Design a Lifestyle You Love : Seeking Greener Pastures with Ashley of Wilson Creek Pottery

I feel fortunate to know Ashley and Shannon of Wilson Creek Pottery. They are light hearted, deeply passionate people who give freely, and refer to their closest friends as "superfriends." When we last spent time together, we went to visit them in their new home in idyllic Spring Green, Wisconsin. Still freshly inspired from their month long trip to India, Shannon taught me how to make Ghee and we feasted on homemade Indian food. We visited Ash's Pottery Studio, met a neighboring Rhasta donkey, played a riveting game of pictionary, ate inappropriately large amounts of warm pretzels & curds, and toured the Hindu Temple that happened to be on a nearby estate. It makes me smile just thinking about it. In a short weekend, Eric and I got a colorful taste of their new life.  

I witnessed them take a chance and move from the city they knew for years, to seek "greener pastures" with a new house and pottery business. I had to imagine there was a lot leading up to this decision. I wanted to know, how did they turn a "what if" into a reality? When I interviewed them for their story, they immediately brought up a guiding concept that has influenced their decisions. One that deeply resonated with me and set me on a my own course to make tremendous changes with my job and life. 

Choose a lifestyle, not a career.

Beginning in our early youth, we're conditioned to focus our attention on what career we'd want. Is that really the guidepost that would provide the fufillment that we seek? What would happen if we asked children "how do you want to live?" rather than "what do you want to be when you grow up?" This quote was exactly what I needed to hear at the time, and I'd like to share with you some key principles that supported their journey. For those who are on the fence...I hope it might be just what you need to spring into action!

• • •

Get inspired & dig deep.
Ashley read and reflected on the insights of writers and luminaries that she admired, all of which guided her overall approach towards life. One person in particular, her art professor, John Slavik, also had a particularly strong influence. He achieved a balance that she had always wanted: he gave time to himself creatively as well as giving time to the people he loved. Also, there are sacrifices to consider with anything that you desire...whether that takes the form of money or time spent. For Ashley, it meant simplfying her life to gain more time. 

Give weight to what you want.
Ashley had a job she enjoyed. She was happy, but there were still facets of her life that were unfufilled. When Katrina happened, they wanted to be able to react quickly and help, but work schedules didn't allow for it. After several trips abroad were denied, it was clear her job situation was not aligned with how she wanted to be able to use her time. Outside of work, she and Shannon dreamt of a quiet life set in nature with neighboring animals. (Fainting goats and mini donkeys...to be specific!) They wanted to create a home for friends and family that was a sanctuary, yet offered new experiences. 

Let it reveal itself. Stay open and get out there.
Originally they weren't looking to buy a house, let alone a business. However, a dinner with her art professor's family led to discussions of a "what-if" opportunity. One where Ashley would have the chance to apprentice and transition a pottery business from the previous owner. Unsure, but open to the idea, they took a fun road trip to check out the house and studio. When they arrived, the ideas came pouring in. Suddenly, the space and the life that they could have, started to take shape in their minds.

Be courageous & stay the course. Gather like-minded support.  
Shannon provided a backbone of support to aid in taking the risk. The move to Wisconsin required a substancial investment and bet on a career that was uncertain and taking that leap was scary. But to Ashley,

"It was scarier to think that I might let it pass by." 

Create a legacy.
Pottery is especially meaningful to Ashley, "being that it's meant to be touched and used. To be shared during a meal, one of the most important things to do together." There is an intimate quality to her work because her pieces are tied to personal events for her customers. Wilson Creek Pottery, has been a go-to place for Spring Green locals to get gifts for weddings and special occassions for years. The pottery is durable and stays around so long that families collect and enjoy them generation after generation. And in the same spirit, Ashley hopes to carry the torch lit by Peggy Ahlgren (the previous potter of 40 years) while bringing to it a rustic, yet modern perspective. 

