)(( hannah mello ))(

tent-side. camping in santorini, greece.

Fira, Santorini: THE ITALIAN <> PIERRE
This story is my favorite. On my second night at the Fira, Santorni Campground, I was recharging my camera battery in the bathroom when I noticed a kind-eyed boy eyeing me. He was recharging his camera battery too. He asked to take a picture of me—to “check if his camera was charged” :). We got to talking about photography. His name is Pierre-guiseppe from Naples, Italy. He is majoring in Political Science & Sociology at the university there. He is a musician, artist, poet, photographer, and philosopher. However, he would not admit to any of those titles. :) He spoke wonderful conversational English but didn’t understand or speak fluently. After 20 minutes of amazing conversation about photography & the arts as an expression of the soul, he said goodbye & that he was going out to get a beer. Five minutes later, he returned, with 2 beers, saying: “I was going out and then I realized that I would much rather stay & talk to you.” :) We ended up spending 4 HOURS together, walking to go see the stars and talking about our life philosophies, our life frustrations, our favorite things in life, our families, and our dreams. At one point, he showed me photographs form his travels. One of them was a beautiful moment captured-- a boat in the distance, a young child, and a couple. I asked him to “tell me the story” of the people in the photograph & the boat. He objected at first because his English wasn’t that good—but I pressed him… encouraging him to think first in his head in Italian and then try to translate. He then told me THE MOST POETIC & RAPTUROUS descriptions of each element. I wish I could have recorded them to keep. At one point, I asked him to teach me Italian. He proceeded to teach me word by word: “You are a very interesting person.” :) By the time I got to “interesting”, I understood. :) SUCH A GIFT of connection with him!!! Another favorite moment was when I asked him to share with me poetry. He proceeded to translate a poem he had written about the horizon in Greece— how it doesn’t exist. The sea & the sky are one. It’s one gradient of color. Yep. It’s completely true of Greece, by the way. :) After four hours of walking, we ended up back at the campground. After sitting there for a while, I asked him if he had his guitar with me. He did. He then proceeded to play Italian jazz guitar & sing—such beautiful songs… so peaceful & melancholy… my favorite. He then asked me: “Do you like Coldplay?” (RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING! They are one of my favorite bands, hands down.) And then he played me “Trouble” & “Sparks” – asking me what the word “sparks” meant in English! :) :) :) When we left each other, he kissed me on both cheeks, promising we would see each other in the next few days (which we did) and, based on the richness of our conversation & how parallel our lives are said to me: “Hannah, you’re not alone. You’re not alone.” WHAT THE HECK?!!! :) Yep, we exchanged emails & book and song recommendations. :)

posted by )(( hannah mello ))( @ 3:45 AM