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Published: December 3rd 2009
Well so much fro writing another blog tomorrow, I believe I wrote that two days ago.....
The story I was going to recount is one that is very difficult to capture with words, but I will try anyways:
I went to the bus stop about three weeks ago, planning on going over to Giulia's to go jogging as per normal. As I waited, a woman asked when the next bus was coming, I didn't hear here very well and, since she had startled me out of a little revere, I am ashamed to admit I did the classic balk of a not understanding foreigner. However, this tipped her off to the fact I WAS in fact, a foreigner, and both of us being curious and outgoing individuals, we began talking about the wonders the world. She told me how much she loved languages and traveling and we just talked (in Italian I am proud to say) about how incredible the different cultures and modes of communication were. She recounted a story of how she used to hate German, thinking it was a really ugly language. She then went to Germany for two months and came back with a new love and respect for the language and people. She now speaks fluent German. We talked about how every language is beautiful in its own way, and how the important thing was to be able to communicate without judging. We talked about how hard it is for everyone to accept strange not as a threat or as ugly, but as incredible and wonderful. I asked her where she was from and though I don't remember the town or part of Italy, I remember her saying, that is where she was born, but she is a citizen of the world. It's rare we get to meet such inspiring people, let alone at a bus stop, but it really makes you stop and think, are you as accepting as you can be, let alone enthusiastic about all things different? In fact, do you even try or think about it? It is something I have thought about in theory before, and been lucky enough to test those thoughts briefly with some other traveling, but this was different. I have been here for about three months now, but that was the first moment I made the connection, that this door that is being opened in front of me, showing me another world, is just one in a mansion that is our world, every room more beautifully strange than the last. It fills you with this feeling like you just realized you had been in a fish tank after years of thinking you were in the Pacific. There are two parts of this I find sad: First, I know I will never be able to see and experience every room in the mansion. Second, I know that I will never be able to constantly see things from a worldly perspective. Sometimes, you get caught up in what might seem like your 'trivial' life through perspective glasses. The good part is that at least now I know the mansion is there, and when I start obsessing over the seaweed next to me, I can swim back enough to acknowledge the rest of the ocean.
Oh! And I got an 8 and my hour long Latin theater presentation! It was very satisfying piece of seaweed, ahah.
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Tony Miksak
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Julie... your best blog entry yet. Inspiring, thank you!