Student Correspondent News: Unexpected reality

Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world .... 

Homeland of "La famiglia" ...

Expectation is a peculiar word. It defines what is most likely to occur in the future. The only problem is the future is unknown. It could potentially be determined through fate, past decisions, or even a predetermined path depending on your beliefs. Therefore expectation hardly meets reality, as in the case of my trip to Sicily. Sicily has several negative connotations attached to its character: the Mafia, the general preconception of the South, dry, barren landscapes, and active volcanoes. What could be good in a place like this?

  

But the Sicilian reality was incredible. It also seemed much safer than I would have expected. There were children running around the plaza at midnight without parents or supervision. Parents seem very trusting of the location and the locals. We various pasta and risotto dishes, chicken, swordfish, and even horse which I will admit I never mustered up the courage to try. 

Virgina, Kara, and I at a cooking class in Catania, Sicily 

How could I have forgotten that Italy is known for its food? Sicily has some of the most heavenly food known to man.Over the past month I have noticed more and more that dinner is a crucial point of the Italian lifestyle. Sicily has been no exception to this rule. They actually seem to embody family values more so than other places I have visited. Maybe Sicily’s remote location far off the coast of continental Italy makes it harder to both get to and leave. Italian families seem to have these roots that plunge deep into the Earth and are gnarled and twisted around other roots belonging to relatives, neighbors and even the Mafia. It would be utterly impossible to untangle them without breaking any of them. The seeds of these trees are every now and then still able to catch a gust of wind, escaping the distorted mass waiting beneath the soil. I knew family played a significant role in the Italian lifestyle, but I never realized how much pressure the future generation held on their shoulders.

Our first "cannolo siciliano" in Piazza del Duomo. Delectable! 

Members of Addio Pizzo speak to CET students in Catania 

The pizzo is a fee commonly paid to the Mafia for protection by local shopkeepers, restaurant owners, etc. It is a custom very much ingrained in Sicilian traditions. We met with an organization, Addio Pizzo, that educates citizens about the current Mafia standing and supports those who wish to extricate themselves from paying the pizzo. 

It was not until a sit down with our Italian roommate’s Sicilian friend, Claudio, that I actually understood the reserve to stop paying the pizzo. The pizzo guarantees patronage, safety of your family from other Mafia groups, they control the market and can guarantee standard prices with no undercutting. Sicilians, according to Claudio, are very prideful creatures. They are confident in their heritage and stubborn by nature. Change is not an easy concept to handle in any culture and changing a tradition (even a bad one) can be very tedious. 

The youth of Addio Pizzo are taking on the challenge to make Sicily a better and safer place to live. I was amazed at their success rate with 80 shops in Catania and 100 shops in Palermo that have found the courage to discontinue their payments. The upcoming generation is going to have a much smaller number of subjects in which the Mafia can charge a pizzo. I never expected there to be such a strong force working against the Mafia and it was really awe-inspiring to see this new organization at work.

Inspecting one of the many craters on Mount Etna's face with vulcanologist Sandro Privitera

 Mount Etna, the ever present threat, merely exists as background noise in the day-to-day life of the Sicilians. I recall the faces of my peers when the geologist announced with enthusiasm that Mount Etna had just erupted. We all looked around nervously wondering out loud why we were not making a one-eighty and heading back down the mountain. Later he informed us casually that if the volcano had a massive eruption we would have plenty of time to escape. The soil and agriculture of Mount Etna is unique from any other place in the world. It is full of succulent nutrients that rare species of plants tend to worship. It is also ideal for specialty farming, such as citrus orchards and vineyards containing a distinctive type of grape. 

After 4 days in Sicily, what can I conclude? My preconceptions =  invalid, Sicily = remarkable, unexpected reality ...