I am very very tired tonight so this update is coming to you in list form. Enjoy.
1. I was molested in the park today by a senile old italian woman. I was sitting on a bench while the little one played. She came up and started rambling on in Italian which I tried to explain to her I did not understand. She then started pulling at my shorts and stuck her hand up the OUTSIDE of my leg. I swatted and shooed her away, but before she left she grabbed my face with both of her hands, smiled and said "bella, bella." Oh, and then she look my purse and covered my legs with it. Apparently she did all of this because she thought my shorts were too short. I assure you they are not, by American or Italian standards. I asked Isabella (the mom) about this. She told me know the lady is a little crazy plus old fashioned...and that my shorts were definitely not too short.
2. Children need to mind. "I don't want to" is never an appropriate response when you are a child! It does not matter what a kid wants or doesn't want. It's a kid; it's supposed to do what it's told. My response is and always will be "I don't care." Might need to think about a reward/warning system with the little one...for my sanity.
3. I like that people in Rome still wear Eastpak and Adidas like it didn't go out of style 10 years ago....because, well, it didn't here. It makes me smile.
4. Smells. There are so many smells here. I love the smell of the house. I do not like the smell of the dad's cologne. (I suspect he bathes in it.) I like the smell of Metro line A. It is new and clean. I do NOT like the smell of Metro line B. It runs old trains and does not have AC. It is also scary as fuck. Old men here smell like alcohol all the time.
5. I do not get grumpy when I'm hot anymore. This is probably because I've been hot nonstop since I walked off the plane. When central heat and air hit this country it will be perfect. Until then I'll just work on changing my preference (read: controlling extreme mood swings when encountering warm temperatures)
6. I hear my voice again. I don't know at what point in the past few months I lost it but I stopped hearing my answers in my head. I didn't have that reassuring voice for a while that reminds you who you are and what's good. It got muffled behind so many other things. But it's back like a dear old friend that you never wanted to say goodbye to. I feel back in touch with myself. Not that I lost me; I just felt that I lost my clarity after allowing myself to stay in a very disconcerting place. It is more comfort than I remembered.
7. I went to the Colosseum this evening. It was perfect. I waited for the sun to set so I could see it lit up. So beautiful. I stood there feeling like I was exactly where I belonged at that moment. That's a nice feeling. I went to take a picture of the Colosseum, some other really pretty ruins beside it, and the moon, but my camera died as soon as I held it up. It was so so perfect but I guess that one was just for me.
Tired. The days are so full here. Goodnight.