Mi dispiace, I have no idea how to make a fancy shmancy title...thing. I was clearly not granted the gift the rest of my family seemed to have naturally inherited - that of understanding technology/electronics/these fancy gadgets they called computers. So, unfortunamente, all you have is my writing. Unless someone knows how to do pretty things, in which case I will hand over my oh so secret password.
This weekend was laid back. It was comfortable, and it was much slower than last weekend's frantic Rome activities.
Friday night we went to Full Up, which was an actual Italian club, with actual Italians, as opposed to Space Elettronica. Space = trashy American club. It was a blast, but hardly authentic in the sense that the only Italians there were skeazy guys trying to hook up with drunk American girls. And since I heard many of my classmates say (or should I say slur?) on Monday at another club we went to (Yab), 'I just wanna make out with an Italian', it sounds like they are right in assuming its an appropriate place to be for such a venture. Therefore, staying away from trashy clubs. Since of course, I am just so very classy. (please note intense sarcasm)
Stef, Nathan, and I made it into the VIP section of the club, and VIP it was indeed. Point being: if you are sneaky enough and your inhibitions are lowered enough to not consider the risk of being thrown out of said club, you too can get into the VIP section. We danced, and danced...and danced. And at 4am, decided it was an appropriate time to head home. Arm in arm and giddy from the night.
Saturday and Sunday meld together into the kind of days I dream about having on a regular basis. The kind of day where you do nothing. Sit outside and read in the Italian sun outside the city on your terrace, go inside, cook (scrambled eggs with red pepper, red onion, yellow pepper, cream cheese, other cheese...yum), sit in your sunny room and read some more, crawl out of your room to make more food (a salame panino and some pasta), mock MTV and the 20 songs they seem to have on repeat, retreat into your roommates room...watch the new episode of Lost, then resume reading, only to cap off the night by watching The Dark Knight on your roommates computer.
Sunday passed in very much the same fashion. I finished 3 or 4 books this weekend. Random ones left over from previous students - too big and unnecessary to bring home with them. I am sure it's hard to pack 3 months of exploration and experiences into 2 suitcases that already hold a lot of your past.
The glorious revelation we all made on Saturday and Sunday was that to experience the Italian way of life...we should continue doing exactly what we were doing: nothing. Il dolce far niente - the sweet doing nothing. And what a sweet revelation that was. No one was being judged for being 'unproductive', you didn't have to be anywhere, you didn't have to do anything. You could just be.
Today in between my classes I'm making the short walk over to the Uffizi to sketch some Botticelli (no big), find paninis with Jen and Ingrid, and going to my last class of the day.
I am learning the Italian way. The moving more slowly, taking my time to talk to the man at Cafe Side by Side, where we go every morning, enjoying life as it is in each moment. It's not hectic or fast paced, I don't feel like I'm getting an ulcer all the time, nor am I hyperventilating or having anxiety attacks like I was back home.
When I told my parents how badly I needed this, how badly I wanted this, I don't think even I realized how big that need was.
This is a glorious, golden opportunity. It's an escape. From the stress that I felt in Minneapolis, the pressure I was constantly under. It's my mental leave of absence from the realm of reality that I know I will be ready to re-enter in 2 and a half months.
I miss all of you. You're here with me though. When I laugh at something, I'm thinking of how you would laugh too. When I am appreciating gelato, I know how we would enjoy it together. When I'm doing nothing or a million new things at once, I'm glad that I still have all of you.
Love.
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Hi Sara -
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you're blogging! Your entries are bringing back all sorts of memories for me. It was 10 years ago I took my trip around the world. I spent 5 weeks in Italy, some of it in Florence, and absolutely loved it.
Re: the things you miss... I was amazed at how homesick I got on the trip. What I missed most:
* conversation. I traveled solo, and would get starved for real conversation in English. This grew more intense in more "foreign" countries like Turkey.
* reading. I traveled with only a carry-on bag, and simply didn't have room for any books. I was so greatful for the lending libraries I'd find along the way. But *man* did I end up reading some trash!
* music. No iPods back then. I brought a portable CD player and a wallet of CDs, but it became to cumbersome and I sent it home along with a few other bulky things to make room for other necessities.
I'd love to hear about school - what classes are you taking? Are they all in Italian?
Are you wandering around Florence a lot? I was amused to find there were 3 Davids.
I don't know if it's the right season for it, but if you can find any funghi i porcini, don't pass it up. It's absolutely scrumptious.
Keep journaling, and keep blogging. I kept an extensive journal on my trip, and I'm so glad to have it to come back to years later!
Take care, and have a blast!