The trip to Sicily was a very rewarding opportunity. We received the true TGS experience on this trip while we visited Pompeii, ate world-famous pizza in Naples, relaxed on the beautiful beach of Isola Bella, tasted granita and arancini, slept on an overnight ferry to Catania, and hiked up not one, but two volcanoes; Vesuvius and Etna. After working outdoors under the Sicilian sun for a couple days, we went up Mt. Etna for a surprisingly different perspective. We were told that it would be colder on the mountain, but I was not expecting there to be piles of snow nor was I prepared for the freezing rain (not hail) storm during our descent.
Those were a few added fun activities that we enjoyed, but between these we worked with Travel for Teens and stayed at Biancavilla, a community house open to foster children with difficult backgrounds. Run by a single couple with heir own three kids, Biancavilla will take all of the volunteers that it can get in order to continue to help others. Within three days of work, we cleared a path up a hill, cut and tie bunches of lavender for selling and storing clothes, helped out in the kitchen for a catering job for 800 people, washed crates for the wine, learned to make our own Sicilian pizza, cleaned the donkey stables, walked and fed the donkeys, and decorated the walls with mosaics of suns, a hot air balloon, and Gary from Spongebob. Our big project on top of these tasks was to build a compost bin as a team. After drawing and agreeing on a design, we used recycled wood palettes to build three boxes. Although it did not seem like we were helping much, our small impact on the community made me realize that nothing can prosper without a network of help from others.
Looking back on the trip, we were all exhausted after the long term, but continued to work hard and enjoy our time together. Of course the delicious food and puppy running around also helped to lift our mood and motivate us a bit more.
