SI MONTHLY NEWS June 2006 Travel and host reports
From SI Exco News
Sentierinsieme/Pathways together 05
Alanna, 18 yrs, “full of adventure and imagination”
I'm sitting here at home in Australia, a world away from
Italy, contemplating how to put into words an experience
so unforgettable and beautiful there seems to be no
words fit for it. A thousand pages would not paint the
picture of that sunset, or recreate the laughter and
conversation rolling up and down the Alpine slopes as
we walked, or describe the crazy adventures or impress
upon you the friendships that grew from nowhere... But
as a promise to my dear friend Luigi, and as an honour
for such a privilege, I will do my best!
Sentierinsieme 2005... Where do I begin! Well, I arrived
in Milan, my first time in Italy, my first trip in Europe, 18
years old and full of "adventure" and "imagination" - and
nerves! Of course I knew no-one, but that soon changed
dramatically. I traveled in our Turkish friends' car to our
weekend meeting place in Valsesia, Ömer and Ender I
haven't forgotten you! Arriving late afternoon, riverside
buzzed with people from every corner of the globe,
introductions and exclamations of surprise and warm
hugs and chatter circulating in at least five languages...
a picture of Servas at its best!
As an Australian I have never been in an environment
where English is not the main language, and I guess I
took that for granted. To be involved in this group where
language barriers are broken down and people manage
to communicate outside words taught me something
about people: that there is a connection beyond words
and conversation, deeper than cultural differences, that
allows us to build friendships, relationships which hold
us together and really do make the world go round.
Our big group (a lot of people from ever age!) for the
weekend explored the surrounding area, eating and
sharing lunch on top of mountains - visiting churches
older than my country's colonisation - arriving back in
the evening to cool off in the emerald green waterhole,
diving off the rock faces five at a time! Dinner was
accompanied by animate conversations and life stories
again in all languages, and followed by information/
instruction sessions in French, Italian, German... Can
anyone tell me what's going on? - New Years
Resolution: learn another language!
Sunday 18th July 2005: A slightly smaller group
congregates in Alagna as the starting place for our trek.
Half of us will go 'harder' and the other half 'softer' but to
me it doesn't matter where I go in these mountains as
long as it is with good company, fresh air, and plenty of
adventure! Our first day was only a short walk, but I'm
sure Luigi, our Turkish boys, and Lena and Magdalena
will all agree it was quite a crazy adventure! "Where is
Ender? I don't know, where is Mama? I don't know, why
do you have their packs? I don't know I thought they
were with you!...oh no..."
Cecile and I slept in a tent with a postcard view of snowcapped
Monte Rossa, after a night of 'polenta polenta
polenta', hot mugs of tea and singing. Monday provided
a stunning morning, but by noon when we reached the
top of our pass the fog rolled in and the rain began. Out
came the ponchos, and what a comic picture we all were stumbling in a line like brightly coloured
hunchbacks! But all these little battles and adventures
and experiences only served to bring the whole group
together. And the warm fire waiting for us was well
worth it! And the food... mmmm!
The rest of the week blessed us with divine weather,
plenty of mountain cheese (and polenta... never again!)
a few blisters, lots of laughter, conversation for the mind
and for the soul, and countless memories to pass on to
the grandchildren!
Some of us continued on to Cinque Terre after very
generously being hosted by Servas locals, and another
addition to our group made us span four of the world's
continents! Blessing came from Africa and definitely
added a spirit to the trip. Europe, Africa, North America
and Australia! Quite an extraordinary event in all
aspects! The weather despite being very hot was
beautiful, and again full of adventures and discoveries
and singing (by torchlight on a moonlit stroll down the
mountain!) and sunsets now ingrained in my memory.
There is so much more I could write about, but I will
leave you here with this small taste of Sentierinsieme
2005 from the 'youngest and furthest' member's eyes.
To all those who I shared these experiences with, I wish
you all the best, to all my 'adoptive parents', and my
dear friends and to those who showed me some of the
world through bigger eyes, bless you and Molte grazie!
