Listen and Learn

The first time I ever heard “ciao” was from my mother’s best friend who had just returned from her first experience in Italy. Her descriptions of the food and the culture were mesmerizing at best, but one thing I remember quite vividly was her dramatic singing of “Ciao!” (albeit in the worst tourist-y way possible). She explained that not a day went by without the friendly greeting being sung to her, graciously followed by a toothy grin or generous smile. I didn’t think much of it until I finally had the chance to experience it myself. Now, the word “ciao” is something I hear every single day as I roam the streets of Florence, Italy. The more I hear it, the more I hear myself saying it as well! My piece interprets ciao as a buzzing word, the little ciao’s of others (which are in multiple shades of red: to indicate various conversations and tones) ultimately encapsulating the biggest “ciao” of all. My own!