Posted by chase on Thursday, June 1, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

As I think about what to write for my last blog, I anticipate that it will be less exciting but more contemplative than the others. I want to talk about the free weekend trip that I took with 6 other guys around the Mediterranean and compare it to my time in Sicily. I wasn’t sure where—or even if I wanted—to travel somewhere for this Maymester’s free weekend; I knew that I would be enjoying myself no matter what and could probably find myself in some new and fun situations if I stayed in the city. When I heard that a few of the guys wanted to take a sailboat around Cefalù, I was unsure whether I would be excited to accompany them or regret my decision. In hindsight, the mini vacation from Cefalù was fun and mostly downtime, so I had a lot of peaceful moments to myself to think about my trip here and how I want to remember it.

 

The time leading to boarding the boat, the day of departure, felt very rushed and only added to my uncertainty—a little like how I felt before I came to Sicily. Not that I would back out or overly express my small worries, but more like a feeling in my stomach that hindered my sense of readiness for what was to come. The 20-minute walk to the port with all our gear for the weekend was stressful and physically straining, much like the day-long trip coming to Cefalù—my first flight was delayed on the way here and the rest of my planned day became jumbled and improvised. When we were all settled in the boat (and now likewise in the city), I felt an instant calm flow over me and saw the trip for what it was, not what could go wrong. It was a tranquil excursion across the sea to the island of Lipari, then to Barcellona, and back to Cefalù with a couple stops on the way for swimming, nothing to worry about. I find that this is my approach to many things in life, it’s hard to become emotionally excited at first, but I discover that the activity was never something to be heavily pondered, but rather another opportunity to explore and express myself.

 

Standing on the upper deck of the boat and holding onto the front jig just watching the waves go by was what I found to be most relaxing. I thought about how I would feel when the time to leave this beautiful place finally comes, and I wondered if I did everything I wanted to do. On the surface level, I will miss Cefalù. The people are nice, the food is great, and the sights are wonderful. But in my opinion, this can be said about most of Italy, so when I truly contemplate my feelings, I’m not sad to leave because I know that Italy will always be on the top of my list for travel and I can always create new experiences centered around food, family, and fantasy-like destinations. I’m learning Italian to fluency for these reasons and also for expanding my perspective on life. As for doing what I wanted to do, I have one regret, but I still fulfilled my small dream of being invited to eat a home cooked Italian meal and explored the city and various sites of Sicily enough to be satisfied with this trip. I regret not speaking the language more. Despite my choppy sentences and otherwise restricted knowledge of Italian, contrary to what some of the other students believe, I wish that I could have more courage in speaking with the natives and discovering what new paths can be opened in that aspect of my life. This is a part of my journey to fluency that I still must overcome, but I know can be accomplished later, maybe through the help of making Italian friends, taking classes, or finding other students that are on the same path.

 

When our boating trip finally ended, I felt that we had used all of our time wisely and was satisfied and tired after returning to the city. This is how I hope to feel when I return home and I’m excited to see my family and to practice a little of what I learned on this vacation back at home.

Tiny Sailboat

Boat Selfie

Departing Barcellona @ 5:00am