Coming and Going
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The students just beginning their Spring semester arrived today. I guess as one door closes, another opens, and I am looking forward to beginning that next chapter in my life.
When I was talking to two friends out in the hallway, a girl approached us asking if we knew how to turn the heat on. I explained to her that on days when it’s sunny and a little warmer, the hotel staffs turns the heat off.
She stared at me in disbelief. “They turn the heat off on you?”
For a brief minute, I was brought back to my first couple of days here, when I was a culture shocked American in this small Italian town.
I offered to show her how the heat works so she can use it when it does come on. Turns out, the knob for the radiator in her bathroom was screwed in place. I told her not to worry, as my knob was broken anyway. Again, I got a shocked stare.
It was funny to see her so flabbergasted, but I was reminded how betrayed I felt when the internet went out on my second day here and the receptionist just said, “Sorry,” and told us to wait a day or so and try again.
Over the course of this trip, I’ve learned to accept things I can’t necessarily change and to simply do without the things I don’t need. I lived with no dryer, a broken radiator, spotty internet access, no refrigerator (the space between the my balcony door and the shutters served as my makeshift fridge), and a broken toilet seat.
Additionally, I spent three weeks without 24 hour stores or eateries open late into the night. If it were 11:30 and hunger struck, I was stuck with whatever was within reach. There was no late night trip to Pathmark and no Wendy’s drive-thru to quell my unstoppable stomach.
I learned on this trip that all the things we think we need and the things we really do need aren’t the same. It also speaks to human nature, and when given a situation, our species will eventually grow accustomed to it.
I wish the new students luck living without the things they think they need, as I prepare to become accustomed again with living with the things I know I don’t need.
Filed by Matt Signorile at January 22nd, 2010 under Uncategorized