Sehnsucht Avventura

by Samanta Jovanovic (Canada)

I didn't expect to find Italy

Atop the steepest bridge I had ever traversed, firmly gripping the steering wheel of my white FIAT cinquecento rental, I slowly released the clutch, inching forward in bumper to bumper traffic on a hot August afternoon. Please God, don’t let this amazing adventure end in a fender bender. Unlikely catch my flight out of Punta Raisi, I relaxed into watching my traffic neighbors. Tiny cars filled with bronzed beach goers. Where is everyone going? Am I missing something even more amazing than everything I just experienced on this beautiful island? I arrived in Palermo by accident. My love for Sicily became a choice. It is the Mediterranean’s largest, most colorful, and most vivacious island after all! Raised in a small Austrian town, I was immediately smitten with that intriguing country only 900 kilometers south of us! Studying Latin from the age of eleven, I was determined it would one day be useful on my dream trip to Italy. Heartbroken by a family decision to relocate to a country located 7,000 kilometers away, those early years provided the fondest memories and eventual feelings of Sehnsucht; A German word to describe longing or yearning that loosely translates to the addiction to see. Ten years on, life changed. My family faced turmoil and I watched my sister become a mother. I picked up a few degrees and a very Canadian boyfriend along the way. Feeling conflicted about my relationship and a path of marketable skills and prestige, now was the time to give myself the experience of Italy I had always envisioned. It was time to follow my own choices and my intuition. The mission was simple. Fulfill the drive to explore Italy, read ancient Latin writing, and eat cannoli in its birthplace! I contacted an old family friend and my sister’s former love interest that was now living in Milan and offered to meet in Sicily, promising “Sicily is an Avventuraaa! Its food is Europe’s best. The people are passionate!” Driving 264 kilometers eastward from Palermo to Catania, I was enthralled by shades of turquoise, arid hills, and olive trees. Arriving to meet my family friend, we sat outdoors indulging in Frutti di Mare pasta in the heart of the Piazza Duomo. He and my sister were deeply in love during their younger years. Despite my initial reluctance to share her news, he mustered the kindest words of congratulations on her new chapter with noticeable woe. “She is a remarkable woman. I am very happy for her…Should we have dessert?” Indulging in crunchy, pistachio dipped cannoli we carried on with talk about the future. I continued eastward to Taormina and the glistening beach town of Mazzaro. Onward to Agrigento and the ancient Valley of the Temples, I was proud to discover that all that Latin held up. The Sehnsucht was gone. Delighted to check into my flight on time and granting myself one more Panini and Pellegrino at the gate, I contemplated the road awaiting me back home. “Un Pellegrino e un panino per favore” was met by question that would change my life forever. “American?” I turned to meet the most generous, affectionate, and handsome man I had ever met in my life; a fellow impulsive traveler who muted all of the noise. I was immediately smitten. Eight years onward, I know that I had found Sicily’s greatest attraction. I remain grateful for prior years of Sehnsucht as it gave me the greatest Avventura of my life.