Wednesday, July 2

 
random excerpt from an email to my sister-in-law...

so i am about to hit my four-week mark in italy. it feels like i've done so much, but at the same time feels like i hardly know this city... i've been to rome, procida (a tiny, untouched-by-tourism island where they filmed "the talented mr. ripley"... had a pretty cool black-sand beach [not as cool as hawaii but not as dangerous, either]), a 100% napoletan beach (no americans, just tons of italians laying out on this rocky coast... they are into that), and capri. i've also made a couple of visits to the navy base to catch american films ("bruce almighty" and "finding nemo") and the navy pool area. plus we've caught some cool pubs, wine bars, and restaurants right on the beach. best i've met and talked to SO many people - from france, england, america, and of course TONS of italian. i talk to EVERYONE - i'm like matt when he's drunk, only i'm (usually) sober. i get to use my italian all the time, and although i have days where i can barely count in italian, i get lots of compliments on my skills so it's helping to build my confidence and allows me to talk even more.

as far as love/hate: i hate not having toilet seat covers. i hate that my room is like an oven. i hate that i have no fridge. i hate that i can't watch sitcoms or sportscenter because i have no tv. i hate that i am getting roots and there is nothing i can do about it because i am afraid to get my hair colored here. i hate stressing about money, and how i will get home with all my stuff. i hate that you guys are far away and i won't get to see you very much between now and january. i hate that i always have bug bites. however, that stuff generally seems pretty minor compared to what i love: i love talking to people (obviously). i love swimming in the mediterranean and building up a tan (at least by mchugh standards). i love that every day feels like an adventure. i love that every meal is amazing. i love that i feel so content being independent. i love that my internship, though wanting monetarily, is actually fulfilling. i love that i feel like i am on the right track for my future. i love that i am working but still feel like i am on a 10-week vacation. i love italian guys (gross, i know). i love that being an american who speaks italian makes me very novel. i love people watching because italians here are so passionate. i love that people in the south are so nice. i love, love, love speaking italian for the better part of every day.








posted by from shannon at 10:02 AM

Tuesday, July 1

 
it's "ciao" time here at the ranch (get it? oh, god, i am so much less funny here.) i am eating cold pasta from yesterday that trisha told me i can't heat up in the microwave because it's in a tin foil container. trisha is eating some sort of deep fried ball of rice and peas. also we are sharing a ball of mozzarella that we are eating like an apple. swear to god, i love this place.
posted by from shannon at 4:54 AM