Reflections on Italia by Justin Stewart

            As I sit here in Mankato, Minnesota a little over three weeks removed from Italy it still seems far too soon to fully realize the depth and magnitude to which such a trip has affected me.  The timing of such a trip in my life is of an interesting nature.  I am a very young 23 and had never previously journeyed out of the USA before this March; that alone is significant.  In addition, I am about to graduate college with a few degrees and must begin the daunting task of where to direct my life from this point.  An interesting side note, with all of this going on, my girlfriend of a little over 13 months and I had parted ways only three weeks before I was to leave on this trip.  This is significant because it was a very deep, loving relationship in which one does not easily move on.  I felt very lucky in the sense that I was able to get away from everything in such a grand sense, but none the less was on a journey of body, mind, and spirit that was even more meaningful that I had anticipated at the beginning.

            Before the trip I felt very well prepared in what to expect and how to handle a very different culture for the first time.  The readings from class were very enjoyable and I felt a particular affinity toward Susanna Tamaro’s book.  I found this book both pedantic and predictable while at the same time rather curious and thought provoking. 

With the readings sinking in and giving birth to a myriad of philosophical inquires I began the long journey to Italy on Friday morning.  At this point I was quite uncomfortable with the only the very small amount of Italian I knew but was soon to learn that this worry was misplaced.  Immediately after exiting the plane in Rome I stuck my head out a door that was open in the walkway from the plane to the terminal and got my first smell of Italy that was distinct and unlike anything I had smelled before.  This smell is the same as the smell from an Italian bottle of wine and every time I open one of the bottles I brought back a flood of memories comes back with one sniff of the cork. 

From the beginning everything was different.  No amount of preparation can really prepare you for the first time on such a trip.  It is quite a shock to look around and not be able to read anything or really know what is going on.  The hotel room was nice and from what I understand is really good by European standards but I found the bed rather hard and hard to sleep on the first couple nights.  The location of the Hotel Palatino was nice with a lot of traffic and most of the city accessible through some walking. 

The public transportation system was excellent and made me rather envious of our outdated, inefficient public transportation system in the US.  Our gas prices are a lot cheaper but a really good public transportation system seems to lead itself to a much more cohesive city whole where the feeling of community and relating to others is much more apparent.  I found this one of the fundamental difference between American and European ways of life.  In America, we are much more privately orientated with our backyard fences, private automobiles, and a great deal more of personal space.  The Italians, and most of Europe, are much more open, expressive, and secure with who they are and their place in the community and society. 

Another big difference that struck me was that pertaining to sexuality and sexual-based advertising.  It Italy, the advertising was much more risqué and sexually suggestive than it is here in the US but yet it is not a big deal as the culture and community is very secure with their sexuality and the form of the human body.  Their advertising in the US would raise quite a fuss and be regarded as explicit and even pornographic in some cases and unsuitable for the general public.  I can not understand why such a difference exists, it says a lot about our culture and who we are as a community.  We could take this analysis much further into issues about decency and when protecting our children from certain content becomes too much but that is not necessary here.  I have realized that this trip has not only given me the opportunity to learn a great deal about the world and other cultures but I have also learned a great deal about American culture and our society in the states.

I found the things that interested me the most were not the tourist traps and the common tourist destinations that most everybody on our trip, and most tourists in general want to see, but rather the city, the people, and the culture were the most exciting.  It was great just too able to explore the city with no particular destination in mind.  We would just start walking from the hotel and explored the streets, alleys, and shops while meeting a great deal of people.  The people were all very friendly and seemed always ready to help with the language when I was having trouble.  As long as a foreigner made the effort they were happy to help but I witnessed many who were the stereotypical arrogant American and they were always treated rather rudely. 

Roma was great with all the hustle and big city life but the beauty of southern Italy and the Bay of Naples was utterly breathtaking.  I remember on the last full day there, a full day free, we walked down the street in Sorrento and came upon this overlook out onto the bay and I was speechless.  I can remember like it was yesterday when I was standing there, totally at peace without a word to say or a single thing on my mind.  That was as close to ‘heaven’ as I have ever experienced on this Earth.  Walking down to the shore and taking everything in was amazing.  For a long moment I found peace, contentment, and a love for all things that the Eastern philosophers often call enlightenment.  It was fleeting but at that moment I realized how far I had come both on this journey, physically and spiritually, and as a person through the journey of life.  I saw the past, present, and future at the same time, as one.  As time faded away I thought about the concept of time and realized what was really important in life.  Although this is extremely hard to express through words and in such a short paper it could be said that is was an awakening and a large turning point in my life. 

Returning on the long nine hour plane ride I find myself trying to grasp all these new feelings and emotions that were present.  I found that such a trip at this point in my life and being my first one was truly a life changing experience; a new chapter has begun.  Returning to the harsh reality of America and the everyday life I had escaped briefly I saw things more clearly and with a new perspective that was previously inaccessible to me. 

I am not sure what all of this means as it is still sinking in more every day but I do know and have seen that things are different now, both me as a person and my outlook and perspective on life.  I can not say what exactly this trip meant to me at this time but I can say it was significant.  It was not a fix all for my troubles, problems, and anxiety to the future but was extremely illuminating.  I know that I will attend graduate school but not right away this fall.  Other than that I have no idea what the future holds but am excited for it every morning.  As for the now ex-girlfriend I know I found something with her I had never thought possible but I am a better person because of her. 

I have never before been in such a position where the future is so uncertain and graduating in a few short weeks a new chapter is about to begin.  Showing the pictures of my trip to friends and family I realize how little justice they do to what I experienced being there.  It was a great time and a very significant trip for me at this time.  I have learned so much but only realized how much I still have to learn.  I can find no better way to end a paper about a trip that was simple and straightforward on appearance but deep and significant in its essence than with a quote that does the same: “Three o’clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do.”  Jean-Paul Sartre