Exalting the Forgotten

Brain drain, unemployment, poor railway systems, organized crime... things that are plaguing this land: this beautifully fruitful but somehow seemingly neglected land. This region full of beauty, history, agriculture, traditions, and so much more. This beautiful Calabria that doesn't receive so many tourists because people only seem to know about Tuscany... Today at the Liceo (high school), after I finished teaching for the day, there was a discussion panel for a book written about influential people from Calabria. The architect, Giuseppe Samà, highlighted in the book was there alongside the author and the mayor of Paola. They touched on topics that really spoke to me: the uplifting of Calabria, the difficulty of leaving behind one's home, the need to educate the world about the good aspects of Calabria and how to combat a region's “brutta figura” as perceived around the world. This architect comes from the nearby town of Fuscaldo and has made it big in the Big Apple.

But after talking with some of my students directly following this panel, I began to see some faults in what he was saying about having to go find your success out in the world. One very bright student told me that he didn't agree with this successful expat. This student told me that yes, while it is important to get an education and to travel, it's best to come back to Calabria, to make this place better while being here, not just spreading the good word while abroad.

I felt that. I felt that deep within. I felt his pain and sadness that there are fewer and fewer opportunities for young people like him here. I felt his internal struggle as he told me that he wants to stay here in Calabria and to create the improved land that it one day could be, if only more people would actually stick around. He told me that he wants to be a public figure here. He wants to advocate for the betterment of Paola and raise up this incredibly wonderful land.

After living here for a few months, I have this strong love for this region and the people here. My landlady has mentioned to me that she feels so proud and honored that I adore this small town. It makes her look at Paola from a different point of view and know that a foreigner loves living here. I, too, wish to do my part to make this the Calabria poets wrote about-- some have said that God wanted to make it the most beautiful land in the world, but the Devil got his hands on it. I feel for these brilliant young minds who desperately want to remain in their region, but feel as though the only opportunities for success are to be found outside these gorgeous borders.

So yes, it is important to experience other cultures, to go abroad, to see how other places and governments do things well. But it's equally as important to bring those aspects back home. To take what you've learned and apply that to the world around you. Not every one can move to a big, fancy new city and make it their own. We need people to raise up their homelands, to appreciate where the come from, and to improve the world around them. I am proud of my students who acknowledge their difficult situation and who are trying to deal with it in the best way possible. I sincerely hope that my presence here and my blatant love for Paola and Calabria in general makes them feel proud to call themselves Calabresi. I hope they continue to live life with welcoming hearts and determined minds. I hope that the students I have the pleasure of teaching (and also learning from) know that I understand the challenges they face and that I will forever be cheering them on.