ArcaNuova · Calabria · Community · Language school
A School Outing in Our Own Garden
A language class leaves the classroom and finds something harder to teach in a garden: belonging.
Today was the school celebration.
Our little class.
Americans. Swedes. Germans. Argentinian women.
An Italian teacher.
Susanna.
And me.
Today we were not in class.
We were at our place.
The goat was turning on the spit.
Bread had been baked.
Salads stood on the table.
Wine, naturally.
It was not an event.
It was simply a day.
Everyone did something.
Everyone helped.
At some point the teacher came over to me.
She looked around and said it was a very beautiful celebration.
I replied:
“You have your large families and celebrate with forty or fifty people. We simply have you.”
For a moment it was quiet.
Not for long.
But long enough.
Then everything continued.
Eating.
Talking.
Laughing.
Only a little closer.
Perhaps that is the point.
Not talking about community.
Simply making it happen.
Not trying to arrive.
But staying.
And eventually noticing:
You already belong.