• • •

I'm excited to see Ashley's work evolve and whether we're preparing or gathering around the table for a meal, we're reminded of Spring Green and a potter's loving touch. (Shown: Milk Jug Vase & Honey Pot) --> Visit Wilson Creek Pottery to see more of Ashley's designs. 

Get everyday adventure ideas @LiveLikeYoureTraveling  

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Take Us To Lunch : Living Pura Vida in San José with Cueropapel&tijera

We are continuing our adventures in Costa Rica with Sofia Protti founder and designer at cueropapel&tijera who is taking us on a tour of her regular lunch spot in San José. This place happens to be El Mercado Central where you can find little sodas (eateries) and all kinds of colorful wares. A place you can really soak in some atmosphere, let's go?!!

• • •

I went to El Mercado yesterday! It was nice to visit this time having in mind what things would be interesting to see and to know for other people. I enjoy food so much that El Mercado is like a party to me. Herbs, seafood, vegetables, lots of fruits, the smell of plantain leaves that are so usual at this time of the year to cook "tamales" our traditional Christmas meal... uh! It is wonderful!

I never get bored here, as there is always something new! A different kind of "chili" or a new fruit, or simply a little spot that has been there for years, that you haven't noticed before. As usual, what I did yesterday was to have Fresco de frutas, a frozen fruit juice made of chopped fruits (banana and papaya mostly) and syrup. This is so classic, and delicious. So after the walk you have to do to get to El Mercado, where you need to start your journey is Fresco de Frutas.

• • •

After that, I wander around the market to see the handicrafts. You can find the traditonal market bags made out of "cabuya" (a natural fiber produced here), small leather bags, post cards, baskets, and "hamacas." The coffee shops are all over too.

My favorite picks are the "cabuya" bags because of their colors, the thread, and their long lasting quality. Every housewife in Costa Rica should have one, as all our grandmas did. It is so meaningful to me. Not only for the colors and shape, but for the memories I have going to the market with my grandma. Her bag was aged and had so much personality that I found it unique and special and also because of all the good stuff we put in it. 

Leather handicrafts are also my favorites. I get so much inspiration here as I am always trying to reinterpret the traditional styles into my own modern version of it. 

• • •

Then I finally go back to Soda San Martin. The place where I get my fresco de frutas and my soup. This place was stablished in 1953, and it is well known for the typical local food. Their specialty is the Olla de Carne, a meat soup with a lot of vegetables, but today I was craving the Seafood soup!

Tell us a bit about your country and your work...

What I love the most about my home place is our style. We are easy going, friendly, full of opportunities, education, and progressing forward is a chance that everyone has. 

One thing I would like to see improved is our ambition (in a good sense). Costa Rica is such a good place to live that we easily get into a "comfort zone" that makes us lose our competitiveness. We lack ambition and a sense of empowerment, which I admire in other countries. I studied Industrial Design at the University, but leather has been a part of my life since I was a little girl. My grandpa who was a leather craftsman supported our family by creating leather bookbinding and other crafts.  I loved being at his workshop playing or "working" with little pieces of leather during my free time. I decided to switch from my design career to my grandpa's passion. 

When he got sick, I realized that the only thing I could do to keep him "alive" was to do what he loved.

I did not start the business thinking it was going to be my grandpa´s business forever, and by the time I felt strong and clear about what I wanted to do, I decided to take the best of his work and make my own version of it. So that´s how I founded CueroPapel&Tijera* in 2008. (*leather paper & scissors) 

Costa Rica's essence is easy to infuse into my products. For inspiration, I visit local spots for coffee, talk to people, and I take lots of pictures of every flower I find, the sky, greens in the views, rain, and everything that resembles our country. So I AM Costa Rica and translating this feeling to my designs is something I do through texture, color, and simplicity. A very Costa Rican saying, Pura Vida, means an agreement of life to me! We say "Pura Vida" intead of saying "hi" or "ok." "Pura Vida," is our phrase for everything. We even say it in place of "thanks!"  

So, this is exactly who we are: "Pure Life."

