COMMUNITY
Observing families talking in their own tongue, all somehow similar and yet beautifully unique, brings me a small amount of comfort.
MEDITERRANEAN DREAMS: TRUTH AND FICTION JAMIE PETRAGNANI When you hear Mediterranean, what do you think? “Olives. Nothing but olives for miles and miles. Maybe a villa in the middle of it all, with no doors, obviously. All the doors have been replaced with gossamer curtains. Very romantic.” The 21-year-old woman, never having been outside the USA, has her idea of the Mediterranean: romantic, fields full of olives stretch out until the ends of the Earth. The air is warm, a light breeze drifts by, and not a cloud can be found in the sky. Perhaps new lovers meet by chance and fall in love at first sight. Very storybook. When you hear Mediterranean, what do you think? “Well Greece of course! If I think of the Mediterranean, I’m going back home. I want to be out on the boat, the smell of salt in the air and the wind on my face, maybe taking a dip into the water. Every shade of blue surrounding me. Its beautiful.” The 57-year-old Greek man, raised outside of Athens, returns home with his idea of the Mediterranean. He disappears into the ocean, sinking beneath the clear water to become one with the sea. The smell of the salt sinks deep into his skin as all the blue washes across his face. Very comforting.
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FALL-WINTER 2015|16
When you hear Mediterranean, what do you think? “My baby; I took her when she was just 14. Brilliant, watching your child experience everything for the first time. She loved Italy: the grand nature of the buildings, the people always moving about, walking through history everywhere you go. We have that in London, but not like they do in Italy.” The 45-year-old mother, British in both nature and nationality, lives through her child to experience the Mediterranean. She watches ancient ruins, cracked cathedrals, and worn out streets come to life through the power of a young mind. The conflicts of the Crusades or the politics of the Catholic Church unfold before her, but with the innocent touch of a child. New and thriving with life. Very exciting. Each of them holds a different view. Each is filled with personal experience, emotion, and a wide idea of what “Mediterranean” means. They are all convinced they’re correct, that they have cracked the code. Each scene is true but not fact. A wide world of Mediterranean waits to be discovered, craving attention. Like an iceberg, where what has been discovered is only the tip compared to what floats beneath the surface. Very enticing.