Posted by emily on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

All trip my friends have been raving about how good the cannolis are here. Knowing my sweet tooth I was certain I would like it. Yesterday, after our site visit, we got back at 6:30 which meant we still had a full hour to make it to the best cannoli stand in Cefalú. I ordered the mouthwatering cannoli and watched it get filled. As soon as I got it I took my first bite my jaw dropped in awe. It was so good!! The sweet ricotta filling was so creamy, the chocolate chips on one end gave it a sweet touch and the pistachios on the other end made it a little nutty. The shell was so crispy and melted in my mouth. And to top it off, there was a thin layer of powdered sugar on the outside of the cannoli.

Picture of cannoli

We left the stand with our cannolis and were weaving in and out people in the streets, while also having to watch out for oncoming cars and motorcycles, and trying to eat the cannoli all at once. And then suddenly it hit me. Why was I trying to hurry and eat my cannoli and not enjoy it to the fullest? I was not in any rush, I had nowhere to go, nobody to see, nothing to do. I stopped eating the cannoli, slowed down my walking speed, and went to the nearest beach area with my friend Meghan. We found a nice spot, sat down, got comfortable, and then started eating our cannolis savoring each and every bite.

Picture of our view where we sat to eat

While watching everything going on around me, I started thinking to myself that sometimes I don’t enjoy life as much as I possibly can. As an American college student my life is at a constant go go go. My extremely fast pace of life during the school year carries over to my daily life during summer even when I do not have a lot on my plate. In Cefalú I have noticed that as Americans we walk a lot faster through the streets, eat faster than everyone around us, and just try to do things so much faster. This makes me wonder if we are even enjoying the moments? And have we been trained to stop enjoying the little things? Here in Cefalú the pace of living is so slow. Everyone seems so relaxed and the people around me seem so happy. Sitting there eating my cannoli I heard so much laughter, talking, people playing the accordion, and people just genuinely enjoying themselves with friends, family, and even alone.

Picture of people hanging around

One specific example of the change of pace between American culture and Italian culture is that meals take hours here which usually does not happen at all in America. The long dinners here promote better and longer conversations. They cause people to savor and appreciate their food rather than gobble it down. If meals took three hours in America, people would be stressed because they would feel like they don’t have three hours to spare on eating. Restaurants in America would be overwhelmed because people wouldn’t be clearing out of tables fast enough and they would be losing business.

The pace of life here is so much slower than in America ranging from eating meals, walking through the streets, or even just daily tasks like grocery shopping. I believe this slow pace alleviates so much additional stress caused by rushing though life. It causes people to slow down and appreciate the little things. In America, I believe people get so caught up in what needs to be done next that they forget to even enjoy the little things that makes them happy. I do believe the people here are friendlier and happier than the average American and I think that is all because they slow down and make every moment count.