southern crooks and the (foreign) visitor

Finally! After 5 days of checking out every internet point I found in town, and of being denied in each one to connect my computer, I found one right around the corner from where I live that does it! Still expensive, but now I have the freedom to upload blogs, pics, check email, chat... :D

Here is the first blog entry I had offline. Nice and long to cover your weekend :) Subsequent entries were still incomplete, but I haven't done much more than the beach and walk about. I'll try to have more on Monday, for all of ya bored at work. ;)

Monday evening. I left Genova at 5pm on Sunday, by train, to go to Crotone, at the bottom of Italy. I was scheduled to take 3 trains over 14.5 hours. My friend had a plane reservation for that evening, a trip of just 3 hours. She kept trying to convince me to go by plane with her. ...I ended up getting to her workplace before she did! Her airline was a mess and she didn't get in until 3pm today. My trip, albeit long, was uneventful. Even the half hour delay of the first train didn't mess up my schedule. I found the overnight train with 10 mins to spare, and my companion in the 2-bed cabin was a woman who was very nice and showed me everything there was to the trip, even gave me tips like putting the top bed's ladder in front of the door to prevent break-ins.

Then came the fun part: I arrived at the train station in Crotone. I had 1.5 hours of sleep Sat night. And about 5 hours and several 20-mins naps from the trains Sun night. I went to call my friend, who told me she was still stuck in Rome, all planes delayed. She told me to get to her workplace, get keys to her place from a friend, and make myself at home. I was tired, but not exhausted, and I figured it'd be easy enough to go the 3 miles to her work and then another 3 to her home. So off I went to find a cab.

An older guy offered me his cab, showed me to the car, helped me out with the luggage, asked me why I'm here... the whole nice guy routine. Then we took off. After such a nice train trip, I was all optimistic, and never imagined I'd run into trouble. But I'm older and wiser than I look. When he told me we were taking a shortcut, my little antennas stood to attention. I non-chalantly made sure to say that I just wanted the shortest and cheapest route. And he said it's still going to cost me about 20-22EUR. This for a 5 Km trip. My eyes popped open. Great, so much for a good trip.

I calmly told him that was insane. So he starts going insane. Granted, it wasn't that bad. He just started blabbering that I was insulting him of being a coward and cheater. Still calmly I told him not even in NY we pay such prices. Then he starts to try and make a deal. 15EUR to get there. I told him no. He threatened to take me back. I told him he could leave me there for all I cared. I could give him something for his trouble, but I wasn't going to pay that amount. In the end, he took me 500 meters and back to the station. I even tried to get him to use the meter, which he refused to do, of course. He even said how I just ruined his day, how I was insulting him, how he put in motion this thousands euro machine to give me a service and I was denying him money... I didn't budge, but didn't get upset. I knew the routine. I told him I wasn't a rich tourist with money. I was dropped off at the station unceremoniously, had to take my own luggage off, and he took off with some other tourists.

Back at the station, a group of men, other taxi guys, crowded around me and started asking me what happened. I explained. They told me he *was* taking me the right way, but then they started talking in southern italian among themselves, which I don't understand, and I didn't know if they were unhappy with him or me. I assumed the latter. I went in and asked the customer assistance guy about buses. He was too shy to be a scammer, but told me the buses were the trains' competitors, so he couldn't give me much info. I should ask the guy at the bar, which also sold bus tickets. So I went to do that, got bus tickets, and went back out to wait.

The taxi guys didn't relent. One of them told me he would take me for 10EUR. I told him I already got bus tickets. Then they all started saying the buses were on strike. I was reaching the crying in frustration point, but I figured it'd get me nowhere, and I was better off toughening it up. Back to the bar I went, all the while dragging all my luggage back and forth (never again am I packing this much crap, btw...). I told the bar guy what I was being told, he said he didn't think there was a strike. Back outside I go, and since the cabs were lining the bus stop, I went across the street from there, in the station's parking lot, and waited there.

10 minutes later, one of the taxi guys walked past me, towards one of the cars behind me. I nodded. He went to his car, put some music on, and waited. I didn't even sit down. I had my backpack on, my huge ass luggage on the floor, in the shadow of a tiny tree, hot sun beating on the cement, but wasn't too hot yet, and I calmly waited. I figure he was waiting for me to crack and beg for a ride. My will points were boosted by that, and I resolved to wait there as long as it took. My friend was late anyways, it's not like I had anywhere to go. After 15 mins, he turned the radio off and got up. Somebody he knew stopped by, in a car. They talked. 5 mins later, he came by and told me: "Miss, the buses are *really* not coming today. My friend here is willing to take you. Just give him 5-6EUR, it's all good." I smiled in what I hope was a grateful way, said thank you, walked towards him. Then I had a moment of hesitation, considered the option of being kidnapped and mugged to be shown a lesson... but I figured I was making a point of having no money, the driver didn't look too shady, so I went with it.

The guy was a skinny, silent person. Didn't talk at all during the trip. I tried being alert, observing the route he was taking. He took me straight to the institute my friend works at, helped me with the luggage, and refused any payment! I went from a 20EUR ride to nothing in half an hour! Naive touristy girlie 1, locals 0. :D ...I wonder if I'm riding on the good karma of donating all my good stuff to charity. Thousands of dollars worth of life to the little cement house in Hempstead, NY, to be used by the homeless and whomever that institution helps. The only thing that bothers me at times is that I never seem to repay, but rather pay forward, or sideways. In the bigger scheme of things I guess it works, but I wonder if in the personal world of the people I deal with I'm seen as ungrateful. Know that I'm not! :)

The people at my friend's workplace were real nice, offered me a nutella croissant (yum!), and even a ride to my friend's house. In the end, and all I wasted was the cost of 2 bus tickets, a whole 1.80EUR. :D [note: I later found out there really is a strike of buses this whole week...!] My friend finally arrived in the afternoon, had the stamina to show up for work for a couple of hours, and then we had a pleasant but short evening, as we were both exhausted.

Crotone is a small town, but it has some interesting tourist attractions, including a castle right in the middle, and an archeological museum that highlights its Greek past. It is the home of Pitagoras, the mathematician. It's on the sea, so the beach is a whole 10 mins walk. The water is that transparent clean, clear blue color you see in postcards. The town seems peaceful, just a couple of shady parts. I was told that unemployment is high. My friend's home, which she calls a dump, is a beautiful, big apt in the center.

The heat can get to be a bit too much at night. During the day, from the moment I wake up throughout the day, there is this wonderful breeze that makes the hot sun in the cloudless sky bearable. At night, unfortunately, the air becomes still. AC is seldom used in Italy. So I depend on a cheap fan to work through the night and not melt. :)

The only other thing I have to learn to deal with is that constant reminder that I don't belong. In Italy more than in any other place, since it's my home country, being pointed out all the non-italian characteristics I picked up along the way, all the messes I make of languages and expressions... and being called an American...! It's a bit depressing. Plus the danger of the tourist treatment puts me constantly on alert, which is stressful. And yet, when I really reflect on things, I think I have learned to depend on being unique and separate. I take a sense of comfort in it. Probably not quite healthy, but I'm ok with that, too. All artists need their quirks after all ;) And for every person that doesn't understand me, I have a treasured friend that knows my past, knows me, and to her or him I am just "Val", the sum of an odd life, but a good person deep down. :)

Now let's just hope my stay here will remain safe.