(Follow Sofia on Instagram (@sofiaprotti) to see more of this pure and colorful Costa Rican life.)

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What is one thing you recommend to do in Costa Rica to experience this Pura Vida?

My recommendation would be to see a sunset with a cup of coffee. Trust me our coffee is the best. The air is so perfect and the light is gold. Birds sing and you can have tamales with coffee, which is pretty close to glory I guess.
 

SOFIA'S FAVORITES FOR SAN JOSE:

Lunch spot: 
Soda San Martin in El Mercado Central 

Coffee:
Sofia's daily favorite coffee "1820." The name refers to the year Costa Rica started exporting coffee beans. Coffee production used to be the country's main economic activity (it is now tourism), and still remains the biggest export. 

Sharing always goes both ways, giving and taking. Thank you Alla and Mu-Hsien for taking the time and showing interest in my small unique homeland, Costa Rica. I hope others can also join this giving and taking experience, from which I have already learned so much.

Always welcome to Pura Vida land!
- - -
Sofia 
OTSP Neighbor Profile : Cuero Papel & Tijera  

Thank you global neighbor Sofia for taking us to lunch and sharing your Pura Vida way of thinking and working... I think we are definitely inspired to pay closer attention to nature's kaleidoscope and be open to the inspiration it sends our way!  (Photos: via Sofia) ~ Sofia helps us infuse our life with vibrant colors and simple and pure Costa Rican sensibility through her modern yet rich in history artisan leather bags and accessories. 

 { Alla's Picks }

 { Mu-Hsien's Picks }

• • •     LESSONS LEARNED #44    • • •

Inspiration is all around us, 
you just have to look through a fresh pair of eyes to see it.

 Get everyday adventure ideas @LiveLikeYoureTraveling

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Take Us to Lunch : City of Dreams, Bogotá with Azulina Ceramics

One of my favorite things to do if I'm visiting friends in another country is to spend a day with them just doing what they normally would on a regular day. I believe the scientific jargon for this is: "observing the locals in their natural habitat". This, I think, is truly the best way to take it slow and really soak in the atmosphere.  I found, I always end up uncovering the true essence of a place better then running around from one touristic landmark to another. And what could be more "normal" then having lunch at someone's regular haunt? 

Well today we have a fabulous Global Neighbor Melissa Moriarty, founder of Azulina Ceramics, who is taking us to lunch with her... in Bogotá!!! 

Melissa is bringing us to Masa, a place where she likes to eat, located in Bogotá's "Zona G" (Zona Gourmet). This area, we hear, is the place to be for not only the best restaurants in town, but also to sample the world. International cuisine is a trend on the rise among the world curious Bogotanos.

Tell us about Masa.

Masa is just the greatest. It is a cafe and bakery located in the Chapinero neighborhood of Bogotá, which is the hip place to be. It has a big family-style table in the entrance and a sunny, outdoor patio. My favorite thing about Masa, besides having Bogotá's best pain au chocolat, is that they are turning themselves into a friendly, neighborhood spot. Patrons are allowed to bring their dogs onto the patio and they offer bike locks for those who show up on two wheels. They are thinking of the little things. And believe it or not, that is a first.

{ Is that CARROT CAKE!??? } 

What about you Melissa, originally from Houston, Texas, you've lived in DC, Boston, Chicago, Spain and Honduras! What has brought you to come settle in Colombia? 

I first visited in 2011 when I joined my uncle on a business trip to Medellin. I fell in love with the energy of Colombia and its people almost immediately. There is just something in the air: there is this good, positive, exciting energy. It is so contagious I get giddy talking about it.

Everyone is involved and committed to making Colombia a better place to live, work and raise children, and as a result new, innovative services are popping up daily. The energy is almost palpable. I am so excited for what's to come.

• • •

Melissa's description made me think about my former home, THE place for incredible energy. NYC that is. In fact, Silvana Villegas, the owner of Masa has studied and worked in NY before moving back to Bogotá to open this restaurant with her sister. Silvana has brought back a bit of Manhattan to Bogotá with a 'make your own' salad bar, not something you see everyday in Colombia. Together with french pastries, world inspired breads, fresh juices and omelettes, it's a brand new way of looking at lunch in Bogotá, traditionally a heavier, rice and beans kind of a meal.

