Friday, 14 March 2014

They've Started To Realise We're Here To Stay

Santa Maria
We go for a walk most afternoons at this time of year, usually 
leaving the house at about 1.45 pm. 
Not quite sure why it's that time, but whenever I look at the 
clock on Bianca's dashboard display as we head out
down Leila's Mountain, it invariably says 13.45 or thereabouts.

And as we park up down at Punta dell' Inferno & get out of the 
car, we are both aware that the eyes of any locals hanging about 
are on us, the 'stranieri'.
I find it quite amusing...they eye us incredulously
as we proceed to walk along the Lungomare hand in hand.
For here, in this little slice of heaven that is the
Cilento, the men are rarely seen out with 
their women during the day, and they certainly don't
hold hands.

Then, to make matters worse, I actually dare look 
in the eye of anyone walking towards us...
I am weighing up how I think they'll respond if 
I say 'Buongiorno' or 'Buona sera' 
(technically, it should be 'buon pomeriggio'
but that is very little used here).

But slowly, & surely, they are starting to realise that
we appear & passeggiata most days...they have
started to acknowledge us, either with a curt nod
or a smile...and some of them are
even taking the time to stop & have a chat.



1 comment:

  1. Slowly but surely they'll get used to you. It took my neighbors in France awhile, but once they got used to me, we became buddies :)

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