diverCITY.

So here I am... back in the country where I first learned how delicious ice cream REALLY was; the country where I learned that even if you're only within a few miles of your destination at 1pm in a small town that the buses WILL NOT be running because people like their naps. The country where I could twirl in a grassy knoll & DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING & it's ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. The country where I can eat pizza, pasta & panini ALL DAY LONG & it's all "va bene." The country where I discovered one of my PASSIONS!

I am back & hopefully this time I can do all those things above & come back speaking Italish!? Wishful thinking? Spero che no.

Anyway... although I have done the Italy thing before (oh yeah! Did I not mention that I am in Italy? Well I was hoping you got that from the part where I talked about "PIZZA, PASTA & PANINI!!"), this time it is a little bit different.

There are no "Beverage Appreciation" courses where I can drink wine & there is no "Beginning Italian" course where I can pretend there's some "study" in my "abroad." There are no friends from school with me, who will casually hop on a train to Pisa or accompany me at all hours of the day (aka there is no comfort of familiarity). There are no spoon-fed field trips to Venice & Rome. There are no 4-day weekends & student discounts at museums. There is no fancy apartment on the river with a sweet exit straight into the city center... This kinda feels like real life.

Oh wait, it is?!

I've got my tiny apartment in the outskirts. I've got the directions to the laundromat saved in my phone. I've got the blue metro line just waiting for me a few blocks away. I've got my random locations of wifi throughout the city at my disposal. I've got my 5-day a week language school. & I've got the strangest set of 47853635345 keys that leave me baffled every time I look at them... (Yes, I did stand outside my building for 20 minutes fussing with my keys, unable to unlock my door. Yes, I did feel like an idiot. Yes, I am an idiot. Any more questions? ...). So there you have it...

Wait did I forget to tell you about all the good stuff? Because there are some good things! I promise. TONS OF GOOD THINGS! & I have also learned a few things in my time here as well...

First of all, I really like Rome. I love how the streets are small & the road names change every other foot. I love the random spots of ruins that just seem to pop out of the earth to say hello. I love the street signs & the small alleys. I love the smell of pizzas cooking. I love the salamis hanging from the windows & the blocks of cheese calling my name. I love the weather during the winter!!!! I love the way the ambulances sound as they wake me from my restful slumber. I love how the people divert their eyes as much as possible from your smile, but are actually the friendliest when you force them into conversation. I love the strange looks I get when I speak my broken Italian. I love walking past everything & knowing it's older than most things ever. I love that there are random cat sanctuaries/colonies (& to be honest they live in pretty nice real estate if you ask me...). I love that a cappuccino is like the cheapest thing ever... even though their size chart differs a bit from the Starbucks scale. I love the screeching noise the metro makes as it comes to a jerky halt. I love that I can walk around aimlessly, feeling no pressure & finding the best gelato shop by accident & then casually seeing a fortress... nbd. I love that I am forced to make friends since I don't know anyone!!! & with that, I also love how almost everyone I have met in my class is foreign, but barely any are from the United States.

There is some major diverCITY going on here (see what I did there?). It's so hard to forget sometimes that I am foreign, that I have an accent & that the United States is not the center of the world. But it's true. I now have friends from Barcelona & Brazil, Milan & Croatia, Germany & Switzerland, Columbia & France, China & Peru. I walk around with these friends & we all speak Italian (in our broken ways) & are excited to learn! Everyone is at different speaking & grammatical levels, everyone has a different mother tongue, everyone is staying for different lengths of time, but we all are here for the same reason: We all just really love pizza. Just kidding... we just want to learn Italian!!! It's pretty darn cool!

It is difficult at times... knowing I have 3 months here can sound daunting when I say it loud enough for myself to hear. The idea of knowing no one from home can be kind of scary. & living in a strange city, while doing laundry in a laundromat seems kind of out of my league. But hey... I've gotta learn sometime, & now is better than never!

Ci vediamo!

the cheese to my macaroni.

I love my family.

I don't have that much to say here, but do you get much better than this "stone cold pack of weirdos." How did I get so lucky?

~ciao~

explore.

Sometimes you need to just get out & explore! Life is so much more fun when you're seeing, touching, hearing, smelling & living in the outdoors & mingling with the natives.

Whether you're in New York preparing for a new step in your life, backpacking through Europe on your own after college, moving to another country with a one-way ticket or just traveling with your family, make the most of it! Have a little or a lot of fun & get out there & EXPLORE!

