Near the end of the semester, I was telling my sociology students about the lessons to be learned from immersion. Just as it worked for language, immersing oneself in another culture was the best – maybe the only – way to actually learn about a people.
Over the years, I had heard our own family stories of Sicily and how my grandparents had come from there. So, it was natural for me to be curious about the Sicilians, and I had long considered immersing myself for a month or two to see what the culture was truly like.
I booked my flights before the semester ended and was at the airport soon after submitting final grades. The traveling took its toll on me, and with jet lag to contend with, I woke early in Hotel Grecu on a quiet street in Mazara del Vallo on the first morning. I spent the da
