Arrivederci Napoli

There was trepidation for sure when we started this journey over two months ago. And now, somewhat unbelievably, it’s over. Surprising how easy it was to fall into the rhythms of Napoli and working again and dorm life. Surprising, but not really, how attached you can become to kids in such a short time. And the South with it’s inferiority complex, honestly earned, not through paranoia- how rich and colorful, how warm and welcoming.

Here are just a few of the things I’m going to miss.

The kids

Pendo

Early days, Agnese speaking in LIS and I in ASL, and yet somehow we understood each other.

The bus ride to school with Formula 1 Francesco at the helm, and Anna riding shotgun (her role was to keep the kids in line). Francesco’s maneuvering of a left hand turn against traffic in Piazza Cavour was a well of ceaseless wonderment for my husband.

All the interesting things you see on the streets of Napoli

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Luigi and our morning cappuccino and graffa. He learned to make it caldissimo the way the Americans like it. He was a sweetheart

The fabulous meals they served us at Istituto Filippo Smaldone

we ate what the kids ate. Imagine children in a school setting served such delicious food and on cloth tablecloths no less.

Always the awesome presence of Vesuvius looking over our shoulders.

The weekends! Procida, Caserta, Ischia, Paestum, Vomero, the Amalfi coast!

Conca dei Marini

Positano

Suor’ Piccola and the staff. We so appreciated her daily Italian lessons and LIS lessons for me. She taught deaf kids for 42 years, including five years in Brazil. She’s still got her sense of humor. She’s amazing.

What I won’t miss…. At least I think I won’t.

The perilous position of pedestrians in Napoli.

Look down to avoid stepping in some disgusting mess, but look up to avoid becoming a disgusting mess. It’s a fine line to walk.

Washing out my clothes by hand

The seatless toilets

Hacking at my own hair with nail scissors.

The perp walk

Count yourselves lucky I don’t have a picture to go along with this one. After the first month, Ivan informed us that a volunteer was arriving who was 74 and although we didn’t have to give up our cell across from the bathroom, wouldn’t it be nice to give it up for the “old lady”, as they called her, so she didn’t have to bunk with the 20 somethings. We, then, would have the choice of bunking separately with the 20 somethings, or they could maybe make a bedroom out of Sara’s old office on the floor below. I had a problem with this. For one thing, if that “old lady” was more fit than I was, and I considered that highly probable, I really didn’t see the point in deferring to her for a mere ten years difference in age. I suggested we submit to a stress test, and May the best woman lose, but I don’t think it was taken as seriously as I intended it. So we did the right thing and moved into the office/makeshift bedroom. There was one big problem with this, however- the half a football field and 30 stairs and another quarter football field to the bathroom. So in robe and slippers and various accoutrements each night around 9:00 we made the perp walk to the bathroom to shower, trying as best we could to slip by the 20 somethings undetected (never happened). I’d like to say I became accustomed to this humiliating ritual, but I did not.

And of course, the trash

That’s all I can think of, a pretty paltry list really. I’ve been grateful for every day.

I cannot imagine not returning to this town, to this school, and to these people. So maybe I won’t imagine it. Maybe I’ll come back to all of it someday. But for now…

Arrivederci Napoli