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!