Seize the moment
ITALY | Thursday, 17 April 2014 | Views [189] | Scholarship Entry
I've always been fascinated with Italy, it's history, architect, language and culture. Some nights I would lay in bed, watching documentaries on ancient Rome or reading something regarding Italian culture. I would wish I was there, but it just never seemed to be the right time to go, being a student, having kids and responsibility to think of. One night I as I was browsing online, daydreaming, I came across an advertising. Youth action organisation was looking for six people to travel to Italy for few days and be a part of exciting project. I thought to myself that no harm could come from applying and for a moment I let myself imagine my dream coming true, and that every other responsibility could I had could take a moments pause at my behalf.
One day the call came, I as well as five other people were chosen for this project, and we would be leaving in few days. As I sat down my travel partners to book a flight, none of which I knew, I could hardly believe that this was actually happening. I packed my bags lightly and full of excitement for this adventure.
In the airplane to London I tried to imagine this journey, all butterflies and roses. We had a few hours to kill in London before our flight to Rome so we strolled around, enjoyed the sun in our face and the shared our excitement of the days to come. Our flight to Rome was early the next morning so we decided to get some sleep at the airport, cuddled up on the floor as we waited for our next flight. As soon as we landed in Rome we put on our sunglasses and shorts and jumped in the next bus. We knew we had only few hours until our train would leave to Foggia so we decided to just relax. We sat out in the sun and tried to take in the fact that we actually had arrived.
Arriving to Foggia we had a car waiting for us to take us to Troia, which was our final destination. We had no idea what to expect since we had not seen any pictures of our accommodation or even the town itself. Upon arrival in Troia, tired after all the travelling and a bit emotional as well, our first shocked sinked in. We were placed in an old gymnasium with many other people, from five other countries, who were also participating in this project. Since we arrived so late we got the last room. As we lay down in our beds, two of them broke and with it our hopes for this journey. But as the days passed, new friendships and bonds were made. We had the opportunity to be a part of something amazing and go outside our comfort zone every day
Tags: 2014 Travel Writing Scholarship - Euro Roadtrip
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