On the news they say that Italy, like many other countries in the western world, is in the middle of a serious economical crisis these days. They say this is the worst recession in decades, there is no way out, nobody will be able to find a good job anymore and, basically, we are doomed.
As a consequence of all these apocalyptic signals, I knew I was going to have to work hard for any kind of job opportunity as a recent graduate... and that is the reason why I was really surprised when I started to receive phone calls and emails from very good companies around Northern Italy that were interested in ...me! So, for each company, I went for the first interview, then for the second interview, then for the third interview... and by the end of the spring I had 6 finalized job offers, all with good companies, all with good salaries, and all ....in Italy!
Now... I have nothing against Italy, seriously, it really is a beautiful country, probably one of the best places in the world to live a happy, nice, quiet life, finding a nice job, eating the amazing food (definitely the best in the world), driving to Rimini or flying Ryanair to Ibiza every summer and just enjoying life.
.....I did not want that.
After living in California, and, especially, after meeting all these people from such different places in the world, all with their own culture and way of life, that I would probably have no idea about if I had stayed in Italy, I could just not be satisfied anymore... There are so many places out there, so many cultures to understand, so many different people and things to learn. I have always been a curious person and, therefore, I had the strong desire to go somewhere else. Somewhere completely new and different, some place that would challenge, not the perfect easy California, I needed something difficult.
So I said no to all these good job offers, and I bought a flight ticket to Ghana. This would have been my graduation trip. Why? This was many people's first reaction when I told them I was going to West Africa for a month. I know, it's not the most common destination for a graduation trip, but we can't all go to London, Paris or New York. Somebody needs to do something different sometimes :-)
That trip was probably the best of my life. Ghana is an amazing country and it gave me feelings that are still so strong in my heart, but so hard to express. I didn't know anything about Ghana before going there. I was hoping to see a real African sunset and maybe see elephants.. but that's it (by the way... both those things happened and they were AMAZING! :-) But then I went there and it was so so so so much more than that. I experienced beautiful landscapes, incredible markets, extremely interesting cultures, wonderful people, crazy dancing, astonishing nature, delicious food, but that was only part of it. What really shocked me was the difference with my country... I realized how lucky I am to be born in Europe.. and I got mad at myself for taking my luxurious life for granted. I saw people who have absolutely nothing, people who have to deal with extreme challenges every day and, no matter what, they get by. It made me realize that I really do not need 90% of the things I have. Going back to my HUGE house after 1 month in Ghana was an experience that I will never forget. I arrived to a clean, big house, that smelled like somebody just sprayed Chanel No. 5 on it. I opened the door and, first thing, went to see the bathroom... huge clean bathroom, and I saw the sink, and the toilet, and all this clean, safe, water flowing magically everywhere, I just needed to push a button... How come I never thought how great all that was?! This is only one of the several things that that trip to Ghana taught me.. and only one of the reasons why that trip is still stuck in my mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment