It seems my periods of silence on this blog become longer and longer, but now I have lots to tell hahahaha. So voila` a little update here from London, where I just concluded a week long workshop on adult education (23-27 February 2009). My flight leaves in a few hours and my lovely hosts Chiara and Ceri are out partying so, sad as I am not being able to join, I do have the time to FINALLY post this story. Thanks Chiara and Ceri for having me over and bye bye!
… Where was I? Aha… After 14 months for the UN in Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), filled with most enriching life experiences, lovely new friends, beautiful beaches, bombastic parties, smiling and talkative villagers, and a small little taste on the Dark Continent, I felt ready to move onto something else.
So, in December 2008, I left.
On 16 December I said goodbye to as many people as I could but, shamefully, I was made to work almost my whole last day which made it impossible to salute about 1/3 of my friends, namely those from the village (as parts of the UN HQ in Cote d’Ivoire are lovingly known), which really saddened and frustrated me.
Once home I finished checking my luggage to make sure I did not forget anything (but of course I did anyways hahaha), there was a little sweet good-bye cocktail in my house and an even smaller but sweeter good-bye committee that would accompany me to the airport. The committees’ faces full of sad smiles with Roberto, Gurdeep, Verane, Shahzad, Farice, Ludivine, immortalized in a blurry picture from Shahzad would have been engraved in my mind the whole trip long, were it not for some old a**hole in the airport who during my check-in cut the cue in front of a young girl to line up right behind me. My comment to his action being other than polite and polished, the old man became furious and grabbed me in my face with one hand. I told him to pull his hand away asap please but before having the pleasure of removing the hand myself a few bystanders rushed to the scene and separated us. Strange how at 24 years old, for the first time in my life, I was actually feeling the need to smack an old man (and maybe even enjoy it). Funny (and tragic sometimes) how angry moments can make you lose years of careful shaping of your character, norms and values in the blink of an eye. Anyways, I was so tired that I did not care and went to my gate.
And then … “… I put on my blue suede shoes and I, boarded a plane tadadadadadaaaaaa and I was walking in Memphis”… actually, I was walking in Bologna and took a train to Modena, where my brother (Marco) was at the time living. I was so destroyed from my last two weeks of goodbye dinners and parties that I was sleeping insanely long hours and, even when awake, I was as reactive, speedy and attentive as a 95-year-old, much to Marco’s simultaneous amusement and frustration! As soon he was off from work, we went to visit some relatives in Milano, which was great. We had not seen them for quite a few years and it was great to be reunited once more. Thanks Alfredo, Eugenio, Paola, Roberta, Chicco, Franco, Laura, Nilde, Antonietta, Milly, Alessandra!
On 22 December I went with Marco to Bra in the northwest of Italy to visit my closest relatives and celebrate Christmas and New Year’s together. We were joined by our parents and my brother’s girlfriend. It was a great deal of long hours of sleep, great fun, long chats and glorious o so glorious food and WINE! On one of the days, I even managed to go skiing with two Italian friends/colleagues from Cote d’Ivoire, who happened to be taking Christmas holidays! Despite my rather lousy and constantly-out-of-breath-and-holy-crap-my-legs-are-on-fire skiing technique, I looked extremely sexy in my fully black outfit plus black bank robber head mask and I had a great time with my friends. Thanks nonno, nonna, Max, Paola, Roby, Marina, Gianca, Daria, Piergiorgio, Mara, Carlotta, Lisette, Peira, Matteo, Cati, Maria Grazia, Giuseppe, Kim, Silvia, Bruno, Irene, Stefano, Cico, Deglia, Fabrizia, Marta, Roberta, Filippo and Fiorella!
On January 6, actually 7 (because Easyjet decided to cancel our flight after postponing it for hours and hours and sort of forced us to sleep in the airport) we arrived in the Netherlands. From then on I have been doing my very best to visit as many friends as possible, even though between my long hours of sleep, banal misunderstandings and a few double bookings (ups ups silly me sorry) I still managed to miss many of you (currently) in the Netherlands. I will do my best to catch up. Thanks to those I visited already: Christina, Joep, Lyssandre, Etienne, Ofra, SIETSKE, Claire, Rutger, Kim, Andrea, Toto.
On 10 January all hell broke loose, because the cargods allowed me to spent a day in a brand new BMW M3 with an instructor by my side gently suggesting how to best kick the car’s ass around the twisty roads he had selected for me… and some Autobahn (German highway, the no speed limit part please!). Those of you on Facebook will have seen pictures and videos. No need to tell you I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Thanks Stephan and thanks to BMW Motorsport for putting together such a sweet little monster of a car!
After a bit in Holland I went back to Italy to spend the last week of my brothers’ internship by his side, after which we would travel back to the Netherlands with all of his belongings. Spending the days by myself going around admiring the most beautiful Italian sports cars (most brands have their HQ in this area, which is why the area is also known as Supercar Valley). Out of many many motoring highlights I think meeting Mr. Horacio Pagani was maybe the most magical moment for me…
The evenings were filled with dinners, some in the company of Marco’s colleagues and friends. We also managed to visit some long lost relatives again, this time those living on the Lago di Garda (near Brescia and Milano). We were treated so nicely and wonderfully once more, ah our family and relatives really rock! Thank you Mauro, Elena, Bruno, Vittorio, Marta, Flora, Carla and all of Marco’s colleagues!
Then I went on a mini Eurotrip visiting old (but not forgotten!) friends in Brussels, Paris, Basel and Geneva. Ah how nice to reconnect with old friends, to notice how you changed in some respects and stayed the same in other. To reassess the course of your life and bounce off ideas for your future, to see how they live, how they feel. Thank you Nancy, David, Marta, Dieter, Meryam, Alma, Pierre, Catherine, Anne-Kathrin, Sergio, Angela, Lucilla and Ottavio.
Of course I could not leave without a trace, as usual, so I have generously as well as unwillingly donated a practically full pot of gel to Nancy and David in Brussels. Also, I have left a semi new toothbrush to Meryam in Paris (mmm what would Coelho say about this!?)… reports on lost & found objects in Basel and Geneva are still pending!
Back on 10 February from all these trips I decided to rest in …Yemen, where else?!
So please do stay tuned for an imminent recount of my little trip to Yemen (11 – 21 February 2009), to appear very shortly!
