I was quite sad for leaving the US. My stomach was closed as a tight fist, my heart was begging to stay and apparently not in-synch with what my mind had been deciding and planning for the past month or so. Suddenly there was a vast abyss, an unbearable vacuum. Even when I was going to spend time with my loved ones who I had not seen in a while, and even when I was going to one of my favourite destinations –where I had not been in 4-5 years: Italia! It seemed that my heart and gut were partnering in revolution.
I am a believer in that things happen because of a reason. Included in “things happen” are people that show up in our lives. I believe they all show up with a mission. If and when their mission is accomplished, they might disappear.
After relatively smooth flights, I was finally at Rome’s Fiumiccino Airport. I was in line for Customs. An agent called me to his booth. And just like that, what started as a formal dialogue at any Customs booth (though not as stiff as in the US!) ended up in…
- Good morning! (when he saw my Canadian passport)
- Buon Giorno –I replied.
- Ah, sei Argentina?!
- Si.
- How much time will you stay in Italy?
- About 2 months. I am coming to see family.
- Ah, yes? Where are they?
- In Sorrento.
- No way! That’s where I am from! I am actually going to Sorrento on August 12th.
- No way! I am going on that same day! I am spending a few days in Rome first.
- Do you have a phone number?
- No. I don’t have a cell phone yet.
- How can I contact you?
A line was starting to form and the Customs officer was looking at the line.
- By e-mail. I can give it to you.
- OK, step aside and write it for me please.
And so I did.
3 comments:
That's definitely a good welcome! I have a story to tell from another city: Buenos Aires and a further conclusion to add.
This is what happened. Friday night, girls night out, 4 of us were already there but the 5th who had actually left a long time before hadn't made it yet. Puzzled and perhaps a little worried, Giuli calls her on her mobile and the rest of us witness the following exchange:
-What's up? Has the taxi driver kidnapped you?
-Not yet... giggles(?¡!)
A couple of minutes later a flushed and extremely excited woman makes her grand entrance and tells us the following story.
She was waiting on the curb for a taxi and this guy, who wasn't actually gonna stop until he saw her face, makes an abrupt maneuver and takes her on. Thus ensues a conversation (very frequent to talk to taxi drivers here in BA)in which she discovers he's 17, it's his 2nd day on the job and... he likes her!
We didn't get the details but somehow he managed to make the following proposition:
-¿Por qué no colgás a tus amigas y te venís a un telo conmigo a coger toda la noche? (it's something like: why don't you quit your plans and come to this motel to have sex all night with me?)
Funny thing is, she was not scared because she actually found him veeery attractive.
Anyway alleging unsurmountable age difference (she's 31) and the fact that she was after a more serious kind of relationship, she eventually and regretfully got off the cab, joined us at the pub and told us the story, which she rounded off with the following conclusion:
-It's the best thing that's happened to me in a loooonng time!
Ha! Isn't it incredible that she wasn't scared? But most of all, I would like to conclude my contribution with the comment that I received from another woman when she heard the story:
-Sometimes we women, just need to know that men find us attractive, that we might have behaved as impulsively and recklessly as that, if we had so desired. And that's enough. :):):)
I agree with your friend's conclusion, the one in the last paragraph. I would say that just a gentleman's 'piropo' or a nice 'hola' is enough to steal a smile and lift my mood -if coming from someone of decent appearance. So, i am not sure how i would have reacted to the driver's indecent proposal! Would have probably jumped off @ the first traffic-lights, without even waiting for the change!!!
However, who knows the game they were playing for the guy to make such an offer!
I have had drivers telling me compliments, trying to get information out of me, and even looking more to the back seat than to the road ahead! But, I've always thrown some iced water at them with kindness (not that cold that they -ie, we- crash!)... like "i am going to pick up my fiancé", or "i am going to meet my boyfriend" [even if and when this is the biggest lie], plus a courteous yet cold smile, some MAAD (monosyllabic-ambiguous-and-dull) answer to their persistent questionnaire, and that's always enough: they get it! And i am off the hook! The thing is your friend actually wanted to be hooked! ;)
Yes, she did like him too!
Also, I guess I empathize with her because I've spent an unreasonable amount of time in my life trying to be a 'decent' woman and ended up feeling trapped.
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