Spiff Style

right so now I have a minute to summarize what I've been up to:

when last we left our intrepid explorer, he was headed towards the east coast of Sicily, with only one or two feeble leads. But! the hostel was found quite easily, and two nights were spent, giving a day in Catania where I did nothing at all. and was fine with it, 'cause there's not all that much interesting about the place, sorry.

So my use of the impersonal didn't last long- I just couldn't keep it up, too remote. Meanwhile I was looking through couchsurfing.com, which had come highly recommended from Erica, who used this "project" right before coming. There was a handful of options, but the one that looked best was a country spot near Mt.Etna, where this couple has rebuilt a house. To make it short, I was emailed back right on time, and got to stay up there for a whole week. Gabriella is Sicilian, and Mike is British, though you might say that he's gone local. It was nearly too much- food aplenty and a room of my own which looks out towards their woods behind the house, beyond which in turn is their expertly maintained fruit orchard. After just a couple days, in which they took me to Taormina to see the greco-roman amphitheatre, Gabri was off for vacation, and so I stayed on with Mike, who had only quit cigarettes 2 weeks back. But he was managing well, and for the most part, things were okay. The toughest part was being able to do something in return. Mike provides couchsurfers with a place, seeing this as a return for all the kindnesses that were done him in his youth (and he spent years traveling in the mid-east), and as a way he can have some company from the rest of the world in their tucked-away little village. Where people are more liable to speak Sicilian than standard Italian.

And yet, you still want to help, no? But not even the dishes, as the fragility of the sinks makes the rule that only Mike can do that particular task. Finally I found the idea of giving the house a complete sweeping, and I got to cook once. Overall though, I received an incredible gift, and I plan to follow Mike's request and give whatever support I can to this couchsurfing project. Unlike Airhitch, you don't have assholes demeaning you because they see themselves as being part of some "higher" cause, or mysterious fees that appear all over the place. Instead it's run by people who are actually involved with the same sort of thing you are, which is traveling for all sorts of different reasons, and interacting in a respectful manner. At least that's my impression so far.

But I digress... my next step was train from Giarre to Messina, bus to Milazzo on the northern coast, then ferry to Lipari, in the Aeolian Islands. There I took the bus again (mad crazy transporting all over the place) to the only hostel around, where price per night is 15.50 euros. The guy then takes me down this vicolo (alley) where children are playing and old folks are sittin' in their chairs, and shows me my room: one room with two beds, then other space with kitchen table, kitchenette, fridge, and private bathroom with shower. Wha..? Turns out the 10-cot rooms were filled, so I had to go over to this one. Just amazing! Especially as the Aeolian islands have a reputation for being way expensive. And what the cazzo was I doing there?

So all of Wednesday I visited with Melissa and her parents on nearby Vulcano, and we had a lovely time. This was to be the end of our story- I decided that when I said goodbye at the end of this time together, it has to be really goodbye. I let her know beforehand of course, and she agreed, and so there it is.
This leads to some other thoughts, which I may as well go into while I can. There's a lot I don't about what I'm going to be doing in the coming year and beyond (otherwise said: I have scarcely a clue) but I know this much: I won't be getting a job with archaeology in Italy. Just ain't gonna happen.

1. The economic situation here (there I should say now, sad) is really quite terrible. I've heard more than once that if things continue like this, Italy could wind up like Argentina. And that's serious.
2. There are less and less funds, therefore, for cultural realms like archaeology. For economic reason, and because Berlusconi is a real pain in the ass. Read: media mogul buys power and controls state and government, people displeased.
3. And so even Italian archaeologists are having problems finding work in Italy.

This train of thought goes along with the fact that I can't keep doing this kind of thing indefinitely. The transAtlantic trip just costs too much, and frankly, my monies are just about used up. I'm gonna hafta spend some time, for a while, working a job that pays me, yes? I do love these digs, and they've all been worthwhile so far, both for my C.V. and for experiences in and of themselves, but there is a limit.

To go back, I can't tell Melissa that I'll be coming back to her part of the world anytime soon, so it's gotta be done between us. There are other things too, naturally. I can't be with her like this, with the parents always being kept in the dark. As though we were doing something wrong! But it's mostly her I think, and the decisions she makes about how she wants to be living her life. And I respect those, but it's just not what I'm doing.

Yeah, yeah, enough already. I could go on for awhile, but we get the picture, yes? I tell you though, going to the islands really is like being out in space. With the ferries going back and forth, and hydrofoils (big ol' boats that seem to float over the water) zooming by, and the way people, cars, trucks, food and water are brought over from (not the mainland, that's further away still) Sicily proper, you're in another world. Just how'll it be if we ever colonize away from earth.

Sentences too long, so moving right along... yesterday grabbed the train from Messina all the way up to Livorno, where this morning I caught the ferry to Corsica. Doing okay, but had my first "misplacement" that I can remember from my travels. I lost my trousse de toilette, so a few hygenic and medical items. All replaceable, but it's still a pain. On the train in Torino by now I reckon.

There you have it, musings and details, details and musings. I'll be meeting with the rest of the dig team tomorrow promptly at 7:00, and begin to spend the entirety of 3 weeks with these people. I don't yet know any of them. What matters, in any case, I get to Work again. Hahah! I wouldn't want to keep up this vacationing stuff much longer, I'm just about sick of it. And all the spending, yuck all the spending...

I've run out of tales for the moment. Until next time then.