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Melissa with Silvana, owner of Masa

Has your perception of Colombia changed now that you've been living in Bogotá for a while?

No, but the realities of living in a country with old-fashioned, bureaucratic systems makes for some additional hurdles and frustration. I'm lucky in that my company, Azulina Ceramics, is a U.S. Corporation and I deal with all legal and accounting standards according to U.S. laws. However, I have lots of ideas and aspirations to start different businesses and social initiatives here so it won't be long until I am dealing with those 'hurdles'. But you know what? There is so much opportunity here because there are still so many problems to solve and so many people willing to join in on your cause. I love that about Colombia.

What was most surprising thing you discovered about your new home or something you did not expect? 

I've found that Colombians are exceptionally well educated and hard-working, in all things and in all levels of society. I could not be happier to be working with my team in El Carmen de Viboral. From the women artisans to the business development team, everyone works their butts off and makes the impossible possible. I had a misconceived notion that doing business would be difficult for cultural reasons or perhaps because I thought people might be stuck in their ways, but I have been so surprised by how open everyone is to collaborate.

(Photo: Jay Marroquin)

What makes you feel at home here? Do you speak Spanish? 

My friends, boyfriend and boyfriend's family make me feel so happy and at home here. Colombians are generally very warm and welcoming, so it has been easy to meet and make amazing, lifelong friends. And frankly, with that, I could live anywhere. The rest is just material.

As for Spanish, I can speak like a native. I don't look like I can, so I use it as my secret weapon. Ha! 

• • •

{ Melissa's yummy lunch, scrambled eggs with mushrooms and ham,
pain au chocolat and coffee in Azulina's "everyday mug" from the Flora Collection. } 

What is another insider tip (besides lunch at Masa!) you want to give to us planning to visit?

If you are heading to Bogotá download these Apps: Uber and Tappsi. The city is going through some growing pains so their public transport isn't yet easy to navigate and use, especially for a tourist, so I recommend you use Tappsi or Uber to order taxis. Cabs are super cheap, like $5 max to go practically anywhere. I use either Tappsi or Uber at least 4 times per week. Yay technology.

• • •
{ Masa's Mythic Pain au Chocolat looking ever so scrumptious on
hand painted canape plate from Azulina's Lima collection. } 

MELISSA'S FAVORITES FOR BOGOTA:

Lunch spot: 
Masa (Cll 70 # 4-83 Bogotá D.C.) and a second restaurant is planned to open in the near future. 

Getting Around: 
Taking a cab is an inexpensive and quick way to get around in Bogotá. 
• Uber - Is a taxi booking app available in 22 countries, you can request a ride, be picked up in minutes and pay using your phone. 
• Tappsi - A Bogotá based company servicing Latin America. 

Thanks Alla and Mu-Hsien for the opportunity to share a bit about the world's greatest hidden treasure: Colombia. 

Con Mucho Amor,
- - -
Melissa of Azulina Ceramics
(Photos via Melissa)

Thank you Melissa for taking us to lunch and sharing about your new home and also introducing us to Silvana's Masa. You ladies are true global neighbors bringing a bit of New York and Paris to Bogotá and exporting a bit of Colombia to the world! We love that you help bring us all closer together! And we are even more curious now about the city that's making it all possible, Bogotá. ~ Bring a little piece of Colombia into your home and head over to Azulina.com for beautiful hand painted ceramics! 
 

Here are some of our favorites:

{ Alla's Picks }
A tall mug worthy of my coffee worship!

{ Mu-Hsien's Picks } 
A lovely pitcher that doubles as a vase & a cheery mug to start off the day!

• • •     LESSONS LEARNED    • • •

One neighbor's everyday mug,
is another neighbor's global find! 

