Second Meeting With Alessandra

My second meeting with Alessandra went smoothly.  My car had broken down the day before so I was unable to meet in Starbucks.  Instead, we decided to meet in the campus rec center where she has her ESL classes.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about our conversation. She mentioned in our last talk that the university she attended in Italy was built in the thirteenth century, and told me that she would bring pictures with her next time we met.  She ended up bringing more than just photos of her old college, but also brought pictures of all the towns she had lived while in Italy.   She told interesting facts about each particular city.  The city of Naples fascinated me the most.  She told me about the active volcano that towers over the city.  The volcano apparently erupts every two hundred years or so, and it is due to erupt soon.  She expressed concern over family and friends that still live in the city.  She also told me the story of an ancient city near Naples called Pompeii.  The city was destroyed nearly 2000 years ago, and was almost instantly buried with ash.  It wasn’t till recently that scientist discovered the buried city. Alessandra showed me pictures of the ancient ruins that still stood after all these years. 

As an engineer, the longevity of European architecture and design always impresses me.  In our previous talk, Alessandra laughed at the fact that TCU takes pride in being founded in 1873. For her, an establishment founded in the 19^th century is brand new.  I cannot fathom the durability of buildings that last for so long. In America, homes over sixty or seventy years old are either a complete dump, or “historic”. I imagine such homes are the norm in Italy.

Alessandra’s life continues to charm me.  She informed me that she and her husband were soon traveling to California for a wine tour, or something along those lines. Her husband is a sommelier, a word I have never even heard of.  If you haven’t heard of it either, a sommelier is essentially a trained wine expert. Her husband had to attend school for a couple of years to earn the title, and now travels the country and gives talks on wine to other wine enthusiast. Talk about a tough life…

It is becoming apparent that uncovering the “other side” of Alessandra’s life, as I mentioned in my previous blog, will be quite a task. Topics such as a person’s hardships and life struggles are difficult to bring up in light conversation, but my hopes are still high.