Summer of Surrender

This summer, I spent just under four months working and backpacking around Italy teaching English at summer camps. I'm not sure where it germinated, but somewhere around week four I realised that myself and those around me were using the word 'surrender' a lot, and that this word was starting to become the catchphrase of the summer. Here is a list of everything I found myself surrendering to over the course of my travels.

Surrender to the nerves and excitement of an upcoming trip... You have no idea what the next four months holds in store...

Surrender the little voice that is telling you to stay. You were born in the digital era – you’re never really that far from home.

Surrender all of the non-essential stuff that won’t quite fit in your 35ltr rucksack. You’ll only end up dumping it somewhere along the way.

Surrender to the difficulty of watching your Mum put on a brave face as she stands on the station platform while you put her through the stress of watching you go into the unknown again. Sorry Mum.

Surrender to a similar feeling when your partner takes you to the airport and you wade resolutely through security while he walks in the opposite direction.

Surrender to the grin that erupts all over your face as you leg it through arrivals to the coach that’s waiting to take you to your final destination. (Or starting point??)

Surrender to the satisfaction of having successfully navigated unknown streets to find your room. So you made a doofus of yourself finding the right building, but you’re here and it’s always better to ask, right?

Surrender to the exhaustion.

Surrender to the weather. Hot or cold, you’ll acclimatise.

Surrender to the embarrassment of asking for help on the metro and realising you were putting the ticket in the wrong way. You’re a tourist.

Surrender to all of the working and living conditions you find yourself in over the summer.* They will all ultimately make you more adaptable, more flexible, and a lot more resourceful.

*unless they’re really awful. Then speak up.

Surrender to the Glad Game,* and play it every day without fail.

*see Pollyanna

Surrender when a child in your class is sick from the heat and has to be taken away in an ambulance. Surrender to the guilt. Surrender to the helplessness. You gave them breaks, you made sure they were hydrated – his mother didn’t tell us he suffered from low blood pressure.

Surrender to the full spectrum of your emotions. One day you will laugh until you choke, the next you will cry until your eyes itch. It’s all part of the game.

Surrender to the fact that you will have no control whatsoever over your life for the next four months. It’s liberating.

Surrender your time-keeping device whenever possible.

Surrender to generosity.

Surrender to the size of Italian vodka measures. It will just help you tear up that dance-floor even more enthusiastically!

Surrender to the moment.

Surrender when your host families take five hours to plan an activity together. Find a chair, take a seat, they’re Italian.

Surrender to the fact that mosquitoes ADORE you.

Surrender, occasionally, your own individual desires if they are not in accordance with the rest of the group. Don’t sacrifice all your plans, but it’s good to realise that some things are just intended for next time.

Surrender to JOY.

Surrender to the consequences of your mistakes. All of them.

Surrender to the fact that situations arise when you least expect them.

Surrender to the inevitable.

Surrender to the heat.

Surrender to the discomfort.

Surrender to the pleasure of air conditioning and a cold shower after a long, sweaty day at work.

Surrender to embarrassing situations.

Surrender to the bliss of stepping into a cold shower after ten hours of relentless SWEAT.

Surrender to dictatorial camp directors. They’re in the minority and there’s really nothing you can do about them.

Surrender to exhaustion in all its manifestations.

Surrender to changed plans.

Surrender when people let you down.

Surrender to being pushed out of your comfort zone.

SURRENDER when the universe proves to you YET AGAIN, that THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON.

Surrender to the bliss of tucking into a really, really good pizza. There is honestly nothing better in this world than a perfectly done pizza. Honestly. (You think you’ll enjoy that oven-bake-from-frozen supermarket trash after you’ve eaten pizza at a buffalo mozzarella festival in Naples? You’ve been spoiled for life darling. Surrender to it.)

Surrender to the fact that you’ve become an insufferable food snob.

Surrender your expectations.