Get everyday adventure ideas @LiveLikeYoureTraveling

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Take Us To Lunch : Living Pura Vida in San José with Cueropapel&tijera

about 11 years ago

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Love Without Borders : Courting in Chiapas, Mexico

Here at LLYT, we love a good love story, especially one that brings people together... beyond borders. We last visited (Wild Sicily) through global neighbor Jillian, of A Feathery Nest and today we bring you a taste of rural Mexico through Courtney, of Chiapas Bazaar. (Photos via Courtney)

Sure you can fall in love with a person or with a place, but to fall in love with someone who also lives in a faraway place? Sounds like something out of a fairy tale, right? But in today's world of high speed trains, planes, wifi and pretty much high speed everything, why should borders cultural or geographical still deter us from following our dreams? So starts a new series "Love Without Borders" in which we will take a peek at the lives of our Global Neighbors to see what happens when we transcend these barriers. Thank you Courtney for sharing your story!   

• • •

Chiapas and I have a curiously long history together. While I’ve only lived here full-time for a year and a half, Chiapas and I first heard of each other back in the year 2000. Chiapas was here, where it always is, and I was studying Spanish in a city called Cuernavaca, a beautiful town about an hour outside of Mexico City.  At that point, I hadn't yet visited Chiapas - that happened for the first time in 2004.  But sight unseen, it had always intrigued me - jungles, Zapatistas, Mayan ruins...

After finishing university, I moved to New York City and scrambled up the corporate ladder at LVMH, finally ending up at Marc Jacobs International. Life was cozy and delicious, but something was missing. I also had this dream of joining the Peace Corps, of serving a greater good - paying it forward. So I undertook the laborious process of applying to go volunteer in the developing world. I was finally assigned my country - with all my Spanish lessons and my extensive Latin America travels - and I went to Moldova (itty bitty country in Eastern Europe, in case you haven´t heard of it…).  

I had about three months to tie up loose ends with my US life, friends, and family. I decided to take one month and spend it in Chiapas, Mexico where I could eat tacos and mole to my heart’s content.  It was a solo trip - almost like a NYC decompression chamber. But I was also fortunate because I had some friends in Chiapas that I knew from my study abroad days.

 • • • 

During this time in Chiapas, it was through a friend of mine that I had met during my time in Cuernavaca that introduced me and my future husband. The following events are important because they just affirm how the universe had been conspiring to get us (me, M. and Chiapas) together. While living in Moldova with M. still in Mexico, I fell and broke my ankle and was eventually discharged from the Peace Corps. Once I healed, I moved here to Chiapas to be with M. and I haven’t looked back. I had always wanted to live in Mexico, so there wasn't much of a discussion between M and I about where we would start our new life together.

• • • 

So now you see - I have a background in world of fashion and I have a passion for service.  How did these two interests manifest themselves in my adopted home of Chiapas?  In this { www.chiapasbazaar.com }  

We started Chiapas Bazaar in early 2013 with the goal to provide a steady income to rural artisans in the state of Chiapas by exposing their products to international markets where there is a great demand for beautiful, handmade treasures. We are also keenly aware of the demand for factory-free pieces and are extremely proud to say that artisans work from home where they can still do their daily duties and create their pieces in their downtime.  It’s a “win-win” for everyone. The artisans can continue their trade but reach new markets and have steady work; customers around the world can own a piece handmade by a Chiapas artisan; and we create the connection between these two that wouldn’t otherwise exist.  

• • • 

Our job takes us to many beautiful rural places in Chiapas - the greenest place you might imagine, full of lush tropical vegetation or pine forests where the vast majority of the population works in agriculture in the countryside. We travel and visit the off-the-beaten path villages where Spanish is often the second language of the residents. It´s almost like the backdrop is the same, just the traditional dress of the people changes. In these villages with semi-paved roads, you’ll find the most beautiful colors and color combinations, traditions passed down generations, and true artists.  

