What makes someone want to pack up their life and move to another country?  Is it the thrill of the journey? Is it the need for change or an adventure? Or is it the feeling that you just don't quite belong where you currently stand?  

I've personally always had this feeling that the place I was born wasn't really where I was meant to be.  Toronto is a great city; don't get me wrong.  It is a city with many opportunities and a city that truly has something for everyone...so why the pull somewhere else?

My father was born in a small town in the province of Cosenza nestled 600 metres above sea level in the Calabrian region of southern Italy.  The history of this village goes back much farther than I can even imagine and is the home of my ancestors.  It has captivated me for as long as I can possibly remember.  It's hard to imagine that I can feel so at home, so enamoured, and so comfortable in a place I’ve only been to three times in my life, a place where I'm not fluent in the language, and a place that is so very different from the fast paced city that I've grown up in my whole life.  Carpanzano is a town that bewitches you as soon as you arrive.  Since starting Calabrisella Mia (my blog) I have met so many people that had ancestors who moved to America from Carpanzano way before my father was even born and they all say the same thing...Carpanzano is special; it is with me always in my thoughts and memories.  How does a small town do that?

La Chiesa di San Felice Martire from LuLu

My first visit to Carpanzano was when I was a little girl just shy of two years old.  It was the first and last time I met my nonno who passed away not long after we returned to Canada.  Many years passed and although I was too young to remember my first visit to Carpanzano the stories I was told growing up and the memories that were shared remained with me.  When I graduated from high school, my father took me with him to Carpanzano.  So much time had passed since my first visit there when I was a toddler, but when I arrived it felt like home.  My father told me stories, showed me pictures, we cried together and laughed together and when I left the second time, it was extremely difficult.  I was old enough to understand that I was saying good-bye to my family and not knowing if and when I would see them again.  For many years after that I felt as though a piece of me was missing.  Carpanzano had a piece of me and I needed to return.  I never imagined that I would be back in Carpanzano after 11 years, without my father.  When my father passed away from cancer I knew I had to return to my family in Italy.  It was a difficult trip, but also a comforting trip.  I learned so much about my father, my family history, and myself. 

 Panoramic view of Carpanzano from LuLu

Since returning, I have realized that the pull to Italy is something I shouldn’t ignore.  It has always been there and won’t just go away.  So, as I write this, I am awaiting my dual citizenship and I am continuing to explore ways of making my way to the bel paese in the hopes that I can make a more permanent move there, a life there, one I will never have to say good-bye to again.  I still couldn’t tell you what it is exactly that makes me want to leave where I stand now to stand somewhere else.  And maybe it will never be explained or understood.  I know there are many out there that feel the same unexplainable pull to do something completely uncommon, out of character, and possibly insane (to some).  But it is what it is and if we choose to pursue it, well that is potentially the thing that great lives are made of!

What are your attraction(s) in life, what or where is it pulling you to? 

Thanks to my buttercup, LuLu from Calabrisella Mia for this heart-warming guest post.  LuLu was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario.  She has spent countless hours writing biographies for artists and bands, and press releases for albums and tours.  She is taking her love for writing to new avenues with her blog inspired by her love for her Italian heritage which she hopes will help perfect her craft and someday release the novel that is tucked away inside of her.

Do you want to guest post here?  Or have a fabulous story you want to share with me and my readers?  Email me and we can see what's cooking!   katiegreenaway(at)katerinafiore(dot)com 

a presto amici!