My last 2 weeks in Cagliari went by so fast just like the old saying ‘Time flies when you’re having fun!’ my whole 21 days in Cagliari just flew right by! I feel like it was only yesterday when I arrived and unpacked my bags and now it’s time to leave already.
I was lucky I had the chance to see Cagliari’s traditional festival Sant’ Efisio during my 21 day stay which happens only once every year in the city square. Little kids and adults in beautiful costumes and others on horses paraded around the town while singing praises for their Saint. All of their costumes are handmade to the tiniest detail which makes them so beautiful and expensive that one set costs around 2,500 Euros! Each town is represented by its own group and has their own style of costume but all of them were so unique and detailed and colorful all together.
Another festival I experienced was the ‘Sa dia de S’olle e su Liori’ or translated in English is ‘the oil and bread festival’ in Escolca, a very small village about 2 hours from Cagliari with the population of only 600, there were probably more sheep then there were people! I stayed in Escolca for 2 nights with a very a good friend of mine, Valeria, her family was very welcoming and are the sweetest and kindest people I’ve ever met, I felt so at home!
When they found out that I’ve never seen an olive tree before they brought me to their olive plantation which had over a hundred olive trees, but too bad the olives were not in bloom yet I would’ve loved to taste them! They also had a huge vineyard which unfortunately was also not in season yet but I got to taste her grandfather’s homemade organic wine made from their own harvested grapes and it was delicious! Aside from all of that they also had a lemon tree, a cherry tree, a walnut tree, a prune tree and lots of different vegetables growing in their home garden; we were eating so fresh and healthy it was amazing. Not only was the food so delicious but the culture and the scenery were so beautiful in the countryside of Escolca I didn’t want to leave!
But we had to head back to the city of Cagliari to prepare for the International cooking competition that we joined in. Every other Monday exchange students from different parts of Europe come to Major restaurant to participate in this cooking event where representatives from each country compete with each other to see who can cook the most delicious food from their countries’ own traditional cuisine. But this time there was a twist to it since 2 countries from Asia will be joining, Indonesia and the Philippines. And guess what my partner and I prepared? The classic Filipino pork adobo of course, which won us the competition against the yummy chicken satay and rice from Indonesia and the sweet gelato dessert from Lithuania by 2 points!
This has been one of the best experiences in my life and I learned so much during my short stay here in Italy but the learning’s doesn’t stop there, this is a long term project and I look forward to be working with TDM2000 International again sometime in the near future. Cagliari has captured my heart and I will definitely come back soon. <3
Tara Lee Parvus, Boracay Island, Philippines
EuroAsi job shadower