Sicilia

I wrote this entry sometime last week:

I am here in Palermo, Sicily as I write this. I'm truly out of season, because I think I am among only one other guy that I’ve seen here at the ostello, which overlooks Mt. Pellegrino and the sea. Based on only one conversation, the other guy is from Spain and doesn’t really speak English. I have the dorm room all to myself, so it feels like it’s just me. In many ways, it’s very lonely here but I’ve made a few friends out of the locals. I have met: Leonardo, Giovannia, Valentina and Maria(something). Communication is difficult, but we all manage. I’ve come to think of this area, Sferracavallo as my own secret place here in Italy.

Sicilian culture is among the most unique I have experienced. The people are very generous, very slow, rough and gritty, but also very set in their ways. For example, there is a Brigantino nearby where they are very polite to me, but won’t allow me to eat there. This is just because my Italian isn’t good enough to have a conversation with the chef, who comes around to each table to discuss the meal. It’s the same at many of the other places… no one around here even has a menu. But it’s okay, there is a place that is run by two of the friends I made, Leonardo and Giovannia, where I eat. The food here in general is mostly spaghetti and seafood, but very cheap. Tonight, Leonardo is going to make me some spaghetti with calamari. Ohhhhh yeah, I’m excited! We’ve also had some interesting conversations about the local Mafioso, or as they call them: Cosa Nostra. Both Leonardo and Giovannia are pro-Mafioso, and feel that they do a better job at serving the community than the local government. From what I’ve gathered, no one from the south likes the government and feel politicians are mostly oriented to the north.

I visited some local catacombs, that was cool and also the town of… Corleone (ohhh, yeah). Unfortunately, I forgot my camera on this day, so I was kind of pissed. I also had a bad incident on the bus. Basically, I didn’t have a bus ticket and they caught me. I almost never buy bus tickets and have skipped out on buying many a train ticket here in Italy. I’ve never seen them check, but they did on this day and due this incident I had to pay 53 euros, or they were going to call the local Polizia (luckily, I was carrying enough). They took down my information, hopefully this information won’t hurt me later. Meh!

Also, apparently the Italian country code is not 039 but just 39. So, you dial: 39 339 656 2587 to get a hold of me... I think??? Whatev's.