Homecoming

The last time I flew to Italy, I had absolutely no jet lag; I went to bed at a decent hour, woke up super early and repeated that every day with a smooth transition. This time? Not so much. Since I'd acclimated so well last year I figured it would be the same this time around, so when I woke up around 6:30am the next day I thought I was on my way to smoothly transitioning my internal time clock...not. I learned that nausea is a symptom of jet lag, and let me tell you...it's not fun. But anyway, It's all good; I get hungry and tired at the right and normal times now :)

Aside from jet lag, I have had an amazing first few days here. So far I have wandered through the foreign streets of Pisa and Orzignano to get to know them as well or better than I got to know Florence, taken a foreign bus, had meals with the family and friends of the one I've adopted for the summer, had many chances to practice my Italian and of course, eaten some delicious food! At this point it can only get better!

I absolutely love living in the countryside...It's much quieter and more peaceful than the city, yet it's not too far from it either so I can have the best of both worlds. It feels nice not to get awoken by drunk people yelling or singing in the streets at 3 in the morning :) There's also something very slow-living about it that I love. In the city, there's always a lot going on...and not that it's a bad thing, it's just nice to experience something different. There's a big backyard with a wide range of things growing in it that is a luxury of living away from the city: tomatoes, zucchini, basil, lettuce, cherries, walnuts, grapes, kiwis and many different species of plants and flowers that are non-edible but fill out the backyard so beautifully. Having a good-sized garden of my own back in the States has really made me appreciate meals that are made with fresh ingredients from right outside the front door. There's nothing better than knowing exactly where your food comes from...it makes eating so much fun!

These are her gorgeous tomato plants! We can never get them to grow like this in our garden, unfortunately, but anyway, I can't wait to make some bruschetta out of these beauties when they're ripe :)

     This grape plant looks so awesome growing out of this rundown wall. I love the way it's leaves look!

The cherry tree (the walnut tree is to the left of it). Instead of eating the ones near the top where we can't reach them, the birds love to eat the ones we can reach...funny how that works.

Zucchini, basil and lettuce!! If you grow zucchini in your own garden, cut off and fry the flowers they produce...they are so yummy!! I never would have thought to do such a thing.

To the right is the kiwi vine. I always thought they came on a tree or bush but nope! Vine it is. In this climate they ripen in November, and they are sooo delicious!

This is the view as you look out the back door...so, SO beautiful. I love the pathway and that bright red door!
















As my first week in this new Italian environment comes to an end, there is a sense of peace in my heart that has never been there before, as well as a deep knowing that whatever comes my way while I'm here will only add to the person I become. While walking on the quiet roads of Orzignano and even in the crowded, tourist-filled streets of Pisa, I have a smile on my face because I know that I have come home.

Imperfection

I have a slight problem with perfectionism. Normally, I would be proud of being a perfectionist because it means I put out great work and get lots of attention for it, but in this case it's a bad thing. Why? Because I don't write enough. I think that everything I write has to be "epic" before it can be released to the world, and that means less of my world is shared with all of you.

Last fall I wrote three blogs per month...how absolutely pathetic. I experienced so much more than what I wrote about, but I hesitated to share because of my insecurity; the insecurity and fear of being judged if my writing isn't perfect. I have this complex that tells me I'm only worth something if I don't make any mistakes, and I'd like to work through that until that fear becomes less and less powerful as time goes on, because as we all know, everyone makes mistakes. I've made many in my day and I know I'll make many more, which means I need to become more accepting of myself, especially when those mistakes are made and not except when.

So, how do I start? I'll begin with setting a goal: I will write a blog AT LEAST once a week whether I feel like it or not; whether I'm inspired to or not. If I write more than that, bonus, but I'm committing to once a week. I just want to write more whether or not they are "epic", creatively crafted with a clever metaphor or embedded with lessons of personal growth and change. I'm inspired by those who can write about their experiences without needing every sentence to be perfect, so here I go. I am not perfect. And maybe, just maybe, I'll eventually realize while on this journey that there is beauty in imperfection. :)

The Returning

Ok, so before I even start in on what I created this post for, I feel the need to explain the name change and blog revamping. For those of you who were following my blog while I was in Italy last year, you have an idea of what it looked like before, with the name 'My Life in Italy'. I know, super original. Now that I'm once again starting up this blog since I'll be leaving in a month for Italy, it called desperately for new life. I wanted something that was a truer expression of myself and more creative, so I changed the background, the colors, and most importantly, the title. This time around I'll be doing a bit more traveling outside of Italy, since financially the situation is a little different than last time. Therefore, I didn't want the blog to call only to Italy, but to the world. So here it is, I'm officially a wanderer! :)

Alrighty! For those of you who don't already know, I am leaving in less than a month for Italy to try on the new experience of being an au pair for a beautiful Italian family living in a little town next to Pisa. If you're not familiar with the term 'au pair', it is a French word that basically means nanny or babysitter (in exchange for room and board). I could not have thought up a better deal, better timing or a better situation and I feel so extremely lucky to be able to experience such a thing.

It's so surreal to think back on where I was at this time last year; I was scrambling to try to scrape enough money together in order to pay for the study abroad program, stressing out every minute of every day. This time I feel like I'm light-years ahead, effortlessly attracting everything I need and finally emotionally stable. This time it will just be me...no group of Americans to compare myself to and follow when I don't know where to go in the airport. In a way, it's a little nerve-racking but at the same time it's unbelievably thrilling. There's nothing like going to a "foreign" place by yourself that makes you grow in ways you never thought possible.

While getting ready to depart, I came across a little road bump called a visa. I started researching how to get one a couple months ago since this time I'm staying over the 90 day allowance and I'm not studying, working for an Italian company, or have a house of my own. The one I'm most interested in is of course a long-stay visa, since at some point in my life I'd love to live there, but at this point (legally) I am unable to do so. According to my research, in order to be eligible for a long-stay visa I would have to be retired, have secure, sustainable income and have a place to live (in my name), and obviously that doesn't describe me. I mean, I understand that they don't want foreigners taking their precious, hard-to-come-by jobs but COME ON! I promise I won't steal your jobs! I'll even spend American and European money in your country! If they only knew me they would understand that I have no harmful intentions or hidden motives whatsoever and I'm just truly in love with Italy and Italian culture. So that whole conversation is a bit frustrating, but it is what it is and I accept it. So for now I'm just wingin' it, unless someone knows something I don't or has a better idea that doesn't include marrying an Italian ;)

So I'll be off on my next adventure soon, not only to Italy but to planned trips to England, France, Switzerland, and possibly Ireland (the first three of which have been made possible by Giulia and her family). I'm unbelievably grateful for the chance to further experience an Italian life and further my Italian language skills just by being surrounded by it. I'm sure there will be off days and little road bumps here and there, and though parts of me are a bit scared of really living my dreams, I am more sure that I'm happier to take calculated risks and live to my utmost fullest.

I've always wondered why I come alive there in ways I never could here, and now I know that it's because I'm not leaving my home but going to it; I am returning to Italy, my home.