Massimo

In Italian the word massimo can be used in the same way that we say great! One of the Italy hating Italians I met was also called Massimo. He made a joke out of his name but twitched whenever I said non e' il massimo. (It's not that great.) I must admit that I was doing it on purpose. When my English friend and I met him he went to great lengths to tell us what was wrong with his country. He said that England was better and that he liked to be with foreigners rather than Italians. The way he kept going on about it was quite sad. It made us uncomfortable and reminded me of myself. I've always found it easier to make friends with foreigners than with English people my own age. There are a lot of people like us. I wonder why?