Thursday, March 13, 2008

La Costiera Amalfitana

Ciao!

“La Costiera Amalfitana” was like magic. Rain included, the panoramas were unlike anything I had ever seen. One such vista: tiny villas sprinkled over cliffs “verde” (green), withstanding the constant battery of the waves crashing at their base. I use the term crashing, but really this is a mere connotation of waves. Waves are all different. Or at least, Italian waves. Those incoming on this coast seemed friendly, surfing towards the shore.

It is easy to write with associations. But beware; overuse could render wrong conclusions as connotations often facilitate our perspectives and world views even if small. For example, let’s look at some things typically associated with the south of Italy. The mafia. Violence. Trash. Dialects so forte that effective communication seems impossible. I’m thinking that sometimes it takes actually seeing a place with one’s own eyes to figure out the truth. It’s true. The sunny south is shadowed by the mafia’s corruption. Yet, southerners combat this by throwing on a “paio di occhiali da sole” (pair of sunglasses) and giving smiles to everyone. Or in my case, half an orange (grown on a nearby cliff, no doubt). After diving into the icy (but friendly) waters on a pebbled beach in all of our clothes, a couple of elderly Italian men basking on the same beach, and adorned in their finest speedos (2 each, of course, one for swimming, and one for changing into after swimming, so as not to get too cold in sensitive areas), obliged to take our picture. Then later, one of them (strutting in his dry speedo) traversed all the way across the beach to the place where we were stretched out and offered us the half of an orange that he didn’t finish. With this gesture, communication never seemed so effective. This example lies among many.

On this trip, travel was lengthy, but well worth it. I saw Positano, Almalfi Town, Sorrento and my personal favorite Altrani. I even ate pizza in its alleged birthplace: Napoli. There aren’t many tourists on the coast at this time of year so many of the usual crowd-pullers were closed. My group's best company were the many dogs that lounged around the tiny cities. Carefree and friendly, like their owners. I look at this as an adequate addition to my authentic emersion into Italian culture. Che felicità.

Unfortunately, travel isn’t cheap (even with free oranges). I’m taking a “piccola pausa” (small break) from traveling until “aprile”. I’m lucky that Firenze is so cool.

Until later!

-Kels

1 comment:

Christopher Reinhard said...

Kelsey, you have an incredible linguistic command. I neglected to start reading this when you started out but now I find myself going back to the beginning and following along. I'm absolutely inspired by your ability to observe, and then retell, your stories.

Keep this up...I'd like to hear about the things you're seeing even after you leave Firenze. It is, indubitably, nothing less than a gift.

Chris R