Home is Where Parcel Is: Gifting Practices in Italian Migrant Families

This essay delves into the anthropological significance of gift parcels within Italian migrant families, focusing on the emotional and cultural aspects of this practice. Through interviews with parents, students, and a shop owner, the essay explores the motivations behind sending and receiving parcels, highlighting the importance of familial ties and the expression of love and care. The study reveals that the contents of these parcels, primarily food items, serve as a tangible connection to home and a source of comfort for students living abroad. The essay also examines the role of shops in facilitating this practice and the economic implications involved. Furthermore, it highlights the students' strong emotional attachment to their hometown and the sense of belonging and security derived from receiving these parcels. The research underscores the value placed on family bonds and the tradition of food in Italian culture, making this gifting ritual a significant aspect of migrant life. The essay analyzes the roles of senders, receivers and shopkeepers in the process.

RUNNING HEAD: HOME IS WHERE PARCEL IS
Title: Home is where Parcel is
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

1HOME IS WHERE PARCEL IS
The culture of sending parcels is more likely to be finding in the migrant worlds because
of the lack of physical connection among the close ones. Gifting of parceled gifts has been a
point of interests among various anthropologists and sociologists as well as the consumer
researchers. However, apart from the economical point of view of parceling of gifts the inclusion
of emotions, the feeling of security or the behavioral aspects on sending or receiving the gifts
have also been studied by the researchers. The current essay will analyses the main three macro
concepts involved in the gifting procedure. Through a process of interview, this essay aims at
shedding light on the emotion of the sender and the receiver’s side and the shop’s role in the
whole process.
While parceling the gifts, it has been pointed out by the behavior analysts that the whole
process is guided by either of the two propositions. The motives of gifting are either altruistic
where the pleasure of the recipient is mainly focused on; or is agonistic where the donor’s
satisfaction of gifting is stressed on. In my research I came across the fact that, in the process of
parceling, both these propositions are equally true and valuable. While researching on the
feelings of the parents in Italy about giving parceled gifts to their children, I came across the idea
that this ritual, according to them is one of the most efficient and passionate ways of showing
love and attraction towards their children who are living in different areas for educational or
occupational purposes. I interviewed my parents as well as the parents of some of my school
mates and referred to the Italian Blog named as “my daughter and I” where my key finding was
that the senders; parents in this case, are highly concerned with the well being and attachment
with their children. Italy has been known to the outside world as a region where familial ties are
very strong and the people of the country gives a great value to the family. Moreover, Italian
parents are known to have a strong sense of belongingness with their children. This made them

2HOME IS WHERE PARCEL IS
feel worried about the health of their sons or daughters who have to live outside. While I asked
Luca’s mom about her feelings on sending parcels, her prompt reply was that it has been a daily
custom or habit on part of her to send his son parcels. For her, it was the only way to show her
love and care for her son. Moreover, the familial ties became more visible to me while she said
that every time while eating any food that is preferred by her son as well, she is always reminded
of her son and cannot help herself from sending stuffs to Luca. On investigating more on this
matter, I found that the content in the parcels are mostly food items that the children preferred
but cannot have because of the unavailability of those things in the regions they are currently
living. This fact made me realize the fact that in the Italian culture, the wellbeing of the family
members is seen with importance rather than the materialistic interests. Again, it can also be
pointed out that, the Italian parents are comparatively more attached with their children to know
exactly what are their likes and dislikes. The main stuffs are items like pasta, sausage or dry
items like biscuits. The content in the parcel however, varies according to the different regional
tastes. While pasta or sausages are the main content in the parcels for the children who have their
origin in Campania or Naples, children having home at Liguria gets more items that has
vegetables and sea foods as the main ingredients. The Italian parents love to include the personal
touch of love and care to the parceled gifts. Hence, gifting something homemade is considered to
be a thoughtful gift as it is a product of love and labor. The Italian parents also think that the
sending of parceled gifts, specially the food items is customary for every parent so that the
children living outside do not feel less loved. Parents who do not send parcels are seen as
careless parents in Italy. This again holds the strong sense of familial ties in the tradition of Italy.
While interviewing the parents, I also analyzed the emotion of love, sorrow of detachment with
their children and the face full of joy and satisfaction while the whole process of parceling and

