A closer look

This post, i promise will not be as long. I just wanted to get out these few things before I forget about them.

So yesterday, we went to this ancient city called Gallipoli, which has a really mixed greek, messapi, and baroque history, so its sort of a confused city, but all the same it was totally awesome. It made me think a lot. I'm starting to see how full of contradictions the south is, and I guess it became most evident in Gallipoli for me...

So gallipoli used to be a little island that was only like 60 m from the mainland of italy, and it was a walled city, and theres a military stronghold castle there, built in the water right next to the island, thats totally gorgeous. Anyway, now, theres a foot bridge built between the mainland and the island, and you can walk all across the entire island in less then 20 minutes-its really small-but its got the most incredible views on the ionian sea. All the pictures of sunsets I just posted are from Gallipoli, from a huge vista point overlooking a little beach. I know I take too many of the same pictures, but I just never know which ones are going to be good... boh.

Anyway, in the city we went to an old olive oil factory, which doesnt sound to crazy, except ìthe system they had for making oil for like hundreds of years in Gallipoli, which makes some of the most famous olive oil in italy (cuz there are millions of olive trees in the nearby countryside) IS really crazy. So the factory is like a man made grotto underground, and its in the city center so its built right beneath all these bustling alley ways, but there are no windows, so its really dark, humid and muggy down there. The ceilings are no more than 6 feet tall. After the olive harvest in october, 8 workers would go down into this cellar, and stay there until APRIL making oil, without going up to the street level. They werent slaves because they were paid pretty well, but only 8 ppl could fit in there, and while 4 men work, the other 4 rested, and theyd switch ever few hours or so, nonstop for 24 hours, apparently. There were also 2 cows or horses down there that would pull a huge stone over all the olives to crush them, and one would work while the other rested, same system. can you imagine staying down there with huge animals? The only time they did go to street level was at night, because their eyes were so accustomed to the darkness below, that they couldnt go out in the sun, and they were allowed to do that whenever they wanted, but the tour guide said most of them just stayed underground.

My face, during this tour was like the little boy in mary poppins at the beginning right before she tells him not to be a fish and close his mouth. I guess its not that weird, it was just a sort of overwhelming experience just to be down there in the humidity, and i couldnt imagine staying there for 6 or 7 months with animals and the whole processgoing on. I didnt take pictures, but thats okay, it wouldnt have captured it anyway.

Other incredulous things lately, I found out that my teacher Gabriela doesnt have biological children, but after 4 years of the application process to adopt, she just recently officially adopted 3 african (ethiopian, specifically) orphans, ages 3, 7, and 9, none of whom speak italian. This, of course, happens all over the world, people adopt less fortunate children all over the world, but I guess the immediacy of her situation really struck me because shes going to Africa at the beginning of september, right after we leave to bologna, to go get them, and she'll be there for a month, and then she has to help acclimate them to a life in a developed country... I just... was really hit by trying to fathom how that experience will be for the boys, for her, and for the society of the south that is so plagued with issues of immigration and racist, especially toward africans.

And the last shocking, or depressing, more or less, was the beach we went to right next to Gallipoli before going to the old city center. All the italian beaches have really narrow shore lines that are just jam packed with tan bodies and all-colors-of-the-rainbow ombrelloni (beach umbrellas), but at this beach, there was the most bizarre trash in the sand everywhere. First of all it was already really unesthetically pleasing sand because there was all this broken tiny pieces of driftwood and rocks and painful things to walk on, even though the sand itself was really fine and white, but that didnt bother me, it was just like when we chose a spot, there was the worst smell and all these disgusting bugs attracted to the garbage, and yet, you could see gallipoli less than half a mile away in the distance, this gorgeous island city, well preserved, connected to the new city with skyscrapers and chain restaurants by a foot bridge. I duno, the view was a little to much for me to take, even though I know I overreact to seeing examples of polution in general, like in jamaica... but i cant help it. Nothing bumbs me out more about the world than racism and pollution. well, and war, and political economy....i duno its all related.

Last piece of info, which is less of a downer, I promise, is that my piano teacher from berklee college of music is here because hes dating the directory of our program, and we're putting on a concert tonight of about 15 songs or so, its just like a total random mix of standards, a few things of written, a flute duet, an italian poem. Ill be mostly singing, playing some piano, and some flute, but ya. I think we'll record it, so if i can post stuff maybe i will if its any good. Ciao for now!

Ali