This holiday break (this is a bit belated), my parents & I traveled to Peru & the Galapagos. We met the people, we walked the streets, we learned how to make colors out of bugs, we trekked on ancient ruins & cities, we swam with sea lions, we got our hands dirty, we played local bar games, we watched Sally Lightfoot crabs' mating dance, we ate the food (guinea pig & alpaca) & drank the drink, we listened to the music & we (attempted) to talk the talk! It was an experience to remember & something I couldn't even try to forget.

We started off in Peru with our "dear friend," Guido & became engrossed immediately in the city of Lima.  Sometimes it's hard to get out of a geocentric mindset. I visit a city in another country knowing it's not permanent, knowing that in a few weeks, I will be back at home sleeping in my own bed.  I forget that for millions of other people, this is their life. They walk these streets every day, they wear these clothes & they pass those buildings. For me it's travel, for them it's life.

Lima was a bustling city. There were cars everywhere, tall buildings, shopping malls, museums & even a coast line. There were parks & homeless people, bicyclists, stray cats & litter on the streets.  There was graffiti on the walls, street art being sold, bus stops, Starbucks & Subways on the corners & restaurants everywhere. The city I'm describing doesn't sound that different from Chicago or New York, but let me tell you... it was a whole other world.

Something interesting about Lima is that it never rains. EVER. Lima averages less than 1 inch of rain per year & it shows too. The city is dry & the roofs of all the buildings & homes are flat. Who needs a slanting roof when there's no rain? Another different aspect is how Lima itself is broken up into several different areas. When driving in the city, you can cross an invisible line & the city goes from clean & neat to trash piled everywhere with dogs rolling in anything they can muster. That invisible line is the difference between a governor with money & a good following & a governor with no funds on the brink of being booted out. The city was a checker board of safe & sketchy areas.

Once in the country, there was no questioning where you were. The people dressed in the brightest colors, wore the coolest hats & lived the most interesting, yet simple lifestyle. While nothing seemed to be actually going on... everything was happening. Little girls would sing to us for petty change, small snacks or stickers, women would sell everything & anything they could get their hands on & kids would scream in excitement over a small bracelet or trinket. They were a crafty bunch & it was cool seeing different ways people use their skills. Every skill had a purpose.

Now it's time to talk about Machu Picchu... It was crazy. I literally (yes... actually literally) have goosebumbs as I am even thinking about the place. I can't even imagine what Hiram Bingham thought as he pushed aside the overgrown Amazon bushes & saw that he was standing on an ancient Incan city from the 15th century.  How did this society build & sustain a life on the side of a jagged mountain in the middle of nowhere? Seriously... how? It was so incredible that it is hard to explain. I would love to return one day & hike the four-day Inca trail.  I would love to walk up to the Sun Gate once again, but this time from the other side, & see Machu Picchu sneaking out from behind the fog. I know that would just taste so good after four days of hiking & waiting.

We did tons of other stuff in Peru too, but if you've actually made it this far... you're probably about ready for me to quit writing; however, I haven't even talked about the Galapagos yet & you don't want to miss this! It will be quick... I promise!!!

This was our friend, the sea lion... he just wanted to play & luckily he invited us to join him! This little guy had so much personality & it made our adventure awesome! He swam with us in the water, barked like a dog, chewed sticks & practically played fetch.  He is the dog of the sea & for good reasons too!

 
The final most incredible part of this adventure was the group we traveled with. We went on a tour to these amazing places with a company called, Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) & we were lucky enough to have the most dynamic & incredible individuals traveling alongside us. It was great getting to interact with people who have done such amazing things, have lived in incredible places, have traveled to the strangest locations, have been through crazy experiences & in the end, all ended up on a dusty road in the middle of Ollantaytambo with a huge smile on their faces & a taste for adventure.  I know this experience could have been 100% different & 100% less thrilling if the group had been a dud. But the group was awesome & I wouldn't have wanted anything to change; not even 1%.

Anyway, now is the time to explore. Now is the time to go outside. Now is the time to travel. Now is the time to follow the wind. Because there just isn't a better time than now.  Whether you do it now, or do it in 5 years... guess how old you'll be in 5 years? You'll be 5 years older... (good math, I know).

This is cliche, but I love it, because it reminds me of my aunt... so here it goes.  "It's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years!"-Good ole Abe Lincoln. So I'll say it again, get out there & EXPLORE today!

~ciao~