I can't speak much to what life was like fifty years ago, I wasn't there. All I have known for the majority of my twenty years, eleven months, and four days on this earth has been distorted and transformed by the emergence of technology. It's happening here, but it's nothing like it is back home. Facebook has become this tool that people use for everything, good and bad. The moment something happens, everyone you've ever known learns about it instantly. From sharing sorrows to happiness, worries, triumphs, sickness, bad days, good days, problems or promotions at work, travels...
Why then is there no further sense of unity between us and our "friends?" Congratulations and condolences in the form of likes and comments rarely turn into cards or phone calls for our "friends" triumphs or failures.
Bellagio is a small town. Everywhere I go people are talking to each other: standing In a shop and talking, walking on the street talking, sitting and talking. If you walk down the street and someone you know passes by they stop their car and catch up with you. It's not like the superficial neighbor-talk we experience all too often in the US - I made eye contact with you and now I have to ask how your kids are doing. There is a community here. Everyone knows everyone, and if they don't know you, they want to. Shop owners look you right in the eye and say, "Ciao," every day, and when you finally go in and start a conversation, it's almost impossible to leave because they want to know everything about you....where you're from, who you know, where you work, where you learned Italian, when you leave, and are you coming back? Just imagine walking into a coffee shop in America and having your barista treat you this way after seeing you for only a second time....and not just that, but giving you a ten percent discount for coming in a third time.
I feel more at home here than I ever have in Ohio or New York.
The closest I've ever felt to this community was in Mackinac...and oh, how I miss it!
The inspiration from this post may come from my location of writing this afternoon...
Enjoying a lovely day off at the pier, and although it's a bit overcast, I'm surrounded by the beauty of Lake Como. As I look out over the largest mountains I've ever seen, framing the small towns built into the hills in a way only Italy seems to have mastered, I can almost hear the clock ticking. I've been here over a month now, and the six weeks I have left seem flimsy and fleeting. When I say I never want to leave, it's much more than just a summer of fun that I don't want to only have as a memory...I feel as though this little village and their way of life has made an imprint on my heart, and quickly become home. The thought of having to ever wake up and not be able to walk through these charming, cobblestone streets for a cappuccino before a day of fun, adventure, friendship, and truly raw joy, has me in tears right now. How could I even think of leaving?
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