Alanna Proud, Armidale, Australia
TRIP REPORT 2006 SPAIN/ANDALUCIA & IRELAND
I recently travelled in both Andalucia and Ireland.
SPAIN
Andalucia was decked out in springtime flowers and
pleasantly hot in the midday sun. The days spilled over
into long warm evenings, perfect for cafes and street
life. A SERVAS family in the Sierra Nevada welcomed
me with classic SERVAS hospitality. Marisa and I went
for a long walk, and watched the sun set behind blue
mountain peaks. We then cooked the evening meal
together. One highlight was a huge cured ham clamped
upright on a wooden platter. A deep valley had been
carved in its top surface as the family sliced off ham for
each evening meal. Their daughter arrived from Madrid,
and neighbours from across the valley.
Glasses of red wine in hand, we discussed Servas,
Spain, summer gardens, bad droughts, Belgium, and
many other topics. They are expanding the house using
traditional methods, with environmentally friendly
modifications. The architect’s drawings show that they
will have a lovely abode when all the labours are
finished.
IRELAND
In Ireland, I was treated to 6 days of sun and only one of
rain. The landscape and culture could not be more
different from Andalusia, but the SERVAS hospitality
was the same. I stayed with one host I met last year
while on the SERVAS Sentieri Insiemi hike in Italy, and
then with another host further north in Westport. We
took walks, cooked together and went to pubs for
Guiness and music. We compared lives, travels,
political views and future plans, and profited greatly
from one another’s company. One memorable evening
in Westport, my host and I attended a talk on “Culture,
Politics, Democracy and Sustainability”, dropped in at
two different pubs to share drinks with friends and
locals, spent 10 minutes at a dance party give by
someone’s relative, and then an hour at a house party in
honour of a recent graduation. We tumbled into bed at 2
am, tired but well fed, well entertained, well informed
and full of well being. SERVAS continues to offer me a
window on other cultures, the friendship of “strangers”,
and the sense that warm-hearted people who care for
their fellow man and for this planet are not a rarity.
Vive SERVAS!
Paola de Rose,, Brussels, Belgium.
Our experience with Servas
Lima, Peru, summer 2005
In 2003 we travelled for the first time with Servas. At
that moment Bram studied in Wien (Austria). We went
to the mountains and visited some Servas Families.
Discovering Servas was for us as discovering “another world”, a world with very hospitable people. We still remember the very interesting discussions we had.
In 2005 when we decided to travel to Peru, it was the most normal thing for us to contact the national secretary of Servas Peru to inform him about our arrival. We were very surprised when the national secretary, Fernado Ugarte, invited us to stay with his family. The hospitality of the Peruvians is very extraordinary: the secretary Fernando and his brother came to the airport and brought us to there place. We got a very warm welcome and from the first moment we felt at home.
The destination Peru and the arrival at Lima were very special for us: we travelled to Peru with the intention to work for two months as volunteers in the north of Peru. Bram and I as well are grown up as ‘ecologists’. To work as volunteers in an ecological organization has always been a dream: we wanted to see and experience the ecological reality at the other end of the world. No doubt that the reality is completely different of the ideas we had. The struggle of thousand of people, of so many organizations, of engineers,… against polution produced by mine activities, made us conscious of the fact that international coorporation is very important. When we were back in Belgium we were convinced that the biodiversity of Peru is very important for the the rest of the world and it has to be protected.
The story of the two months we spent in Jaén (Cajamarca) is a a complete other story. (Have a look at www.vima.org.pe)
Before leaving Peru we have lived two months with hard work, with so many interesting experiences, although sometimes very cruel (as there were the killed people during the pacific protests).
The three days we spent with the family of Fernado Ugarte were very welcome and important, it were days of adaptation and aclimatisation.
The family Ugarte introduced us to the Peruvian culture. With Fernando, the national secretary, we dicovered interesting and special parts of Lima. Without him we’ll never have had the chance to know them.
These are the very important moments that only Servas can give you: discover together with the host the real city, the real country you are travelling in.
Thank you!
Ilona Plichart and Bram Moeskops, Belgium
