Posted by alexb on Saturday, May 20, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

Yesterday was quite possibly the best day of my exploration of Sicily thus far:

We started out by having class in my favorite part of Cefalú, the baths. Then, it was time for the adventure to begin. Michael Pellegrino and I rented scooters from a small shop in Cefalú with one goal in mind: get to Palermo. The shop owner looked at us and said, “do you have some sort of death wish?” We were slightly discouraged by the fact that the local had told us that this was a bad idea, but we decided to do it anyway because, hey, we are invincible teenagers.

After teaching ourselves how to use the gas station, we decided to use the sink or swim tactic of navigating foreign streets. Michael was nervous, so I volunteered to lead the way. Here is what I learned about driving in Sicily: it is anarchy.

Compared to the very defined dividers, traffic lights, and marked roads, Sicily seems to have a road system made by a toddler. There doesn’t seem to be any right of way or merging etiquette. This made it much more fun to drive the scooters around because we could basically do whatever we wanted with confidence, knowing that all of the more knowledgeable drivers we driving the same way that we did (like hooligans). By the time we got to Palermo, Michael already had a few battle wounds, but toughed it out for adventure’s sake.

Now I could write a whole book on all the beautiful small towns on my way to Palermo, but that was all superficial shit that I really, trully appreciated and will remember for the rest of my life (some of the views of the oceans and mountains–OMG) but I didn’t learn anything about the culture of Sicily from that. What I really learned about throughout this experience was the hospitality of the Sicilians.

Once Pelle and I got to Palermo, I called a friend that I had made during our cooking class, Alejandro. During the cooking class a few days ago, he said if I was ever in Palermo that I should call him, so thats just what I did.

He said we should stop by his apartment, so of course, we did. Once we got there, he took our scooters in for us, offered us cappuccino, and some first-aid materials for Pelle’s injury. Then, he introduced us to the rest of his mother and two brothers that spoke less english than him, but still managed to be able to communicate with us. We had a fantastic time talking to them, asking them questions about what it is like living in palermo and exchanging stories.

What made this family so hospitable was that Alejandro originally said he had to run some errands so we could only stop by for 10 minutes, but then stayed around for an hour! He clearly had other responsibilities, but when there were guests of his visiting, he made the decision to put us first and make us feel at home. He even invited us to dinner!

In American culture, I don’t think I have ever experienced such hospitality unless I was somehow paying for it. Alejandro didn’t need anything from me, but yet I was his guest in his city and his country. He treated us with such respect and kindness. I am not saying that people in America are not kind or hospitable, but it usually just comes at a price and is less frequently experienced.

While I thought this was kind, yet ANOTHER group of people were extraordinarily kind to me at the end of my trip. On my way back from Palermo, It was around 6 PM and everyone in their beautiful small villages we out socializing or preparing for dinner, so when I skidded out in the middle of the center of a small town outside of Palermo, I felt like I was the center of their excitement for the day. EVERYONE in the town came outside to see my small tumble. While I was struggling to get up, two men came and literally lifted me up. Then, as I went to go lift up by bike, two men barked “NO” at me. They both lifted up my bike, fixed the mirror, brushed the dirt off, and parked it. Then, a small woman brings a chair and a bottle of water out and signaled for me to sit down and take the water. Slightly dazed and in shock, I sat there, drinking the water given to me and inspecting the gash in my knee. The whole time, a line formed where it felt like every villager asked me if I was okay. Them, as I was sitting there, the small woman came with hydrogen peroxide, tissues, tape, and gauze. At this point, I was in shock, the sense of community that I saw this day was truly astonishing. It seemed like it was no big deal for everyone in their community to band together and help a complete stranger, but to me, an American that sees deadly car crashes and barely bats an eye, this was eye opening. Even if these two astonishing experiences happened on separate days it would be fantastic, but no, these were just two prime examples of outstanding hospitality that happened only in one day to one person–me.

 

P.s. I made a video that I recorded on the bike and I put a lot of effort into learning how to edit it so please watch and enjoy!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l0zcpy78vrkcxcd/Vespa%20Trip%20Timelapse.mov?dl=0