My time in Italy has been rewarding. The people of thissmall town are so kind and warm to the funny American students, and some of thelocal shop owners will even ask what state you are from and then point it outon the map they have. I found this true at the little bar (we call them coffeeshops) around the corner from the school, which I like to go to on theweekends. I particularly enjoyed it on Saturday before the start of the secondweek. I knew it would be a long week ahead with starting Genesis orExperiential Leadership Training on Wednesday morning and running until lateFriday afternoon. I do not think the twenty-seven of us here were expectingwhat was going to happen in the coming days.
We got done with lunch on Wednesday and all said our peaceabout the upcoming days and how we just wanted them to get over with. Justbefore two o’clock we showed up outside the classroom, got our names called forattendance, and filed in to find a seat. Many hours and 2 days later we walkedout of class with some of us having cried for the first time in front ofpeople, some telling personal stories they had not told anyone before, andtwenty-seven of us feeling as close as we could be to each other. It was aquiet walk up to the fourth floor, where our rooms are, but when we got there,you could tell we were happy to have completed this and now on to thecelebration dinner.
We were all so hungry and so excited to have thisexperience. Back home when you go out to dinner it is to an Olive Garden, TexasRoadhouse, or something like that. You have your starter or appetizer then amain course and then possibly a dessert. Well not in Italy and not for thisdinner. When we walked in there were glass pitchers with water and baskets ofbread on the U-shaped table. We all found a seat and sat down, some went rightaway and started to eat the bread, and like me, others did not know what to do,and we just sat there. One of the professors stood up and started to explainwhat was going to happen. We had our first course, and appetizer and that iswhat the bread was for. Our second course was meat and cheese, and they didbring us more cheese. The third course was the most delicious risotto I haveever tasted in my life. The fourth course was spinach gnocchi, and I tried hardto like this; I could not get over the texture. The fifth course was deliciousmeat, paired with wonderful roasted potatoes and eggplant. As the night wasending, and at this point, it was over two and a half hours from our arrival,we reached the desert, the sixth and final course or so we thought. Italyitself is known for its lemons so they brought out lemon crème brûlée. To wrapup what had been a long week, long day, and long night an espresso was set infront of us for our final course of the night. Some of us drank it, I did forsure, and some did not.
This experience was magical I just sat through is not thenorm in the United States, we are a hurry-up and-eat country and Italy is amore take your time and enjoy, savory your food and enjoy your company.