I grew up in the city but when I was 16 years old we moved out to a farm. From the roof of my parents’ house, you can see to the horizon in almost every direction. I have been in many different houses and apartments in Canada and the US: from millionaires’ mansions to the rental properties I cleaned as to make money as a teen; from Alberta ranches to Chicago apartments.
However in Italy, housing is a completely different story.
I spend most of my time studying but each year I have helped out one day with a Lenten tradition in Italy. The priest, or someone sent by him (me, for example), will go door to door offering every family the opportunity to have their house blessed. Last year I was in a gated community but this year I went to a middle class area of Rome itself: where teachers, doctors, and policemen live.
Right off the main drag lies a narrow cul-de-sac. A dozen buildings 3 or 4 floors tall line the street with the gates on either side leaving no room for on-street parking. The real difference comes, however, when you go inside.
Each apartment feels so small. A family room, a bedroom and a kitchen is all that they usually contain although a few are big enough for a second bedroom or a dining room. Space for outside plants can usually be measured in square inches not square feet. The way they close off each space makes them seem even smaller than American apartments.
When I cleaned apartments as a kid, there was a cul-de-sac with 5 apartment blocks that were identical; even each floor was the same with 4 two-bedroom and 2 one-bedroom apartments. Here each building is completely different, each apartment seems to be created on a completely new floor plan.
They would probably think that an 1800 sq. ft., three-bedroom house – normal for me – is strange. This is their life. I feel privileged that they let me enter it, if only for 10 minutes. It is so easy for us to get caught up in our own world and not see the world of those around us but such experiences open my eyes to how others live, and give me that many more people to pray for.