3HOME IS WHERE PARCEL IS
sending is being carried on. The whole process of selection of items for the gift purpose is done
with a lot of effort and care taking great attention towards the likings or cravings of their
children. The parceling of those chosen products is another heartfelt process where the parents
often reminisce past events of joys and emotions attached with those and their children. After
sending the parcel they wait with great patience until the gift reaches to the desired destination
and their ward gets hold of it.
It has been argued by the researchers that the recipient is the final consumer of the gifts
and the experience of the giver largely depends on the response of the recipients. Thus, the
receiver’s response is a crucial juncture in the whole gifting process. While I interviewed my
schoolmates, the thing that was most clear to me was the parents of these people are well aware
with the taste of their wards. While Luca told me that, he remains very much excited for
receiving the parcel since it was the only way he could connect with his parents and the Italian
tradition. Living in London has left him with very rare opportunities of cooking Italian delicacies
because of the lack of ingredients there. The receiving of the parcel clearly arouse in the
recipient the sense of love, gratitude and passion for their parents as well as their hometown.
Interviewing Luca also made me realize that the parents send parcels at a regular interval as their
token of love and it also suggests that they take a note and calculate when their son could need
those items. One thing that was common among my schoolmates was that, everybody, including
myself do eagerly wait and wonder about the content of the parcel from the time we get to hear
that our parents have sent that. There also remains a sense of anxiety regarding the receiving of
the parcel. Luca was of the opinion the sense of wondering and excitements was largely due to
the emotional attachment with his hometown. Due to the lack of various food items in London,
the students eagerly wait for the parcels. More than gifts, these parcels become the sustainability

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equipments for them. Many students think that it is their parent’s way of showing concerns about
their nutrition intake as well as their personal favorite choices. Interviewing Claudia revealed me
that for the migrant students, the receiving of the parcels are similar to the bridging of gaps
between their hometown and the places they are currently living in. The parcels, according to
them, bring not only the original flavor of foods, but also the essence of Italy. Claudia also told
that, she gets an assurance of being loved and cared by her parents even in her absence in the
home. According to Amina, again, there can be no comparison between the world of being a
migrant and staying at home. She firmly believes that the things sent by her parents would be
handpicked and carefully chosen by her parents for her well being. This essence of dependence
and mutual love is craved by many of the migrant students and thus always wait for the parcels
anxiously. From Amina’s interview, I also came to know about the reliance of the parents on
some chosen shops that have the requested products. Of course there are some Italian shops in
London as well, but most of those charge a greater price which the migrant students are not
always able to afford. Moreover, the act of buying those ingredients, according to them, do not
render the same feeling or emotion that they get from those sent by their parents from the
hometown. The most wanted parcels are then, undoubtedly food products, specially home-made
pasta, tomato sauce, sausages and others. The cravings for pasta are, however, more among the
Italian students.
On interviewing Gianni, the shop owner in Italy, I found that the most requested item
were the typical Italian products that are specially pasta or ricotta. In recent studies, it has been
found that the food habit or preference all over Italy is more or less similar. The migration of
cultural goods also includes the giving or accepting of the local foods outside the hometown. The
spread of Italian cuisines from these kinds of shops are the best example of the globalization and

5HOME IS WHERE PARCEL IS
localization dialectic. From interviewing the shop owner, I also learnt that there has been a
concrete involvement of economic interest in the sales of these goods. Particular shops are being
preferred by particular regions and families since differences in the local tastes account for
significant importance and variations in different regions. The shops are trying genuinely to keep
more sorted out and precise items like ricotta or sausages. Those are fresh products that the
guardians want to send to their wards. I also got an insight about the taxing scenario in Italy. The
shopkeeper told me that he is often unable to keep more products that the parents can send to
their migrant wards because of the high taxations put upon those products. The markets in these
areas are very interestingly active where there are large displays of the local foods that marks the
territory distinctly. They also seems to respond readily to the demands of the markets. Moreover,
the sense of emotion is also visible among these shop owners regarding the children of their
home town who have been in abroad. Gianni clearly regretted the fact that he could not reduce
the price of these products so that the guardians are helped. It is clear that these shops
particularly and purposefully keeps item that suits the tastes of the migrant children.
The above essay has been a thorough experience for me while learning about the
behavior of the families whose members have gone abroad. The emotion of the member who is
also outside has been noted in the essay. The essay discusses in detail the emotions and feelings
attached with the people while sending or receiving parcels while living outside. The main idea
that has been derived from the research is that the sense of valuing or being valued plays a large
role in the process. another significant finding was that, the students are likely to prefer the food
items of their home town most rather than any other thing. According to them, these local,
homemade foods bring in the essence and flavor of their origin and most importantly the emotion
of love. The senders, who are basically the parents of these students, also, in order to show their

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affection has significantly chosen the path of sending food parcels. This upholds the essential
tradition of the Italian culture that values the familial bonds and the love for food. Italy is one of
the most aristocratic country in world where experiments regarding food have been a historical
tradition. This is still visible in the families of present. The research has been an enticing one for
me as I came to know the similarities and difference between the cultures and food habits of the
Italian families in different regions. This has been helpful in my work for understanding the state
of migrants coming from various backgrounds. The idea of maternal love and care being one of
the most important segment for this research, made my understanding enriched about the
influence of family on the students’ life style and food habits even if they are outside the region.