Our Saturday Night Story

Our kinda Saturday night

Just when I’m about to think about things I will do as my weekend routines, a good friend of mine came up with a sumptuous invitation “Come to Rossano!”. Well, she just had her marvelous graduation day which completed her two-outstanding-year of master program with an outstanding result, plus she’s leaving for good by the end of this month, so I really had no excuse for not joining the rest of the group for a short visit to Rossano, a city which is one and half hour far from where I live.

The group comprises of three Indonesians, two Guatemalans, and two Calabrian Italians. It’s rare to have all of us together at the same time since for the past two years we’ve been scattered between Indonesia, Calabria, Spain and Belgium. So, for having all of us in Rossano it’s kinda miraculous.

I don’t want to be melancholy but sometimes when you spent a rare moment with close-knit friends, it is intimately special. Our trip started with getting lost to reach Rossano and then wandering around the city, trying to find a way to reach the beach nearby. The hilarious part of this visit was the luncheon.

As we are students with limited pocket money, having a lunch outside the campus is a bit daunting. So, an invitation for a luncheon in a Trattoria made our heart skip a beat. Well, eating is a serious deal for the Italians. Eating is an important event for them, no kidding. Since eating is about bonding you and your companions. Eating for them means hours of chat about anything since their plates keep coming out from the kitchen. It started with antipasta (appetizer) then Primo and secondo (main course) and desserts.

luncheon

The antipasta includes a jar of Rossano specialty of wine which I didn’t taste since I don’t drink alcohol, and potato and eggplant croquettes. The main course included tagliatelli with porchini which indescribably a tongue spoiler. We were just calming down our bellies when the waiter walked out the kitchen with seven cannolo siciliano with sweet sour ricotta and smashed pistachio inside it as the desserts. These sweets added more minutes to our luncheon which already consumed an hour and half. Each of us was hardly breathed and really need a bit space to move. Next, is coffee time (geez, for us it seemed like a never ending-lunch). We told our own experience about how we got used to this ‘coffee after meal’ thing which is very common for the Italians.

Two hours of a full lunch (and amazing discounts!) we were ready to explore Rossano. The cars climbed up the mountain where our friend who is Rossano native, brought us to an old Byzantium church at the top of the mountain where we can see the whole region which resides by the Ionian Sea.

Rossano by the Ionian Sea

The tour continued down the hill which included a breath-taking solo path with wide open cliff in the other side to reach our friend’s “farmer hut”. The sun had set up when we reached the “cabin in the wood” house. It’s a family winter house with cozy couch and fire place to keep ourselves warm while sharing stories about ourselves with cups of tissana and classic books.

From the open balcony which is undoubtedly beautiful during sunrise, darkness whispered the mountain song as nocturne bird singing. I bet that stargazing during summer night is one of a must-to-do activity and I wasn’t wrong at all as my friend explained, “here comes the main attraction” as we gazed to the sky that night. Yes, Stars! As clear as diamonds… stunningly blinking their grace.

Dark followed us through the old part of Rossano. Our tour continued to inner Rossano which has Venetian look-a-like dome with towering city clock in Piazza Sterri and old alleys with old houses by their sides. It was like a night passage to the past. For a moment I felt like I was blasted to the past by imagining how the people used to live in this area.

Watery eyes and stiff shoulders marked the end of our short but intimate visit to Rossano. When I opened my eyes this morning, it was like a dream as I couldn’t imagine that I was sitting on my bed after just hours ago was having a walk into the past.

The Fall Back

The fall walk

Autumn had finally arrived as the fresh summer night breeze now is slowly replaced by a bit of frosty breeze. Colorful tank tops, sandals and shorts has been replaced by dark thick jackets and boots and here I am, on my third autumn marking my third year (gosh, I can’t believe it’s been three years) and hopefully will be my last year in Italy.

This autumn, once again, I saw one by one the people who started the first year with me, hatched from their “eggs”. By eggs I mean, they finished their study and graduated. Somehow, yes, I feel my time is not so far. I’m both excited and a bit “blank”. Excited since I really can’t wait to finish and by “blank” I mean “indescribable”. Some part of me said that I can’t wait to get off the ship but some part told me no need to rush just enjoy the remaining time.

Every time I walked pass by the campus, I looked at the mountains. They’re there since the first time I arrived in this city. They don’t change. They didn’t and they won’t. I was wondering how many people had been in where I stood now, staring at them, at their silence.

I’m ready to walk out but yet I’m afraid where I will step. But, I guess every step we take is a new chapter in our life. Like a blank page where new memories awaited to be written.