(3/3) “During that first year I lived in a small town in the...

(3/3)  “During that first year I lived in a small town in the deep south of Italy.  I’d sell toilet paper and tissue on the street to survive.  Everyone told me that I needed to get to Rome.  I recognized the name ‘Rome’ because I cheered for the football team when I was a kid.  So I began hanging around the bus stop.  Eventually I met an old man who spoke Arabic, and he helped me get a ticket.  He gave me biscuits and food and sent me on my way.  When I arrived in the city, I was overwhelmed.  It was so busy.  I went to the police station because I had nothing.  And they were very kind to me.  They brought me an Arabic speaker.  They connected me with a foster family, and they were very good people.  They gave me a home.  They taught me Italian.  They helped me go to tourism school.  I’ve been in Italy for six years now.  I’ve got a good job in a kitchen.  My goal is to be a chef, and every day I’m learning something new.  My mother is very happy now.  She knows I’m following my dreams.  She calls me her ‘little chef.’  Every time we talk I give her a different recipe.  And I send a lot of money back home.  The only thing that drives me crazy is she won’t stop working.  She tells me that she’s using the money to build a house for me.”
(Rome, Italy)