Taranto with Gaia!

This is Gaia. I love her!

She is the girl I met in Sicily that invited me to come stay with her and her family about 5 minutes after I met her. So, it’s probably obvious that she is one of the sweetest, kindest, and most generous people you will ever meet. She is absolutely beautiful and hilarious, well traveled, cultured, always looks like she stepped right out of a fashion magazine, and—hence—impossible not to love. She has taken photography lessons and always has her cannon camera in hand, which was fun because we got some good photo memories. J

The biggest surprise of my stay was that I actually got some homework done this week, but only because Gaia had exams to study for as well! We would usually spend the mornings doing homework, getting things done around the house, preparing some vegan meals (her family is super healthy!), and hanging out with her three siblings. Her parents get off work pretty early and once they do, we would spend the rest of the day as a family. That’s one thing that I was really impressed by actually; everyone says that family is their top priority, but based on how they spend their days, you would never know. That definitely wasn’t the case with Gaia’s family.

I’ve been staying with them in their flat in Taranto, Italy which is a beautiful town right near the beach. I have this nasty habit of pronouncing Taranto without an Italian accent and somehow making it sound like Toranto, Canada—which has led me to confuse a couple dozen Italians. Ay ay ayyy. Haha My first night there (and again two other times) I got to go shopping with three Italian women: Gaia, her sister and mom. Great experience! They knew all the best places to shop, love to do it, and are blessed with an unbelievably wonderful Italian fashion sense. Given that my bag and quite a bit of money were recently stolen, I didn’t buy much, but it was still fun to just walk through the town and see everything and everyone. I love how Italians just know how to enjoy life; even on a week night the town square, shops, and beaches are packed with people. It’s been so great to spend the summer here, be a part of a new culture, and have the opportunity to enjoy a different way of life.

We spent a good amount of time at the beach, which is probably my favorite thing to do—I’m getting tanner and not everyone immediately assumes that I’m American right off the bat anymore, I love it! Of course, once I speak, they can tell I’m not Italian by my accent haha my first day in Taranto, I was with Gaia and she was talking to this guy at her school, who was kind of just giving me the up-and-down; then—as I started to introduce myself in Italian, I didn’t even get through my first word before he said, ‘tourista!’ obviously basing it off my accent. Mamma Mia, but hey I’m trying…little steps. People can still understand me and I can have a conversation, but the Italian accent is still not one I’ve picked up. J

Later that day, when we were at the beach, there was a vendor walking around with this huge display of dresses. Gaia and I went to look at them and her dad, bless his heart, insisted on buying us both one. So, now along with our matching nail polish, shoes and shirts (which we both picked out separately shopping), we now have a matching dress/cover-up haha. It’s like matching outfits in first grade with my best friend all over again. ;)

We went to the beach late one night, which I have no good pictures to show for it because every time we tried to take pictures, we would get blinded by the flash, so everyone’s eyes are closed… it was still a really fun night though, we basically found a private beach and got to have it all to ourselves. Gaia’s sister is going to be an EFY counselor, so she taught us some random dances and then we just laid on the sand, watched the stars, laughed, and talked. Kind of life at its peak, eh?

In true Italian fashion, we went out to pizza two of the four nights I was here (and the first night we couldn’t because I got in so late). The last night was my favorite just because we went with a big group, and I got to meet a lot of Gaia’s extended family and friends. I love speaking with people here, and they’re always so encouraging, it makes me want to continue to take Italian classes and work on the language when I get back to BYU. Next year will be busy with grad school, but I really hope that I can.

I also got to spend some time with the other GANS (YSA/church group), which was a blast. We played what they call ‘beach volley’ which is actually more like playing soccer on a sand volleyball court haha whenever possible people will use their feet and head rather than their arms and hands. I, however, tried to refrain from any kicks given that I showed up to the activity in a skirt—not realizing we were playing—and moreso because it’s not really my natural tendency to try to do jumping-spin-kick-trick with a volleyball. Given, it was pretty impressive when some of the others did. J

My time definitely passed too quickly, I had to catch a bus to Bari so that I could catch a plane to London (my life is rough, I know:), but in Italian fashion, I tried to live on the edge and wait until last minute (that was not actually my thought process, I hate being late). Unfortunately my luck ran out because I actually missed this one! I blame it on the fact that Emma was not with me, whom I somehow always am able to catch the train or bus with no matter how late we seem to be running. Anyhow, the next bus wasn’t for two hours, which probably wouldn’t give me enough time to catch my plane. It was one of those moments where you just stand there and think, ‘Okay. What now…?’ Luckily I didn’t have to ponder too long because Gaia’s dad (who is one of the funniest people I know) had a plan. The plan: catch up with the bus! Which bus? We didn’t know...there are dozens. So he seriously sped down the freeway, cutting off buses while I tried to read the signs on the front of the bus and see if it was the one headed to Bari. When we didn’t find the bus we were looking for, he just decided to beat it to the next stop. He floored the gas; in four stops we had gotten ahead of the bus and I was able to catch it! Phew!

I honestly think it’s a miracle sometimes that I manage to get around in Italy by myself. I give most of the credit to ridiculously nice people like Gaia’s dad, a positive attitude (smiling at people helps), and starting conversations with random people, who always end up helping me out in some way. When I got off the bus in Bari, I knew that I would have to catch another one, I just missed the part where the other bus I would have to catch was at a completely different part of town. It ended up not being a problem at all though—a really nice old lady I met on the bus (random conversation) knew that I needed to catch the bus to the airport, so just decided to walk with me and have a chat all the way to the metro station—even though I never asked or hinted at it. I truly am overwhelmed by how many good people I meet here, people who I talk to by chance and who are willing to go out of their way to help me. Cheers to some of the greatest people and to the best summer ever!