#65 That awkward moment when it still feels like summer

weekend edition

Hello friend,

I am sitting down to write today's Friday edition of A Load Off My Mind, and it is already 9 p.m. So it's going to be a later edition this week. It's going to slide over into the weekend for sure.

And what a week it's been filled with unbelievable sunshine! Sicily is living up to its title of 'island of the sun', which is excellent for those visiting Sicily from overseas. In comparison, it's a bit awkward for those who live here and have returned to work or school. Concentrating isn't easy when it still seems like the summer holidays.

I can see the high school kids at my son's school who seem to think they are still on holiday. They practically sprint out of the school after the bell rings. If any professors were in the way, they would get trampled to death. Their backpacks are gradually sagging lower down their backs, not because their books are weighing them down, but rather the shoulder straps are being loosened longer and longer and already arrive near their buttocks. I wonder if they will eventually drag along the ground, as they don't want to carry anything.

Within ten minutes, the school empties as the streets are overrun by teenagers. Some head off to their scooters, putting on helmets and revving up their Vespa's engines like a hive of wasps, as the name suggests. They hoard together like bikers, weaving through the backed-up traffic and speeding away. Where are the traffic police when you need them? Some of their manoeuvres are risky, overtaking the wrong way, slithering into the smallest space between cars. Some don't have helmets; others have passengers when it is obvious they shouldn't, their wheels pressed down by the extra weight.

Others are walking, gesticulating, complaining in loud, angry voices about someone as they walk to the bus stops dotted around the nearby streets and intersections.

A few disappear into a nearby Tabaccheria and light up a cigarette as if they lack oxygen. It's too easy for a 14 or 15-year-old to pick up smoking in Italy; it's trendy to puff away, rebelliously swiping a parent's ID card; they can buy them from the automatic 24-hour vending machines in front of the tobacco stores. The sly teenagers know how to get around the law and their own parents, happily choosing a probable lifetime of tobacco addiction and other health consequences.

Others are walking to the bus station to ensure they get a better seat as the buses are always packed.

Many swing by the kiosk across the road to buy something to eat, while others are making arrangements with their friends to meet at the local sushi restaurant, which has given each student a flyer with some special student discount.

It's a beautiful chaos filled with the regular chatter of young people and the inevitable energy of the typically Italian way of living as if work or school are mere formalities.

I wonder if these students actually study or if it's more about socialising. I don't see many serious, studious types. I wonder if there is such a thing as a 'nerd' or a 'geek' in Italy, or at all these days. I know the word 'secchione' describes someone who likes to study, the equivalent of a nerd, but it is used to reflect the American concept of the word, not because it was something that already existed. I think they needed a word to translate the different character types in popular American teen movies rather than describe something that exists in the Italian school culture.

Perhaps I'm out of touch or too judgemental, but I'd love to see some serious students. I keep trying to spot someone with a backpack filled with textbooks, folders under their arms or carrying an actual book in their hand.

Look at me projecting my own Italian high school fantasy, trying to see how I would fit into this complex buzzing school microcosm of activity. I don't think I would have ever fitted into the 'too cool for school' mentality. I was a timid, bookish teenager who found it challenging to fit in at all.

Even now, I find myself adding to my to-be-read reading pile simply because I miss physical books.

Does anyone miss actual books, stacking them up on the table, leafing through them, highlighting, writing in the margins, doggy earing them. Mistreating your favourite paperback because you have read it so much, or keep it in your bag until it gets destroyed—so many things to say about the things you once loved in your youth.

Or are we so attached to our phones these days that they have replaced any other form or information. After all, we have them cradled in our hands so easily. It's like a handshake, an effortless embrace; we always hold hands with our phones without thinking about it.

When I moved to Italy in the early 2000s, I became addicted to ebooks. It was so tough to find English any decent books in Italy. There was something satisfying about downloading something and reading it immediately instead of waiting weeks to find a physical copy. An ebook was immediate, and it made me feel closer to home.

These days, with the surprising efficiency of Amazon in Italy, I can get my hands on English books within 24 hours. Several couriers have my number on their phones. One leaves packages at my local Tabaccheria, which is always open; another leaves my books at the local bakery, lord knows why.

Another still is this sweet, adorable, blonde-haired, blue-eyed young man who meets me in the piazza for a little bookish rendezvous. The blondie is about the same age as my nephew, and he reminds me of those cute surfer guys who hang out near the beach; he could be from California or even Bodi Beach, Australia. Those dashing, galavnating northern French Norman knights certainly left their imprint in the gene pool.

The DHL guy also meets me on the road with his messy man bun and deep blue eyes, which makes me wonder if the postal service has a specific physical type, like the old stereotype of bored housewives and postmen or milkmen. He reminds me of those Tiktok videos you see of tall, dark, muscular and handsome Carabinieri Italian police posted by visiting female tourists.

Then I remember my chubby middle-aged post-woman who seems persistently out of breath. Who incidentally is the only person who brings mail to my door. I never knew walking from the piazza to my house, which takes two minutes, could be so strenuous or complicated. Which begs the question? Why in the hell don't they deliver the mail to my house? Yet another strange Italian mystery.

Just to let you know, I am planning to start making more posts for my paid subscribers, so now is probably the best time to update to a paid subscription so you don't miss out on my bonus posts during the week. You can also read my weekly excerpt of my Travel Memoir, Sicilian Descent, all about my experiences and family connections to Sicily. And get a new chapter every week.

Thanks for hanging around and putting up with the unpredictable trajectory that is 'A load off my mind.' It's been great to get so much off of my mind, share with you and connect. I can't wait to give you more things to enjoy.

I hate to be long-winded, so I will stop here for now.

I'll keep trying to write something here as often as I can.

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Cheers to you

Mille grazie

with love from Sicily

Rochelle

P.S.: Thanks ever so much for the new subscribers this week. I see you there; thanks so much. It's great to have you here. An extra special kiss to those who got a paid subscription! What a legend!

Please excuse me while I take a moment to introduce myself again to the newly arrived.

Hi, Rochelle Del Borrello here.

I am an Italian-Australian writer who lives in Sicily, Italy.

I work as an ESL teacher and mummy to a demanding young Italian teen.

Over the past decade, I have shared my perspective on daily life in Italy, blogging about my experiences as an expat living in a small Sicilian town.

My work has appeared in various blogs, online magazines and travel guides.

Every week, I'll send you something from Sicily, Italy, which may be a random piece of my mind or a thoughtful reflection, a pill from everyday life in the ancient heart of Italy, from my unique perspective as a writer and expat living on the island.

A Load off My Mind is also about exploring and sharing my other interests. A diary of about everything and maybe also nothing: I begin to talk about the weather, then explore my current mood and gradually lean into other things that come to mind. The newsletter is an experiment in stream-of-consciousness that explores my opinions and thoughts.

I know you are curious to hear all about it.

There is always a story to share.

Thanks,

Talk soon

your friend

rochelle