Sherry, one of the girls in my class is also taking cooking class at a school in Sorrento. Each night after they cook their impressive meal people are invited to come and eat. So Natasha, Claudine, and I decided to go there for dinner friday night. The school is called Mama Camilla. This place is far beyond just a cooking school and it is run by a highly expressive italian family. On the same grounds of the cooking school is a bed and breakfast, a hostel, as well as the living quarters for the family. They have two dogs running around the place and everyone that comes is treated like family. This is what I call life... I have dreams of doing this, finding some land in a small quaint place and running a bed and breakfast with interesting people coming in and out. The family is not only just friendly but these people can cook! We had a four course meal of not only amazing food but food that was presented in the most beautiful way. Sherry and Natasha perfer to speak in english because italian is difficult. I on the other hand is determined to get this crazy language. So poor Claudine gets a little lost in the conversation because she is french, with a little bit of english and a little bit of italian. She has spent a week in Italy and is frustrated because she has spoken more english then expected. I spend the majority of the time talking to Claudine in Italian. She's more advanced in the language then I am but we are able to really communicate with each other. I got to say at times Im impressed with myself. At times I can carry a real conversation in italian but there are many days where I cant get too far without having to speak english. My italian mother often gets frustrated with me and yells "parla italiano!" even when I am speaking my best version of the language.
On saturday I went to the beach with Fabio in the near town Mesa. As I spend more time with this man, he is getting more attached and I am trying to hardest to like the man but it's just not happening! We spend the majority of the day on the beach with locals. The beaches in Italy are mainly rock beaches and this californian girl cant get too far on the beach without falling or my feet killing me. Im amazed as I watch italians gallop in the water and run around the beach with no complaints of thier feet. I stayed on my lawn chair the majority of the time and read my book. Poor Fabio continued to stick his head in my face and proclaim " Mi piace Aireka, Mi piace tutto Aireka"... I thought I would never say this but Im getting a little annoyed with his constant purring but with our strong language barrier it doesn't really leave him much to say. I constantly remind Fabio that Aireka is leaving soon, Aireka loves united states and plans to stay there for a long time... but Fabio says he will wait, he will wait for however long he can for her! This italians boy.... very romantic.
Saturday night I met Sherry and Natasha for dinner at one of my favorite places in Sorrento, Photo Bar and Loung. This place is swanky and trendy and semi moderate. The three of us go through two bottles of wine. Both of them are amazed by the amount of attention I get in Italy but I remind them that it's only because I'm so exotic fruit to them. They don't get to see black women walking around here all the time. I don't even get half of this type of attention back at home. The three of us go bar to bar drinking. both women are white, single and in thier late 30's. Its funny who you befriend when you are traveling. On a regular day in Los Angeles, I doubt we would be friends. Thats the great thing about traveling, when you are out of your comfort zone you are able to really explore life in a new arena.
Sunday, like the United States is Mother's Day. I went and bought my italian mother flowers as well as her daughter Lia who has a small son. I decided to spend the day with the family and start to bond with them more. Sorrento's soccar team played an important match that day and the men left to go watch while the women stayed in the kitchen and talked. With both of our language dictionaries Mama Anna and I had a couple hours of converstion discussing love and the heatbreak of it as well as family. She is a sweet woman completely dedicated to her family and she has an interest in me and my stay in Sorrento.
I spent the rest of the night by myself walking through the city and contemplating about my life. At times I get lonely and the more time I spend with Fabio, I think about my ex boyfriend. The more I experience these emotions I realize this time alone is exactly what I needed to really make a change in my life. As a get closer to 30 I ponder my existance and where I am heading. I am thankful for this time in Sorrento to be alone. Being completely alone with only your thoughts and not really having the oppurtunity to discuss with your family and friends builds the independance and the confidence needed to live an abundant life. I smile as I think about what I am possibly going to take away from my trip and bring into my life back in Los Angeles.
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