Ciao, tutti!
Today was the first of school at Dante Aligheri. I couldn't believe how much I was able to communicate in such a short amount of time! Any hesitation in speaking with strangers is absolutely gone. In fact, I was able to give directions to an Italian couple, and in the same day was able to give directions to an older couple vacationing from New Jersey! Wine is flowing daily, but it's a different experience here. It is apart of their culture, a way to connect, to share their hearts with each other. It is so strange to me that I feel so comfortable and at home with the level of engagement that these people bring to each other's lives and their community. Life is about good food, good vino, good prosperity, good company. After school, we went into a very famous deli owned by a very close friend of my professor's. Immediately upon hearing my and my friends were student's of Guiliana's, Antonio opened a bootle of vino, cut fresh proccutio, formaggio, and proceeded to tell us about passion in life. He would rather have a customer upset that they couldn't take pictures of him and his shop and offer them complimentary wine and conversation, then allow the tourist to snap shot his life for Facebook. In Antonio's words, " Without passion, there is nothing. Life is to be enjoyed, to be lived, to be used up!.."
After buying a bottle from him and walking home, gelato in hand-I realized that truer words were never spoken.
A dopo...
