Farewell Italia!!

Day 7 in Italy

This world is such a strange place.  Life is just pretty darn weird – in a totally awesome way – if you ask me.  Last night was unlike any I could have imagined.  I met these two Argentinean girls who were staying at the same hostel and two Italian guys (locals from Sorrento who had come to the bar on the roof of the hostel to start their evening).  The evening started out pretty mellow.  I had been feeling a bit frustrated with this ϋber-chic hostel where the aesthetics were great, but the friendly vibe had been missing.  I was finding it difficult to connect with the other guests and was starting to feel a bit lonely.  So, I went up to the deck to try to get online, chat with some friends from America, and update my blog.  Thanks to my new Argentinean hermana, the night took a radical new direction.  As the little area of couches and chairs around me filled in with people, I slowly got drawn into the conversations here and there as the Italians flirted with the girls staying at the hostel.  At some point, it was decided that a field trip to the beach was in order and one of the Argentinean girls who happened to be sleeping in the bunk below mine invited me along.  What an amazing night!  I ended up going with one of the Italians (in a comedic twist, they both happen to be named Antonio J ) and the two Argentineans to the beach.  There was a party going on at some bar/club on the sand and people of all ages (from small children to middle-aged adults) were having fun.  A random mix of pop, salsa, and even disco was playing in the background, so my little group talked and danced a bit under the moon as we put our feet in the surprisingly warm-ish water.  Antonio eventually talked me and one of the other girls to join him in a late-night swim and we went in fully clothed in our dresses, playing in the waves.  I would have never imagined that I would be swimming (in a full length dress!!!) in the Mediterranean Sea under an orange moon with the stereotypically charming Italian man and my bubbly new Latina friend.  We spent the night conversing in a mixture of Italian, Spanish, and English, joining the rest of the night owls back up on the roof in the wee hours of the morning.

Today I went out with Barbara (the bubbly Argentinean) walking around Sorrento – shopping, and talking about men mostly, while we took in the last glimpses of this incredibly beautiful seaside town.  We sat and had lunch – the BEST pasta I have had so far in Italy – and the day began to get away from us much too quickly.  Before I knew it, it was time for us to head back to the hostel so I can make my way back to Rome.

Once I arrived in Naples (after the first of two train rides on my way to Rome), I remembered why I had been so relieved to arrive in Sorrento in the first place.  I have the same feeling in Naples as I do in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania or Lusaka, Zambia.  Again, I was starting to feel completely out of place as I tried to find something to do to pass the time as I waited for my next train. 

I noticed something interesting in Naples the first time I was here, but didn’t have the guts to investigate until now.  There are A LOT of Africans in Naples.  I haven’t noticed this in any other city that I’ve been in here in Italy.  So many questions had been swimming around in my head as I mulled over this observation and I kept wanting to go up and talk to them… feeling a familiarity and longing for my friends back in Zambia.  Tonight, as I noticed a group of men sitting outside the little cafeteria where I was having a bit of supper, I finally got the courage to just go up and find out what the deal was.  It turned out to be a great way to spend an hour waiting for my train.  It felt really nice to hang out with an Angolan and two Congolese guys (and a Sri Lankan too!) and just chat for a while.  The Angolan is a doctor (from a long line of doctors in his family) and we became quick friends.  We talked about the African immigrants and refugees in Italy, adjusting to a new country, politics in Angola and America, missing home and our families, and all sorts of other things.  Again, the conversation swam in a sea of languages… this time French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Luvale, and Swahili.  I think my brain might explode soon… haha.   They were thrilled every time I revealed a few words indicating knowledge of yet another shared language.  It’s crazy how easy it is to make friends with Africans.  Although, to be fair, it was pretty easy to make friends with Argentineans. J

And now, I’m on my way to Rome for a quick sleep in a hostel and then departing on my flight to the States in the morning.  As wonderful and relaxing as Sorrento was, I’m ready to come home.  I’m ready to see my family and catch up with my friends.  I’m ready to stay in one place (for a least a couple weeks anyway) and stick my gigantic backpack in the closet for a while.  La dolce vita is actually a bit exhausting. J