Traveling has always been something I've enjoyed. I've never been one to be afraid to board a plane and jet off to other countries. From the first time I experienced another country, I've been mindful of a couple of things. America is a great country, but not the ONLY great country and we are all alike in many ways, but it's fun to embrace diversity.
My recent trip to Italy gave me the opportunity to really meet other people and talk. Most of the time, I am on a trip with students and thus I am constantly making sure they don't fall off a bridge or get run over by a train. It's just part of the job. This summer, Heaven and I were very ambitious with our travel and interested in really soaking in the atmosphere.
One of my favorite encounters was on our last night in Florence. We walked down the street from our hotel to have dinner. The place was fairly crowded and our choice to sit outside meant sitting at a table with two young gentlemen. At first Heaven and I just conversed with each other as we looked at the menu, but when we began our usual ritual of searching the menu for things we had not tried, I pulled out my phone and began looking up the name of a dish. One of the young men leaned over and said "I can help you with the language if you need it. I speak fluent Italian." This broke the ice quickly. Pierre and Alonzo were their names and the next two and a half hours we talked about everything. Pierre was a fashion designer from Paris and Alonzo was a fashion merchandiser who was part Italian and part Chinese. They lived in Hong Kong and were in Italy to visit Alonzo's family.
The conversation was light at moments and very deep at other times. We talked about our jobs, why we were traveling, what we liked about Italy, American politics, and other events in the world. Heaven and I had not seen the news or read a paper while on the trip, so when Alonzo asked our opinion of the Brexit, he then had to explain it. The evening seemed to be richly sweet with chatter. It was a delightful time. The food was good, but the company made everything better. I wouldn't say Heaven and I had much of anything in common with these two young men, but we were able to share a table, enjoy a meal, express some ideas, laugh at some common thoughts, and marvel at the fireworks being shot over the Arno river. You see, it was Florence day (who knew?) and so the end of the day celebration was a huge fireworks display that rivaled shows I had seen in Washington D.C. With as much fun as we were having at dinner, we thought the fireworks were for us!
When you travel, make sure to embrace the other culture. Just enjoy experiencing "life" and you will have much to talk about from your adventures.
A piu tardi,
My recent trip to Italy gave me the opportunity to really meet other people and talk. Most of the time, I am on a trip with students and thus I am constantly making sure they don't fall off a bridge or get run over by a train. It's just part of the job. This summer, Heaven and I were very ambitious with our travel and interested in really soaking in the atmosphere.
One of my favorite encounters was on our last night in Florence. We walked down the street from our hotel to have dinner. The place was fairly crowded and our choice to sit outside meant sitting at a table with two young gentlemen. At first Heaven and I just conversed with each other as we looked at the menu, but when we began our usual ritual of searching the menu for things we had not tried, I pulled out my phone and began looking up the name of a dish. One of the young men leaned over and said "I can help you with the language if you need it. I speak fluent Italian." This broke the ice quickly. Pierre and Alonzo were their names and the next two and a half hours we talked about everything. Pierre was a fashion designer from Paris and Alonzo was a fashion merchandiser who was part Italian and part Chinese. They lived in Hong Kong and were in Italy to visit Alonzo's family.
The conversation was light at moments and very deep at other times. We talked about our jobs, why we were traveling, what we liked about Italy, American politics, and other events in the world. Heaven and I had not seen the news or read a paper while on the trip, so when Alonzo asked our opinion of the Brexit, he then had to explain it. The evening seemed to be richly sweet with chatter. It was a delightful time. The food was good, but the company made everything better. I wouldn't say Heaven and I had much of anything in common with these two young men, but we were able to share a table, enjoy a meal, express some ideas, laugh at some common thoughts, and marvel at the fireworks being shot over the Arno river. You see, it was Florence day (who knew?) and so the end of the day celebration was a huge fireworks display that rivaled shows I had seen in Washington D.C. With as much fun as we were having at dinner, we thought the fireworks were for us!
When you travel, make sure to embrace the other culture. Just enjoy experiencing "life" and you will have much to talk about from your adventures.
A piu tardi,
RSS Feed
