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Published: February 28th 2010
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Arriving at home: hiking near my ancestral village of Sant 'Agata del Bianco.Unbelievable fortune
I lead a blessed life. Truly. What did I do in my last life that earned me all of these wonderful opportunities. Or can we all experience this, with enough determination? That’s what I prefer to believe. But why don’t more people try?
I am, everywhere I go, like a visitor landing on the shore of New Zealand. I expect a “Maori greeting.” And because I hold no ill will, I am eventually accepted.
Sant 'Agata
I have arrived in Sant’Agata, and wow. Wow. Wow. More beautiful than I had dreamed it could be. How about a majestic town on the top of a hill, overlooking the ocean - on one side, and then overlooking gorgeous valleys on all the other sides?
What strikes me as funny is that because I keep my camera safe and dry inside the seat of the bike while I travel. I have passed up many photo opportunities due to its inaccessibility. Each time I have told myself that the photo I was missing was just typical of the region, and when I reached my destination of Sant’ Agata, the pictures would either be more beautiful, or have more significance to me. I find,
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Ruins on top of the hill near my home. Caraffa del Bianco in the background. now that I am here, that I was right on both accounts.
Okay, just a minute ago I was writing about how fortunate I am and how blessed I am. Well it looks like I just won the superbowl of fortune. A man who had given me directions earlier and advice that I couldn’t understand exactly showed up while I was writing, and told me that he was taking me to the house of Sylvania Scarfone. I was a little unsure at first, given my previous encounter with family in the village of Ige in France (and Simonetta’s furious reaction in Rome about someone showing up in a village and claiming ancestry)… but in this case I came up with aces.
The Scarfones
Sylvania and her husband Michele are wonderful people, and they immediately welcomed me and fed me a huge lunch. They made a few calls and found me a room with her cousin Lidia, who lives about two blocks away. I am hoping I am allowed to stay here for the duration, as she seems very nice and it certainly beats living in a barn. I am also unsure if they will let me pay them. The generosity
of people in this world is astounding. I had to delicately explain to everyone how my father’s mother is Scarfone, and how I came about knowing my lineage indirectly. They seemed to brush over it.
Oh, and if all of this wasn’t fortunate enough, there is a young Filipino woman here who is the housekeeper and aide to Lidia’s (my host) blind husband. She speaks English. I just happen to have family that is extremely generous, has room for me, and has one of the three people in the village that speaks English. Boom! God is fantastic, isn’t she?
I met some new friends already. First I met an Indian guy at the wine bar, who took great lengths to welcome me and try to find me a home here. He was going to ask all his customers for the rest of the night if they could find accommodations for me. It was very nice of him. Then he refused to accept payment for the cappuccino and snack that he gave me. He also went online and had a conversation with me via translation. I really wanted to contact him and let him know that I did find my family
and I am taken care of. I will visit him tomorrow.
Later, as I walked to the market with Mary Ann (Filipina maid), Don Marius, the Padre from the church stopped in his car and got out to introduce himself. Apparently he knows our family and has dinner with us occasionally. He recognized me as the new stranger from a block away. I shook his hand and agreed to visit tomorrow and share my story a bit.
Finally, I'm home
The next day, I shaved off my traveler’s beard. I decided that since I have reached my destination, and am no longer a hobo, I should do away with the bum look. I just have the regular goatee, and look relatively clean.
This is really almost insane to me. I show up at people’s home, tell them I share their DNA, and suddenly I am welcomed into the biggest, nicest home I have been to on this entire continent. I am to be hosted and fed for two months, and nothing is asked of me in return. This is the 37th bed I have slept in, in the last two months.
I have to speak to the padre about this.
How can I possibly give back even half of the generosity I have received in this world?
The Twilight Zone
Just when I thought that life couldn’t be more accommodating, just now I noticed that the distance between where I was typing this in bed and the light switch on the wall was a long, cold floor away. I looked at the wall just next to me and noted a switch. Indeed, as if it had just appeared miraculously to spoil me further, it was a light switch. This is getting ridiculous.
I seem to recall an episode of The Twilight Zone where a man went to heaven and received everything that he wanted. Everywhere he turned, he was being spoiled. As you might imagine, he got extremely tired of it and screamed that he couldn’t stand living in heaven. At this point it was revealed that he was actually in hell.
I’m hoping everything will keep going up from here!
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claire
non-member comment
warmer now
hello brennan i am happy to see that your trip is giong well . it seem to be warmer in the place you are now.We live in my new flat with the girls and the spring is also comming here.It was nice to meet you and youare welcome if you pass by.love claire