Time goes by, winter is coming and taking with it the memories of summer... Ciao it's Mathilde ☀️! It has now been 3 months since I started this amazing adventure in Italy. However, I can still remember the first sensations, the excitement of the first meetings and the first places discovered. It would be complicated to write here all the great experiences I've had, but I will try to give you a little overview! Sometimes when you live in a small town like Lecce, you can think there's not a lot to do there, but once you're in good company, any place would make you feel like at your home 🏡 For example, you can quietly have a drink at the Barroccio while listening to Nath Rodrigues bewitch you with her melodious voice, then finally find yourself following a band of musicians in town, playing the tambourine in the middle of the night and dancing together like demons 🥁🎷 ! And sometimes I also appreciate the sweetness of the house, watching romantic movies with my roommate or having a macrame afternoon with a friend while listening to reggaeton music. And speaking of music, I discovered several very cool artists since I arrived here, so I prepared a nice playlist for you that you can listen to while reading the rest of my adventure : 🎵 « Le radici ca tieni » from Sud Sound System, good vibes of reggaeton to start the day off right ! 🎵« Conto » from Nath Rodrigues, a caress for the soul with its soft blues notes! 🎵« La dolce vita », from Fedez, that makes you want to go on a roadtrip with your friends! 🎵 « Stormi », from Iosonouncane, for the times you want to chill 😉
And when I'm not going to the beach, I rush to Natale to buy pasticciotti, maritozzi, cornetti and gelati. Even in winter the pastry shop is always open around midnight. Because it's not a cliché, gelato in Italy is a religion 🍦🙏! Just like the pizzas by the way, and I can only advise you to go to the pizzeria Rosetta which offers both delicious and not expensive ! I admit that sometimes I miss certain dishes from France, especially cheeses and bread. What would I kill sometimes to be able to enjoy a good raclette with friends 🧀❤️! Otherwise, if you want to vary your diet in Italy, the ESN of Lecce organizes cooking workshops and makes you feel like a starred chef of Salento cuisine ! I learnt how to cook a delicious mashed bean with chicory ! It is also good sometimes to explore outside the walls of Lecce, the south of Italy is full of cities, each more poetic than the next. Among those that have left its mark on me the most, there's Matera. This city is known for its Sassi, small houses carved into the rock that once housed the inhabitants of the city and has retained its charm of days gone by, as frozen in the past. And as you go down the valley, you can admire the horizon which mingles with the brilliance of the river and makes the city appear in the distance like a soft mirage. It was a moment of deep peace for me, while my friends and I were dancing on the rocks. I will also remember the cities of Molfetta and Bari which make me feel Italian life more than anything, the clothes hanging from the windows in the narrow streets and the smell of seafood tickling my nostrils (Yes, food is an important topic for me haha). But with winter also comes the moment when morale is no longer so high. I also think more and more about my life after this volunteering, and sometimes I am afraid of not having benefited enough from this experience. I left with the idea of getting to know myself better and getting out of my comfort zone, but I have the feeling that this quest is a long road that will take time, and that I'll have to make choices if I wish to continue to live while remaining faithful to my values. In the meantime, it's also important to enjoy every moment when you have time for yourself, il dolce far niente, because who knows where tomorrow the torrent will take you ? Like a calm boat on the water, sometimes a few waves come to disturb my journey, I sometimes lose the course, I feel lonely, but always I find the road that makes my heart beat and see that I have so much more to explore. This experience allowed me to realize that I was not sailing on a sea, but on an ocean of possibilities. And once I get back, for sure, I'll have only one desire, to set sail again.
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