Sunday, June 21, 2015

Riding in Cars with Strangers

by Kate Bresnahan
I learned never to get into a car with a stranger at a very young age. However, in Cagli many students, myself included, have hopped into cars with Cagliese who we barely know. The other night, Patrizia, Cagli’s herbalist, invited several of us to attend a vegetarian dinner with her family and friends at a restaurant in New Cagli. Five of us accepted the invitation. We willingly jumped into cars with people we had just met; and we were glad we did it.

We arrived at the restaurant after a short drive. We sat at a table with Patrizia’sson, Simone, and a man who works for the tourism shop in Cagli. This was the first time we had shared a meal with Cagliese people, and it was an interesting and fun experience. We had an excellent meal andinteracted with Italians, some of whom we had already met and some of whom were new to us. While we could not understand everything they said and they could not understand everything we said, we still were able to communicate. It was clear that everyone thought the dinner was delicious and that everyone, with the exception of Simone(he would rather have been out with his friends), had a great time.

Because the United States and Cagli are so different, it was okay for us to rely on the kindness of strangers. If we had not gotten into those cars with Patrizia and her friends and family, we would not have had such a great experience.