My birthday is on the 9th of September. After one month here, I didn’t really know what to do. I have a really good relationship with everyone here, but considering that I am not the most self-trusting person, I didn’t know whether they would like to do something with me or not. So, nothing was planned, and I thought of having a reading day. But, as I woke up, two of my friends here, Boroka and Alicia, brought me breakfast in bed with a lot of singing!

The day was an office day, and I had a lot of administrative work to do, so I realized late that the president of the association was preparing a birthday meal for me: mushroom risotto with a tiramisu :)))

But the surprises didn’t stop; everybody from my house planned a special night for me. Since I am French, they made a cheese tray with white grapes and fresh bread. We ate it with a delicious homemade soup and an apple crumble. We then selected 3 poems each that we read to each other in turn and explained why we decided to choose them. I was amazingly surprised to realize that they knew me already so well.

For the next day, we planned to go on a hike. One that is very famous on the Amalfi coast: The Path of Gods. Going from Agerola to Positano in the mountains, this hike isn’t so hard if you don’t have small legs like me. Indeed, there are a lot of rocks to go down or up, but it is the most beautiful hike I have done so far. You can go there either from Positano or Agerola, but I will suggest you go from Agerola for the simple reason that at the end of the hike there are a looooot of stairs. If you start in Positano by climbing these stairs, you might be exhausted and not enjoy the hike as much.

Our friend Pedro said that there is a man making cheese somewhere on the path, and after walking a bit, we saw a house that was a bit up, looked a bit abandoned, but we could hear people up, so we just decided to climb. And it was a genius idea. This man and his wife decided to buy the house to preserve local traditions. Outside, he had a big wooden table and a hammock to welcome people walking by. He has a lot of goats and offers you a cheese and honey tray 2 minutes after you arrive.

I didn’t want to leave this amazing and peaceful place, but we still had a lot to walk. I would like to go again before leaving next year, maybe during spring so that it is less hot. Until then, I will try to find a prettier hike if it is even possible.

Written by Laura Clement