It has been a long overdue pause since my last writing. Time here in Italy is much different than it is elsewhere. Having lived in both the U.S. and France I’ve dealt with societies that consider it firm, at times flexible, but existent nonetheless. The specialty of the Italian nature is that time is more or less intangible. It goes by both quickly and quite slowly, for you can never quite grasp it to hold onto it or even see it as it whizzes by. I would compare it to sands in an hourglass but that alone gives it more tangibility than the people here give it credit for. My point being that I have almost reached my fifth month anniversary (or Roma-versary as I say) and it feels both like I arrived yesterday and as if I’ve lived here for many years. I have much to catch my friends and family up on, and in due time, rest assured, it will happen. Time however is what I both love and despise about this place, or rather how the Italian people approach it. I love the listless manner in which people can go about a Sunday afternoon seeming as if they have no cares in the world. And wh
y? Because they don’t. It is a beautiful spectacle to see how people, much less an entire culture, thrive off the essence of being. Not being a profession, or a labeled type of person, someone’s connection to someone else, but just being and enjoying it. However, the American in me can’t stand when I need that careless person to ring up my groceries on said Sunday afternoon. Getting anything done here is frustrating, but in those frustrations I am gradually learning patience and forgiveness for a culture that somehow is preserved in a timeless kind of way. Above all I am learning to be kind to myself here, it seems to help to fit in when everyone else is well versed in this art already.
Away from whimsical description, I’ll give brief updates of my latest news and will continue chronologically with more detail and pictures of each of these adventures.
Spring (February-April)- Made amazing friends, got adjusted to life in Rome. 23rd birthday in Venice for Carnevale, trips to Amsterdam, then spring break in Belgium. Finals came and went. Did very well in my courses and nursed my home sickness to enjoy my new Italian life.
Break (May)- Had a month off of classes. Got employed as an RA in the dorms here, got packages from great friends, had a visit from my best friend Sarah and traveled to Capri. Hired as a private tour guide and most exciting- a full time internship at the UN World Food Program. Summer classes have just begun, I start my internship this week and will be extremely busy. It feels great those to be busy again, I was so happy in San Diego right before I left because I was doing everything I wanted and now I am making comfortably a good life here for me.
Random adventures that will be told: picnics, Easter, chocolate/beer festivals, museums, basketball games, and Lifetime dinner/move nights !
All in all I am very proud of myself for making it through the struggles that inevitably accompany being a stranger in a foreign land. Everyday there are challenges and I thank God, and myself, for figuring them out one day at a time! More to come…
Away from whimsical description, I’ll give brief updates of my latest news and will continue chronologically with more detail and pictures of each of these adventures.
Spring (February-April)- Made amazing friends, got adjusted to life in Rome. 23rd birthday in Venice for Carnevale, trips to Amsterdam, then spring break in Belgium. Finals came and went. Did very well in my courses and nursed my home sickness to enjoy my new Italian life.
Break (May)- Had a month off of classes. Got employed as an RA in the dorms here, got packages from great friends, had a visit from my best friend Sarah and traveled to Capri. Hired as a private tour guide and most exciting- a full time internship at the UN World Food Program. Summer classes have just begun, I start my internship this week and will be extremely busy. It feels great those to be busy again, I was so happy in San Diego right before I left because I was doing everything I wanted and now I am making comfortably a good life here for me.
Random adventures that will be told: picnics, Easter, chocolate/beer festivals, museums, basketball games, and Lifetime dinner/move nights !
All in all I am very proud of myself for making it through the struggles that inevitably accompany being a stranger in a foreign land. Everyday there are challenges and I thank God, and myself, for figuring them out one day at a time! More to come…