We feel extremely honored to work with the artisans and we feel that we have a huge responsibility to educate customers and anyone who visits our site about the work the artisans dedicate themselves to and the time, effort and skill it requires to produce such beautiful things.

- - -  

Muchos saludos from Chiapas and we had so much fun "meeting" you both!  
- Courtney of Chiapas Bazaar

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Head on over to ChiapasBazaar.com for Mexican handmade global finds! 
Here are some of our favorites:

Alla's Picks

Mu-Hsien's Picks

So wait... if you bravely defy any obstacles and just 'go for it' the universe actually HELPS you along? I guess we suspected that, it's just the universe wants us to be the ones to take that first scary step. --- If you're a Global Neighbor who has transcended cultural or geographical borders for love and would like to share your Love without Borders story, (we'd love to hear from you!)  
 

• • •     LESSONS LEARNED    • • •

Sometimes you have to break an ankle 
to get on the right path. 

Get everyday adventure ideas @LiveLikeYoureTraveling

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Love Without Borders : Meet Me in Sicily... (Italian Agritourismo)

We are so excited to introduce you today to a true "Global Neighbor," J of (A Feathery Nest) Who are global neighbors really? They're people with whom you have many things in common and despite not living near each other, they're always there for you with advice and inspiration! J will be taking us along on a trip to Sicily along with her Sicilian husband R. If you were as curious, as we were, about Italian agriturismo travel from the (Nudo-Italia post), this is a perfect opportunity to preview it before booking your own trip! 

• • •

Sicilia Selvaggia, Wild Sicily 

 In the spring of my final year of college I decided to create one of those new'ish blog thingies that everybody seemed to have. I had "discovered" them the previous summer when I Googled other people's experiences living in New York, before heading up there myself for an internship.

After getting my first blog started, I eventually gathered a circle of people who checked in on me and who I checked in on, too. One of them was a hotsy-totsy, feisty Ukrainian gal that lived in Staten Island and worked in Manhattan. We learned a lot about each other by commenting on each other's blogs and now three blogs later for me (and I believe the same number later for her!), we're still "in" each other's lives, despite trans-Atlantic moves, marriages, babies and 8 years passing. The crazy thing is, we've only ever met once!

When Alla and Mu-Hsien created On the Same Page, I got it. Immediately. After all, what better way to define the relationship between Alla and myself than "global neighbors"—friends that support each other from far away? So of course when Alla sent me a note asking if I'd like to share a story about one of my favorite topics on OTSP, I immediately agreed!

• • •  

Eight years ago I decided the perfect way to bridge my college chapter and the rest of my life would be to travel around Europe by myself for a month. Specifically, Italy. I crafted a plan to do a giant figure-eight of the country, spending the last few days with a friend who would fly over to meet me for the final leg in Sicily. That's how it came to be that I had a witness to the first time my eyes locked with R, the man who would become my husband.

R and I have been married now for almost 4 years, so if you're following the math here, that means that for 4 years I lived on the East coast of the U.S. while he lived on the East coast of Sicily. While trans-Atlantic dating is not exactly what I would call easy (especially given the limited amount of vacation time we get in NYC!), it does make for wonderful reunions.

One year I planned to meet R in Stockholm for Christmas, and then to fly down to Sicily for his birthday before I had to return home. As Christmas was spent with family in Sweden, and his birthday would be with friends in Sicily, we decided to fly to the west coast of the island for New Year's alone before renting a car and driving across the whole of Sicily to Taormina, his hometown, for his birthday.

• • • 

Neither of us are big New Year's Eve revelers, so we looked for tranquil seaside towns to ring in the new year together. We found a lovingly restored agriturismo (a farm-turned-B&B) outside Marsala—which would be a quick drive from the Trapani airport, where we landed from Stockholm, and a good starting point for the two day's drive back to Taormina on the first of the year. After we landed in Trapani, picked up a car, and drove to the Agriturismo Masseria Baglio Tenute Montalto (yes, a mouthful!) on the 31st, we quickly got settled and then back to the car we went. 

