Real Italian Life

Terzigno, Italy

I am in a small town near Pompei and Napoli. I have been here for several days, staying with Giovanna, her two brothers Francesco and Michele, and her mother Eleonora. I found her through Couchsurfing. This has been one of the best experiences in my travels. Everyday, the mother has prepared a huge meal, most of the ingredients coming from the large, beautiful garden at the back of the house. I am still in a food coma from the meal a couple of hours ago which consisted of a delicious lasagna bolognese to start. Then we had Tuscan beef, meatballs, peas, mushrooms, and bread. Everyone drank home-made wine. After the second course, we enjoyed fresh chestnuts from the garden, followed by three different types of cakes, all home-made, and one of which was made from the same chestnuts. This was followed by home-made lemoncello for everyone else. And finally coffee, which is actually about a tablespoon of very potent, bitter espresso, which tastes and feels like a drug. I have eaten SO much the past three days. It has been incredible. The mother keeps offering me food, and I don't want to be rude, so I agree to more. I really have been experiencing real Italian life. The family has been so hospitable and generous, providing me all this food and everything out of the kindness of their hearts. Yesterday, Giovanna, my host, accompanied me to the Pompei ruins. It was interesting... this whole city that is over two thousand years old, still intact. However, maybe I had expectations because I wasn't blown away. Last night I went out with Giovanna, her brother Francesco, and two of his friends. We drove around and walked around and then ate some pizza at a little restaurant in Pompei. It was fun to be with those guys having conversations in broken English and broken Italian. Tonight I will go to Napoli for a real Napoleatano pizza, before catching the night train to Palermo, Sicily. Yesterday, my camera began malfunctioning. I am very upset about it. I can still take pictures, but the zoom doesn't work, and when turning it off, I must guide the lense back into the camera body. Also, as I may or may not have mentioned, I've been carrying around a large piece of driftwood that I found in Cinque Terre. I've had it for over two weeks now, garnering lots of strange looks from everyone I pass, as I lug it around on travel days. I have intended to ship it back to the U.S., but it seems that it will cost a lot. But I don't want to carry it around for another month and a half only to get to the airport and have customs tell me I can't take it. So hopefully tomorrow, I can find a FedEx or something that won't charge and arm and a leg, like UPS. I wish I had more time to spend in Italy... I feel like I am rushing off, missing out on lots of things. But I know that I will return, if not move here, and so I will be able to see and experience all that I haven't this time around.