Paying it Forward

In the past week I've had 2 instances that resulted in my exasperation with the Italian system:

1. After waiting 8 months for the Italian government to process my Permit to Stay, I went to the immigration office to pick it up, waited in line for 3 hours only to find out I need to renew it in 2 more months and do all the paperwork again.
2. I received a letter from the Italian postal service that a birthday package of mine with "cosmetics" inside is currently sequestered in a Milan airport and the Minister of Health has deemed it a possible hazard, so I'll be doing heaps of paperwork and sending them unnecessary documents to get it delivered.

some redeeming beauty in Turin at the Mole Antonelliana

As I've explained to you all in recent posts, customer service and sympathy simply don't exist in this country.  But this notwithstanding, I'm a firm believer in remaining positive despite the circumstances and I can thank my dear-old gray-haired granny for that.  I can be thankful I even have the opportunity to be living in Italy, and how great is it that people love me enough to send me tokens of appreciation from across the pond?  I'm a big believer in giving without expecting anything in return, helping someone out, realigning the ol' karma if you will.  Quite simply, being positive and helpful seriously changes the way you experience your life and it has an incredibly favorable impact on others around you.

nothing quite like sharing dinner and conversation

I've kept the concept of "paying it forward" on my list of daily priorities (even if Italian state employees shun this notion).  As I told you in my recent post on Berlin, my experience CouchSurfing was nothing short of unforgettable.  I was welcomed into a stranger's home and treated as an ("exotic") honored guest, given a place to rest my weary head and offered the most humble hospitality.  And I knew I could give back.  So I listed our couch on the network and in the first week received 2 requests for hosting.  This weekend I hosted my first surfers and truly paid it forward.

a kid from California gets his first gelato; happy to say I contributed to this blissful moment

Jonathan, an extreme sports guy from California came on Thursday night and gifted us 3 bottles of wine (I immediately felt a kinship with this fellow) - we had dinner together with my roommates, discussed his life and experience thus far in Italy and he promptly did all the dishes and cleaned our kitchen.  I could get used to this "selfless" thing.  The next day we took him on a trek up to Basilica di Superga, a church on a hill near Turin, then in the evening he accompanied me and some friends to a Balkan Beat Box concert.  He was extremely courteous and a pleasant house guest - honestly the encounter was as enjoyable and edifying for me as it was convenient and comfortable for him.  On Sunday night I hosted Katya, a soft-spoken theology student from Russia, she had dinner with us and talked to us about her native Moscow and her travels in India, Nepal, China, Japan and Israel.  That day she'd been near the border of France and somehow managed to hitchhike all the way to Turin - I was fascinated she'd done that alone and had such a positive experience.  She sat at our dinner table and told me earnestly "traveling is like a drug, once you've tried it, you can't get enough of it."

Basilica di Superga on a lovely Spring day

For those of you who may be putting me on your prayer list for fear of my safety, I'll say again that people's profiles will indicate their level of experience in the system, their location can be verified, people can vouch for them and you can give anonymous reviews.  For me, the most moving part about this network is that you could meet someone from across the planet for the first time, share a plate of pasta with them at your dinner table, and at the end of the conversation you end up realizing they're a person just like you.  They have knowledge, troubles, ambitions just like the rest of us, only with a unique context.  This experience (being in Italy, CouchSurfing, hosting, etc) has had a profound affect on my world view -- the more I travel the globe, the more I realize how truly little I know about it and how little I've actually experienced.  I can't wait to keep giving and learning.