the basics, if you'll still have it...

Ok. I've been terrible. I know. I accept it and I'm sorry.

There are numerous excuses but none of them matter very much to you do they? We'll just skip that and move right on to the updates. My brain functions well in list form so I'm going for that route.

1. I LOVED Venice. It was amazing. I'll put up a post after this about that little delight of a trip. There's no way I could ever get tired of that place.

2. I've been sick this past week. It was so awful. I didn't go anywhere, hang out with anyone, or get anything done. Being unproductive in Roma is the worst. Found that out the hard way. The weather dropped quite quickly and I was not prepared. I'm half way through some antibiotics so the outlook is much better. The weather has also improved. It's back up in the 60's which is perfect fall weather, in my opinion. The air is crisp. Taking a deep breath is so invigorating.

3. I also had my first batch of homesickness. My family skyped me while they were carving pumpkins together (which by the way is more adorable that any normal person can stand.) It was a little downhill from there. It's funny how clearly you see the things that really matter in your life and the things that don't when you're so far away. I miss things I never thought I would miss. Chattanooga, for example, I miss with the same intensity that I miss some of the people in my life. I cannot look at pictures of that city without aching for it. Weird is what it is. I also miss the energy that evolves from the old friends I used to hang out with. I never realized how much I liked it and what a rarity that group really is/was.

4. Love this new family. They are amazing and so good to me. They have two teenage girls which is so perfect considering I hate children. I thought that would magically go away bc I was living in the glorious Eternal City. However, what I have learned is that I will eternally hate children. I hang out with the girls in the afternoon and basically just chat with them in english about anything and everything. I'm a hired big sister and I love it. The parents are so so kind to me. The father took me on a 2 hour tour of the area when I got here so I would know my way around. He also sends me links of places to order books in english. When the weather dropped to the 30's and 40's I was freezing. I didn't bring my coats with me bc I was planning on having them shipped when the weather started to decline. The mom gave me one of her super cute jackets to use (without my asking!) until my family brings mine over. They called an english speaking doctor in the family for me when I got sick to see what kind of medicine I needed. And these are just a few of the things they've done when they didn't have to. They are caring and wonderful. They are a little weirded out by the fact that I've constantly been eating peanut butter out of the jar and I staying up to watch football games that come on from 2:30am-5:30am. (One of the girls asks about how the sport is played and it brings delight to my soul to bestow such a beautiful blessing of knowledge upon her.) Other than such minor cultural confusions it is smooth sailing.

5. Working on my Italian. It's a slow and not so steady process. I'm using an online course after becoming an official language school dropout. (Every time I say this I always sing the 'beauty school dropout' from Grease in my head.) I like practicing and I progress fairly quickly bc of my Spanish base. It's just hard to be motivated sometimes because I'm pretty sure, after I move away, I will not use this language ever again.

6. The boys here...oh the boys. They are beautiful and they are all dogs. I'm going to stick to observing them at an emotional distance. That's what they seem best for. No bad stories (read: burns) here and I would like to keep it that way. They are fun. Every girl that I've talked to who has been involved with an Italian has subsequently sworn off Italians. I'll follow their advice this time. No need to learn the lesson on my own.

Well, maybe... ;)

7. One of my new favorite things about Italians is that they all have this incredible distrust of technology. To steal ReAnna's description...it is so endearing. When my mom sent me a package I tracked it online. I missed the first attempt at delivery bc no one was here. I know this because the website told me I did. When I told the family, the immediate response from the dad is that he does not believe a package can be tracked to the point of delivery...especially all the way from America. This was the only option in his mind. This man just finished his dissertation for his PhD. He is smart. It's cultural and it's hilarious. The lack of trust pops up daily and I smile.

That's all for now. I'll try to squeeze in a couple more posts this week to make up for my falling off of the face of the earth. There are lots of little adventures and thoughts and perspectives and reflections and observations to fill you in on but the general stuff is good for the first one back. (Again, I'm sorry.)

PS- The girls are watching an Italian musical movie at the moment. Fucking weird.

PPS- The girls use english cuss words and they don't understand that fuck is worse than the others. They use it casually. Girls after my own heart :)