Writing Assignment #5

Not only with Naples, but with any new city I have an uncomfortable feeling. Even with the prep of the readings, you still don’t know what to fully expect. New places give me a sense of risk. I feel as though I am literally risking all that I have because I don’t know exactly what I’m getting myself into. Some can say that everyday living is that way, even places that you don’t know, anything can happen. But it’s a comfort issue. I give “the cold shoulder” to new places in general. It’s my way of having my guard up. My biggest fear was the thought of now being sure of what would happen, the possibilities of anything, but being in a new city. I had the same uncomfortable feeling when initially coming to Rome.  Not to mention not knowing anyone, it was never anything personal, I just question my surroundings a lot for the sake of feeling like I’m keeping myself safe. Another thing that made me nervous was the fact that he trip was with everyone. We have all made a few trips here and there but they were always in our divided “cliques” and I thought that when we would be forced to be together that there would be some tension. Fortunately, we all managed to get along and the trip actually made a lot of us more comfortable with one another. Before the trip we seemed to always be divided by houses and mixing up the rooms in Naples really did make a difference in the relationships we came back to in Rome.

            If anything my fear of Naples has done nothing but increased. Before it was a defense mechanism and now because of Jenny being mugged, I just don’t know how to feel about the place, personally. I understand that it can happen anywhere and I won’t say that I will never go again, but that entire situation freaked me out. Also, Alex blatantly talked to us about how often robbery happens and no one around you does anything about it. I know that this is not America but I feel like people in America would at least try to help. I’ve never been in that type of situation before, or even that close to being with someone who has experienced it so the thought alone makes me nervous. Don’t get me wrong, the program should continue to go to Naples and have Alex’s tour, just with more structure and warning. Though I feel as though I have seen a lot of Naples, I wasn’t there quite long enough to get that comfort of “home” or anything. It took me a couple of weeks to feel that way with Rome so I’m actually not surprised that Naples is just another city to me. The people seem different than the ones in Rome. Romans are a bit more up tight, or uppity for lack of a better word. If Italy was California, Naples would be Los Angeles and Rome would be Hollywood. Where we live in Rome is very elegant and charming, and the people of Rome know that to be true. Naples is just not up to the par of Rome. Though they both have great museums and nice places to visit, Naples needs to be cleaned up. That can go as far as the crime to the garbage on the streets; they both are ridiculous if you ask me. But as I said before, I know that it can happen anywhere and not every city cleans as often as Rome does. It must cost some money for the garbage men to come through everyday with their trucks and truck-brooms, but they make it happen and Rome looks ten times better than Naples.

            Aside from all of that, I love that we traveled there; I love to see new things and learn new things. Being in a different city always begins as refreshing; it just didn’t end as refreshing as it started. And life is not always what it is expected to be, it’s often about what and how you make it. So in spite of our situations, we made the best out of Naples that could have possibly become of it.