• • • 

We were on a mission to find the nearest little town to stock up on the fixings for an in-room picnic: salami, prosciutto, formaggio al pepe nero (Sicilian cheese with black peppercorns), wine, sparkling water, dark chocolate, figs, grapes, mandarines, sundried tomatoes, marinated eggplant, a loaf of bread, and some olives. We found everything we wanted and then some, so by the the time the sun was lowering in the sky, we were camped out at the farmhouse on our bed with a feast before us. 

• • • 

I fully intended to stay awake until midnight, but with a full tummy, and all the sea air I had breathed in while tooling around the coast that day, I fell asleep by 9. R gently awoke me for a midnight kiss and then we both slept deeply until morning. 

The sky was still somewhere between night and dawn when we padded out of our room and took a walk along the water to greet the new year. We weren't the only ones out—a fisherman had been hard at work before the sun rose and was already coming in with his haul when we emerged from our cocoon. With our boots in the sand and a few stones in our hands, we broke the surface of the water with a wish for each ripple we made as we launched pebbles into the Mediterranean Sea—our own morning's work.

• • • 

When we returned to the farmhouse, the Signora welcomed us to breakfast in the cantina. We sat a midst the barrels and iron tools and broke bread as the sun that streamed through the windows went from weak, hazy light, to full on Sicilian rays.

• • • 

After checking out, and receiving a few bottles of wine as a gift from the proprietors (made from their own grapes!), I lugged the massive wooden doors open, and we wended our way back up the coast along the wine road (Strada del Vino), past Trapani, through Erice (which looks like Rio de Janeiro!) where we stopped for lunch, and on to Palermo for the night. The next day we continued on through the heart of Sicily, with a pause to stretch our legs in Enna before arriving home.

I'm so glad that I fell in love with a Sicilian. There's something about the uninhibited, but many-times-over-inhabited land that makes sense to me. The fiery spirits and fiery food, the wildness of the plains, the roughness of the rocky crags, the introvertedness of people living in small, remote hilltop towns where they only speak Ancient Greek, the hooded glances and double-voweled and -consonant'ed dialects that echo Arabic origins, the fierceness and protectiveness of a much-conquered people. I don't think I'd ever set foot in a place that I recognized as much as I did as when I first rode the night train from Reggio Calabria on the mainland to Messina, the port of entry into Sicily.

Of course I could always return by myself if I hadn't met R, but experiencing the whole of the island from left to right, reading it my way, instead of the Arabic way, alongside someone who could guide me, and more importantly, translate, helped me see what I would never have been able to see on my own. There's no passport or visa that will open the doors and hearts of the Sicilians—the only way to gain entry, especially for someone that's passing through, is by the hand of one of the island's own.

Or by a glance from one of her sons.

• • • 

When we reached the summit of Erice and took a walk after lunch near the city walls, we leaned against the stones that have supported many who stopped to inhale the same magnificent views and saw an elderly shepherd herding his flock through the pasture below. He looked up and caught R's eye—perhaps recognizing the soul of his Sicilian brother. Then he directed his glance my way and tipped his head ever so slightly, acknowledging my presence. 

We paused to watch him walk slowly, purposefully, stopping every few paces to check that he was being followed by all of his sheep, and maybe to see if we were still observing him. He finally chose a boulder—his boulder, I'm sure—to sit upon while he took his canteen and wrapped lunch from his satchel, carefully unfolding the waxy paper and linen wrappings. His flock took note and found their own patches of meadow to chew contentedly on. The leader and his followers, all pausing for their midday meal.

R tightened his arm, which was draped across my shoulders and said to me, "Who do you think is the richer man, him? Or, Donald Trump?"

The answer was so clear, I didn't even need to say it aloud.

Goethe was right when he said, "To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything."

- - -
Thanks for inviting me over, Alla!

XOXO,

J. of *sparklingly

• • •   ARE YOU A GLOBAL NEIGHBOR?   • • •

Would you like to introduce us to your part of the world
or take us along on a discovery? Write us!

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