There’s no place like Naples

The last time I wrote, I was planning to stay in Naples for just a few days before moving on to Venice. Well, those plans have changed. A lot! I’m still in Naples and I must confess that this is largely due to my “friend” Renato.

After returning from Stromboli, I knew I wanted to spend more time with him, so I’ll remain in Naples for a while. A long while, possibly. I have found a job at a hostel in the city! The first week is a trial run, but if both parties are happy with the results, then I can work here all summer.

In exchange for a bed, breakfast, free laundry and some spending money, I set out and clean up breakfast every morning and socialize with the guests in the evening. I only get the afternoons off and one day a week, but essentially I’ll be living in Naples for free.

I’ve only been working for two days (and suffering from a cold), but so far I am having fun. The turnover in the hostel is pretty quick ? travelers tend to stay just a few nights before moving on to the next big city. I’ve met people from all over the world in such a short period of time. Often we have visited the same places and are able to compare notes, which is a great way to both remember your favorite places and to vent about your least favorite.

The hostel is a great place. It’s clean, safe and staffed by very nice people. Basically, only my boss speaks English, so I have been learning a lot of Italian words from the woman who trains me in the morning. I also bought an Italian/English dictionary and a book on Italian grammar to help me through the rough spots.

Today I went to the supermarket in search of peanut butter. After looking in the jelly aisle, and just about every other place I thought was logical, I went to ask a clerk. He rolled his eyes as I pulled out my trusty dictionary, but repeating the words “peanut butter” wasn’t getting us anywhere. And how do you gesture peanut butter? At any rate, the dictionary worked and he took me to the nut aisle where there were six mini jars of Skippy. Hallelujah!

Though I really like the place I’m staying right now, I miss the hostel I first stayed in after returning to Naples. It’s near Piazza Garibaldi and the train station, which would make a lot of people nervous because it’s an area notorious for its crime (mostly theft). However, I love this area.

There is a great market that begins setting up at about 6 a.m. They sell all kinds of things, but specialize in clothing, and all for just a few euros. My first hostel overlooks this market and every morning I would wake up to the call of the vendors announcing the prices of their goods. One vendor would always start the morning off at eight euros for anything on his table, but would eventually drop the price to five euros by dramatically tossing handfuls of clothing up into the air and ripping down the sign advertising the old price.

In the afternoon, the vendors have to pack up and go, but they leave lots of trash behind. Once they are gone, however, street sweepers come through to clean it up (though they tend to miss a lot). Finally, in the early evening, the street becomes quiet and cars are able to park there for the night, but it all begins again in the morning. To me, this is just another great example of Naples’ vibrant and ever-transforming nature!

Of course, the city can have some very visible downsides. The kind that stand right in your face.

When Renato and I were out a few days ago, we sat down at a piazza to enjoy some shade. We weren’t there very long when a young gypsy boy came up to ask for money. He couldn’t have been more than 8 years old and he spoke at a rapid pace, repeating himself over and over again. Though he had some change in his hand, it was not enough for the panino he wanted, so Renato gave him some money thinking that this would be enough to get him to move on. However, with panino money in hand, the boy didn’t budge. Instead he began to rattle on about how his father had sent him over to ask for a cigarette too. At this point the boy was speaking so rapidly that I couldn’t understand everything he was saying, but it was clear that he was repeating himself. In return Renato asked him something about his father before reluctantly giving up a cigarette. Renato told me afterward that he was asking whether the cigarette was really for the boy’s father or for the boy, to which the boy responded, “I’m going to keep asking you until you give me what I want.”

Of course, as the boy wandered off, it was clear that there was no father waiting in the wings, and Renato felt bad about the whole thing. This is all just part of life in Naples. You are always negotiating with people. Negotiating for space on the sidewalk, the road or the bus. For goods and for peace and quiet.

Right now, I’m going to take this week-long test drive at the hostel and see if it’s what I want to do for the next couple of months. No plans are set at the moment so who knows what I will have to report next.

Until then, ciao raggazzi!