[Written on Thursday, November 28th. Thanksgiving Day.]
I can’t believe the day has come. These 9 months are a blur. I don’t know what to say to you loyal
readers, so, while I sit hear in London Heathrow waiting for my connection to
San Francisco, I’ll just give it to you straight.
I did this trip expecting to have a blast. I would not have done it if I’d thought
otherwise. I knew I’d see incredible art
and architecture. I knew I’d eat
well. I knew I’d drink a lot. I knew I’d travel outside Rome to spectacular
places. I expected to hear wonderful
music, and to see some beautiful landscapes and nature. All of that happened. That is not, however, what made this
adventure so magical. What I’m most
going to remember is something else: the people.
I did not expect the people.
The thing I did not anticipate was the people. I did not see them coming. I did not know that people everywhere – and
especially in Italy – would be so warm, generous, welcoming, hospitable,
helpful, and friendly. I don’t know why,
but I just did not know this. It blew me
away.
I didn’t know that I’d meet a set of eclectic expats who
live in Rome. This dynamic group –
American, Australian, Filipino, German, Turkish, etc. – helped me with 50,000 things. Thank you for telling me where to eat, where
to drink, what museums to visit, how to do laundry, where to go on trips, and
how to deal with those daily frustrations of Roma. Thank you for having me to your homes, and
for introducing me to so many others.
I did not know I’d get to hang out so often with a group of
people who, like me, were in Rome short-term.
Thank you for telling me your stories and for sharing your time abroad
with me. I’ll always remember the
incredible times we had, the struggles over which we commiserated about even
temporary life in Italia, the piazzas, the museums, the walks, the talks, and
all those nights drinking and eating together.
One thing I did know was that, if anyone came from home to
visit me, we would have fun. But I did
not know that they would really do it.
Getting to spend so much one-on-one dedicated time with Yonkel; Oomps &
Irene; Bryan; Sam, Ronnie & Marc; Matt; and Anna & Danny was
incredible. It is so rare to get all
that time together with great friends. I
had a ball with each of you, and I’m so glad you made the trip. Likewise to all my friends, friends of
friends, family, and former colleagues who were passing through Roma and met me
for a drink or meal. Seeing your
familiar faces in an unfamiliar place was awesome.
Of all of this, however, the thing that took me most by
surprise was my Italian friends. I keep
hearing that Italy is in decline. Some
say it is a museum in itself – a collection of grandeurs past that is now
fossilized. That’s not what I saw. Now, it may be that I saw a self-selected and
narrow slice of the population. I know
that’s possible. But the Italian people
with whom I spent these 9 months are wondrous.
They are vibrant, creative, witty, and cultured. They are interesting and interested. Most of all, they are warm, welcoming, kind,
and generous. I know that all sounds
hackneyed and clichéd. But it is
true. I already miss them.
Most of all, that I was able to develop such close friendships with my tutors
Paola and Valentina moved me. I
guess we did not succeed in getting me to speak or understand much Italian –
other than the sounds Italians make to characterize the noises that Italian
farm animals make. (See my November 24th video in the post about
Assisi.) But they taught me a lot about
Italian culture and Roma, and they gave me selfless friendship – for me, that
stuff was more valuable than learning to speak another language. I owe them the biggest grazie milles of all.
I guess my No. 1 take-away is this. We live in world of immense cruelty and
suffering. They form a huge swath of the
history of our species and they are relentless.
(Before some of you get too excited, this is true of all other species
too. We are not unique.) Evidence of such suffering exists all over
Roma (and any other place you visit), and news of additional atrocities stun us
each day. But, after 9 months in Italy,
France, Spain, Croatia, Turkey, Montenegro, and Finland, I was struck most by
the other side of the coin.
I was repeatedly overwhelmed by the kindness that I
received. There were of course
occasional road-bumps; every once in a while, someone would clearly try to rip
me off. But, wow, that was the
exception. In upwards of 98% of my
interactions, I found that other people are willing to – and want to –
help. They want to share. They want to connect. They want to laugh, eat, and drink together.
Maybe I just got lucky.
I doubt it. As someone who can at
times be a cynical skeptic, this took my breath away. It reminded me of the closing line in Woody
Allen’s Manhattan: "You have to have a little faith in
people."
* * *
If you’ve been reading from the beginning, then you know
that these 9 months have been the time of my life. I have had the best year imaginable, filled
with one fantastic experience after another.
And, so, on Thanksgiving, let me close this manifesto by thanking you
all – the readers.
To everyone who sent me even a single text or email, and to
those of you who spoke or FaceTimed with me even once, thank you. Your travel tips, your hellos, your jokes,
and just your names lighting up on my phone or computer meant the world. They grounded me and made me smile. They reminded me of all the great things and
people at home. Because of you, I was
not lonely for even due minuti while
I spent 9 months traveling on another side of Earth.
* * *
I’m not sure what will happen with this blog going
forward. We’re still in talks with
management about that. Please check in
once or twice in the near future. We
will have at least another few postings in the near-term. After that, who knows?
Arrivederci. Grazie mille.
Ciao, ciao, ciao.
No comments:
Post a Comment