心想，是啊！谢啦！我就去买个该死的半打吧！干脆一打算了！而后开始反动式地狂饮。接着才懊悔不已。这类广告战在意大利文化中很可能起不了效用，因为人们早已知道他们有权享受人生。在意大利，面对 你今天应该休息一下的回答可能是：对啊，不，废话。所以我打算中午休息一下，去你家和你老婆睡觉。

Which is probably why, when I told my Italian friends that I'd come to their country in order to experience four months of pure pleasure, they didn't have any hang-ups about it. Complimenti! Vai avanti! Congratulations, they would say. Go ahead. Knock yourself out. Be our guest. Nobody once said, "How completely irresponsible of you," or "What a self-indulgent luxury." But while the Italians have given me full permission to enjoy myself, I still can't quite let go. During my first few weeks in Italy, all my Protestant synapses were zinging in distress, looking for a task. I wanted to take on pleasure like a homework assignment, or a giant science fair project. I pondered such questions as, "How is pleasure most efficiently maximized?" I wondered if maybe I should spend all my time in Italy in the library, doing research on the history of pleasure. Or maybe I should interview Italians who've experienced a lot of pleasure in their lives, asking them what their pleasures feel like, and then writing a report on this topic. (Double-spaced and with one-inch margins, perhaps? To be turned in first thing Monday morning?)

或许因为如此，当我告诉意大利朋友们，我到他们的国家来体验四个月纯粹的快乐，他们对此并无任何心理障碍。Complimenti!Vai avanti!（恭喜），他们会这么说。就这么办吧。尽情玩吧。来我们家做客吧。从来没有人说：你完全缺乏责任感或者多么自我耽溺的享受。然而尽管意大利人完全允许我好好享受，我却仍无法完全放松。在意大利的头几个礼拜，我的每根清教徒神经都在蠢动，到处找寻任务。我想把快乐当做家庭作业或庞大的科学研究来处理。我思索这类问题：如何以最有效的方式强化快乐？我心想，或许我在意大利的全部时间应当待在图书馆研究快乐的历史。或者应当去采访在生活中体验许多快乐的意大利人，问他们快乐是什么感觉，然后以此为题写篇报告。（或许双倍行距、留一吋边？周一一大早就把稿子交出去？）

When I realized that the only question at hand was, "How do I define pleasure?" and that I was truly in a country where people would permit me to explore that question freely, everything changed. Everything became . . . delicious. All I had to do was ask myself every day, for the first time in my life, "What would you enjoy doing today, Liz? What would bring you pleasure right now?" With nobody else's agenda to consider and no other obligations to worry about, this question finally became distilled and absolutely self-specific.

当我明白手边的唯一问题是如何定义快乐，而当我真正待在这个人们准许我放手探索这个问题的国家时，一切都改观了。一切都开始变得……美味。有生以来第一次，我每天只需要问自己：你今天乐于做什么事，小莉？现在什么东西能带给你快乐？无须考虑任何人的议程，也无须忧心任何责任，这个问题终于变得纯粹而确定。

It was interesting for me to discover what I did not want to do in Italy, once I'd given myself executive authorization to enjoy my experience there. There are so many manifestations of pleasure in Italy, and I didn't have time to sample them all. You have to kind of declare a pleasure major here, or you'll get overwhelmed. That being the case, I didn't get into fashion, or opera, or cinema, or fancy automobiles, or skiing in the Alps. I didn't even want to look at that much art. I am a bit ashamed to admit this, but I did not visit a single museum during my entire four months in Italy. (Oh, man—it's even worse than that. I have to confess that I did go to one museum: the National Museum of Pasta, in Rome.) I found that all I really wanted was to eat beautiful food and to speak as much beautiful Italian as possible. That was it. So I declared a double major, really—in speaking and in eating (with a concentration on gelato).

一旦准许自己在这儿享受经验，而且了解自己在意大利什么事也不想做 ，对我而言是有趣的事。意大利有多种快乐的表现形式，而我没有时间全部尝试。你得在这儿宣告你的主修，否则会应接不暇。既然如此，我感兴趣的并非时尚、歌剧、电影、高级车，或去阿尔卑斯山滑雪。我甚至不那么想观看艺术。在意大利的整整四个月当中，我没去过任何博物馆，我承认这一点让我有些羞愧。（天啊——更糟糕的是，我得承认我的确去过一家博物馆：位于罗马的国立面 食博物馆［National Museum of Pasta］。）我发现我真正想做的是吃美好的食物，尽可能多说美好的意大利语。就这样。因此事实上，我宣告了双主修——说话与饮食（专修冰品 ）。