During this time, people usually begin to contemplate the inevitable return home for the Christmas holidays. The more prudent and organized ones have taken action months in advance and already have their tickets in hand, approved leave from work, and suitcases ready by the door. Many others, however, will need to sit down and figure out how to balance the budget after the long list of expenses: gifts, travel costs, a budget for poker, and expenses for entertainment and parties with old friends. In reality, it's more of a substantial subtraction than an addition. A hefty price to pay to reunite with friends and family who typically go about their lives hundreds of kilometers away but whom we absolutely must embrace again, at least on December 25th.
The emotional cost of returning to the old social and family context, oscillating between satisfaction, emotion, and the immediate desire to leave again, will seem trivial when we realize the economic and tangible outlay to be faced for those few hours of driving, train, or flight that separate you from the ancient nest and your childhood memories. Indeed, the promised measures to contain the cost of flights, transportation, fuel, food, bills, and more or less everything else haven't really achieved all these effects.
Governmental roundtables with companies and businesses are announced frequently. Anti-inflation measures are passionately relaunched. Crusades in defense of the tricolor lifestyle are reiterated but with little success. The Ten Commandments against price hikes, especially concerning transportation, then fail to provide concrete support for students living away from home and expatriates who want to return. For instance, flying to less popular destinations may work if you're on a roulette-style vacation, but if you need to travel from Milan to Naples, landing in Forlì may not solve the problem.
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By the way, a round trip from Milan to Naples between December 20th and 26th, with a spacious luggage for essential goods and formal clothing, currently costs just under 250 euros with Ita, reducing by a third with Ryanair. Staying on the low-cost side, a Milan to Bari flight is around 230 euros, while a Milan to Lamezia flight is 265 euros. Blaming no one, it seems that a certain Algo Ritmo is the one deciding these increases, independently, behind CEOs and boards of directors. A new Monsieur Malaussène, insensitive to the needs of travelers and the difficulties of the people, to whom all the responsibilities are attributed.
So, unless you happen to know Mr. Algo Ritmo's home address and are inclined to pay him a visit to hold him accountable for the cost of his choices regarding our return home, the only option left is to give up the convenient, quick, and gratifying return flight into the arms of our families—tearfully and with our noses pressed against the terminal glass. Instead, opt for milder advice, finding a ride on a train of fellow students that includes a stop not too far from our destination. Alternatively, choose a comfortable overnight bus that smoothly covers a decent number of kilometers to deliver us, disheveled but satisfied, to our native soil.
We'll have plenty of time to craft the best response to the inevitable question, "how was the trip?" Unable to utter abominable curses for the sake of elegance and unwilling to confess the inconvenient truth to avoid seeming like big babies. But fear not, for the return journey may worsen the situation. With the addition of gifts, New Year's tokens, gained kilos from the feast, and even the box with tasty but heavy essentials without which we'll hardly be able to leave home to return home.
Illustration by Gloria Dozio - Acrimònia Magazine
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